The gaming industry is full of gems and trash. As gamers, we tend to focus a lot on games that fail to deliver on their promises, or just aren't as fun as we had all hoped they would be. But every once in awhile, there will be a game that has everything going against it, or maybe just looks bad in the demo or trailers we're given, but they somehow capture the hearts and love of gamers everywhere.
Today we're going to take a look at 5 games that, for some reason or another, we thought would suck, but actually managed to be great games in their own right. Keep in mind this is NOT a "Top 5" list; just 5 games in no particular order. With that said, let's dive in.
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Licensed games have a reputation for being terrible. Many companies just push out an unfinished and/or uninspired product with a popular franchise's name on it just to make a quick buck. So you can understand many people's skepticism when Warner Bros. announced a new title set in The Lord of the Rings universe: Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor. Despite some cool looking features, many people were not really looking forward to this title.
Despite all of the warning signs against it, Shadow Of Mordor was a blast to play. It felt very similar to Assassin's Creed, but with smoother, more fun mechanics and, of course, set in the iconic universe of The Lord of the Rings. The "Nemesis System" was also an extremely interesting and cool feature that we had never seen before or since the game released.
And, as many of you all know, a sequel to the game, Middle Earth: Shadow of War was recently announced. Needless to say, after the first experience, we can't wait to dive back in.
Sonic Generations
Sonic, I'm not angry with your recent terrible games; I'm just disappointed. That disappointment is mainly because you had this amazing game in the midst of your terrible recent titles. To celebrate the blue blur's 20th anniversary, SEGA took the classic 2d side scrolling Sonic that people grew up with and the fun 3d Sonic sections from Sonic Unleashed and combined them to make something wonderful.
The game is no masterpiece (a big complaint being the side missions and length), but it is no doubt an entertaining experience. After the disaster of Sonic The Hedgehog (2006) and the rough but sometimes enjoyable Sonic Unleashed, this game gave Sonic fans a future to look forward to…
…but were then given Sonic Boom. *Sigh* here's hoping that Project Sonic 2017 is good.
Doom (2016)
There were several things that we thought would make DOOM suck. For starters, recent tries of reviving a classic franchise, especially shooters (*cough* *cough* Duke Nukem: Forever *cough*) failed miserably to capture the original's charm, character, and most importantly fun. The other big factor was the extremely lackluster BETA that came out for DOOM's multiplayer. With these facts in mind, it seemed as if DOOM fans would be in for a rough launch day.
But boy were we all wrong. While the multiplayer remained somewhat lackluster, the single player campaign was a blast to play from start to finish. So many shooters nowadays are about ducking behind cover and shooting only when able. But in DOOM, that classic "run-and-gun" style of gameplay returns in a big way. Sure, it seems unrealistic and silly at times, but you won't be thinking that as you're shotgun blasting a hell-spawn and then stomping his head to tiny bits.
Spec Ops: The Line
I've talked quite a bit about this game recently in my 10 Games With Great Stories article, so I'll keep this rather brief. Spec Ops: The Line was advertised as if it was your everyday generic third person military shooter. But what gamers got was a dark, gritty experience that had never really been explored before in the genre. While the gameplay is somewhat of a generic third person shooter, the magnificent story and characters will go down in the record books as some of the best in gaming.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
As mentioned previously with Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor, licensed games usually suck. However, the only reason that Shadow Of Mordor had a glimmer of hope was because of the massive success and quality of the Batman: Arkham series; with its first entry Batman: Arkham Asylum being a game that will go down in history as one of the most surprisingly good games ever made.
Everything was set against this game: licensed game, no good Batman games in history to set us at ease, and the reigns were given to (at the time) the small, not well-known company Rocksteady Studios. But gamers and Batman fans were given a sweet gem of a game with extremely fun combat, an interesting and engaging story, fantastic performances, and engaging boss battles. Our expectations couldn't have been more wrong with Batman: Arkham Asylum.
So those are 5 games that defied everybody's expectations. What games did you think were gonna suck but you actually liked? Leave a comment down below, I'd love to see more underestimated classics.
