Using the term Sleeper Hit losely. It doesn't have to be under-hyped. But a game you THOUGHT you wouldn't like. What is the game that (pleasantly) surprised you the most?

SCARFACE:THE WORLD IS YOURS (Wii) is mine. I accused it of being a clone without ever suspecting it could actually be better. Shooting with the remote is immersive, it makes you feel like you're really there. You can even aim (any direction) and shoot while you're driving! That's my favorite part. But there is so much you can do in this game. Like pimping your mansion, you can buy funiture and exotix then move them all around. The game lets you conversate with girls on the street, saying things only Tony Montana would say. The world is huge and the graphics are better than xbox. If your stranded your driver can bring you a car out of your garage, which can be filled with so many fine automobiles. There's also a great sound track with songs from each era and genre since the 80's, my favorite is Suicidal Tendencies (your mommy's dead). I wish I could explain it all but I would rather emphasize the control. I love playing an open-sandbox-crime-shooter with the wii-remote. I didn't think I'd like it till I actually tried it.

So has anyone else been rewarded by risking on a game?

Ogre Battle. I knew nothing about the game; downloaded the ROM because its name intrigued me and it's still one of my favorite games of all time.

X2 - The Threat.

Seriously took me by surprise with how good it was.

The Gladiators.

Old game, but awesome. You control either a team of marines, aliens, or robots in a sport called Deathbowl or something like that.

If you haven't played it, pick it up on amazon or something.

Rez

I don't know if that's a legitimate choice but back when it was announced for Dreamcast, I could barely understand what it was, let alone contemplate on whether it had any chance of being a good game or not.

COD4. I wasnt keen on the change of focus from WWII to post Cold War hypothetical. But its by far the best of the series (colossal anticlimax of an end excepted)

Oh & Viva Pinata. Only got it coz it came free with the X360 I got when our first one decided to die (coincidently dying the same way & around the same times as the stores demo one :-P). Thought it looked like a horrible girly candy colours game, but as ive said elsewhere I've enjoyed it more than most of the 360 games ive bought/rented since then.

Brigandine (PS1)

It's a hexagonal turn-based strategy game with a campaign map, plays fairly similar to master of monsters or fire emblem.

All I know is the game is completely unknown, but entertained the hell out of me long after the PS2 came out.

"Okami" on PS2 -

I loved every minute of this game so much. I plan on building a shrine in my apartment for this game someday.

And I know many people didn't, but I liked "Yakuza" on PS2 a great deal as well, a better brawler than most in the genre (although the in-game dialog still haunts me to this day!).

i_am_undead:

And I know many people didn't, but I liked "Yakuza" on PS2 a great deal as well, a better brawler than most in the genre (although the in-game dialog still haunts me to this day!).

I love my sega, but they oughta consider doing silent games.

Shadow of the Colossus

The idea of just running around killing colossi didn't interst me at first but when I finally played I discovered that the each of these boss fights were very creative and it felt like a puzzle game. Also with a little bit of digging the story can be very deep, which was a huge plus.

MGS3.

i played through the fucker on easy mode and actually hated it. so, i didn't expect to like it when i replayed it on european extreme mode. but i did, and it's now one of my favorite games of all time.

Republic Commando. I only rented it because I couldn't find anything else at my local Blockbuster, and I had nothing to play for the weekend. I ended up loving it.

Sins of a Solar Empire

I think this game deserved a lot more credit. Many people I've talked to never even heard of this game. Its a really fun game. Its a fast paced real time strategy game. Its SP isn't really fleshed out, but the multiplayer is great. It takes several hours just to finish one game.

Stubbs the Zombie. First impressions, "Oh god they killed the zombie!" But I played it none the less, and loved every brain eating second of it. I hope they'll do another one since Halo is finally finished. Next Gen Zombie carnage. An anti-Dead Rising. I hope so.

Eternal Sonata. I decided to rent it cause I need something to play on the 360. Turns out to be a lot more enjoyable than a lot of games I have played this year.

Wetrix on the N64. Bought it because it was £2 clearance. I was extremely confused for about 2 hours, then realised its one of the best falling blocks games i've ever played. A version on DS would make me happy. Seems unlikely though...

portal - no one was expecting it to be such a HUGE HIT

Avernum/Exile & Geneforge games. All made by SpiderWeb Software, all relatively unknown with zero system requirements, but all extremely amazing. If you haven't tried them and you prize storyline over graphics, give them a shot.

The Last Express.

Nobody's played it, but for my money it's one of the most innovative, rich, and intelligent games ever made.

Football-o-saurus. It's an old Windows shareware game that is infuriatingly enjoyable.

TF2

I never was much of a fan of the original. I was constantly getting owned by grenades and snipers, et cetera. I thought TF2 was going to be the same.

BOY WAS I WRONG.

I'm going to say System Shock 2, although honestly that's a textbook definition for "overlooked greatness" in gaming these days. It's possibly the best combination of survival horror, FPS and RPG to date, spawning such renowned games as Deus Ex and Bioshock (it's spiritiual descendant). Seriously, it's the DOOM of character-building shooters.

However, if you're looking for something a little less fashionable to call "sleeper", I'd have to say Fallout. I was very much skeptical I'd enjoy a old-school turn-based RPG and I came away after finishing it (and Fallout 2) lamenting that they 'just don't make them like that anymore'.

katamari damacy, it looked too stupid to be fun but after playing the demo i went out and purchased beutiful katamary for the 360 and actually love playing it even if it is simple and kind of dumb.

PurpleRain:
Stubbs the Zombie. First impressions, "Oh god they killed the zombie!" But I played it none the less, and loved every brain eating second of it. I hope they'll do another one since Halo is finally finished. Next Gen Zombie carnage. An anti-Dead Rising. I hope so.

Uh, sorry to disappoint... Bungie made Halo, Wideload made Stubbs. While Stubbs was in the Halo engine, it was because some Bungie staff left to start Wideload.

Wideload's next game is Hail To The Chimp - http://www.hailtothechimp.com/

DkSeraph:
However, if you're looking for something a little less fashionable to call "sleeper", I'd have to say Fallout. I was very much skeptical I'd enjoy a old-school turn-based RPG and I came away after finishing it (and Fallout 2) lamenting that they 'just don't make them like that anymore'.

I agree wholeheartedly. Even if they made fallout 3 using the same engine as Fallout 1 and 2 I would be so happy. Now I'm only a little nervious and curious about the new one, not overjoyed as I should be.

doughnut:
Wideload's next game is Hail To The Chimp - http://www.hailtothechimp.com/

Hmm. I like the music and it does look a little amusing. But what is it? A question and answer game? A racing game? What is a presidentual party game exactly?

Freedom fighters, I hadn't heard anything about the game when I picked it up, but it looked fun and I played it non-stop (almost :p) until I had finished it, and it had the best soundtrack.

Any one know if they are making a sequel?

All Pro Football--yeah, the one with the Juice in it.

I got it because I was heading to Best Buy anyway for another sale, and this was on sale for ten bucks so I took a chance. I love the idea of replacing stats with star players and the player attributes. It almost becomes more like assembling a party for an RPG than drafting a fantasy football team--you not only want good players, but players that work well with your style of play.

I haven't played much in the way of football games in...years so I don't know if other games do this, but I love the interface for the game--you can call up plays by *star player* so you don't have to go through the playbook and remember exactly where everyone lines up in each formation to make sure, say, Jerry Rice is the primary receiver. You just hit a button to get your stars up, another button to select the star, and it'll give you all plays where the ball is supposed to go to Rice. I thought that was brilliant.

Hm, difficult to say. Everything seems so over hyped these days, it's hard to pick a game that qualifies without someone saying 'Hey, that game was supposed to be the greatest [insert genre here] game of all time!'

Going back a ways, "Lunar" on the Sega CD was probably the greatest RPG I ever played (no offense FFVII), but never see it on anyones top 10 list.

"Skies of Arcadia" on the Dreamcast comes to mind as well.

"Ascendancy" on the PC was probably th first 4x style game I played, and I still think that was the best 4x game I ever played, and it was a long time ago.

And I'm not sure if "Fallout" counts, but that would have to be #1 on my list.

mitsoxfan:

Going back a ways, "Lunar" on the Sega CD was probably the greatest RPG I ever played (no offense FFVII), but never see it on anyones top 10 list.

You're more likely to see the Playstation remake, which, to be fair, is a little stronger, because Luna stays in the party much longer, so they have longer to develop the relationship between her and Alex. Plus, added fanservice \o/.

Powerstone 2. First time I saw it the game was running on a Dreamcast I'd been hoping to use for my daily Soul Calibur fix. The players persuaded me to take the fourth controller and after my first game I was instantly hooked. It's one of the few games where I'm prepared to forgive the horrible character balancing errors (hint: play Ryoma).

I would have to back up the posters who mentioned Fallout. I had never even heard of it for a long time, then bought it for $10 and still pop it in my new PC every now and again.
My biggest 'sleepers' would have to almost all be old school though. I absolutely loved the original Duke Nukem.. no, not the 3D shooter you all are familiar with, the old school 2d scroller. I thought it was going to be seriously stupid but it was given to me by a buddy. I played the shareware, then immediately bought the full version.
More recently, a game I can't even remember the name to on Live Arcade. it's a free side scrolling shmup that lets you link up with the other player. My daughter calls it 'that shooty game', so that's what I call it too. I am old, so forgive the memory... tons of fun though!

monodiabloloco:
More recently, a game I can't even remember the name to on Live Arcade. it's a free side scrolling shmup that lets you link up with the other player. My daughter calls it 'that shooty game', so that's what I call it too. I am old, so forgive the memory... tons of fun though!

Aegis Wing?

Good little shooter, and also happily free.

RLH for the xbox. Graphically, it wasn't too much to look at, and even looking back at it, the story was a hodge-podge of different sci-fi ideas (trapped on a space station, enemy aliens, save the few allies left, etc.) but I just really dug it, and ended up playing it through three or four times... just because it was enjoyable.

duke nukem 3D
hail to the king baby

KOTOR. When I first saw it at my buddys house, I had never even heard of it. When I asked if it was turn based and he said yes, I just thought how I hate most RPGs and put off playing it for months. Fast forward to after I beat it three times.

"KILL THE MEATBAGS!"