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Retro Games that really surprised you?

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    Retro Games that really surprised you?

    Here's a question, what retro games do you remember that, above all else, surprised you?

    Might be a difficult question to answer without some context. Back in the 2000s, Atari released a Transformers game for the PS2. I think the game was based on Transformers Armada, but they just called it The Transformers, presumably because the Michael Bay movie had just been announced so they probably hoped to sweep up some people who weren't fans of that specific incarnation of the show.

    I played it at the time, and the thing I remember more than anything else is how surprised I was at it, because it's something of a marvel when I was just expecting licenced crap. It just seems to have so many things going for it. The environments are huge, the enemies dodge and dive (with shockingly good pathfinding AI at times), the ground has foliage that reminds me of how BotW works today, and it even does this unusual thing where explosions take on the shape of their surroundings, so if you fire a missile into a narrow space, the explosion "fills out" a bit like it would in real life (where most games just use an expanding sphere). Even the performance is decent.

    It's one of those games where you just know that the developer could've turned in any old crap, but someone really loved this game. Probably more than one person. There are movements in Optimus Prime's animation that I could swear are rotoscoped from the Transformers G1 movie.

    I just put it on tonight, because I was wondering if time had been kind to my memories, but it's still a really solid third-person action game. It's simple, but then it was aimed at kids, and I think it's great when viewed through that lens.

    What retro games have surprised you?

    #2
    Nothing really springs to mind at the moment, but you've made me want to play that Transformers game on the PS2. I remember reading positive reviews and thinking it looked really nice, but I've never got around to playing it. I think that's because I was heavily focused on the Xbox & GameCube during that period. I definitely need to get a PS2 out and give it a go.

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Asura View Post
      Here's a question, what retro games do you remember that, above all else, surprised you?

      Might be a difficult question to answer without some context. Back in the 2000s, Atari released a Transformers game for the PS2. I think the game was based on Transformers Armada, but they just called it The Transformers, presumably because the Michael Bay movie had just been announced so they probably hoped to sweep up some people who weren't fans of that specific incarnation of the show.

      I played it at the time, and the thing I remember more than anything else is how surprised I was at it, because it's something of a marvel when I was just expecting licenced crap. It just seems to have so many things going for it. The environments are huge, the enemies dodge and dive (with shockingly good pathfinding AI at times), the ground has foliage that reminds me of how BotW works today, and it even does this unusual thing where explosions take on the shape of their surroundings, so if you fire a missile into a narrow space, the explosion "fills out" a bit like it would in real life (where most games just use an expanding sphere). Even the performance is decent.

      It's one of those games where you just know that the developer could've turned in any old crap, but someone really loved this game. Probably more than one person. There are movements in Optimus Prime's animation that I could swear are rotoscoped from the Transformers G1 movie.

      I just put it on tonight, because I was wondering if time had been kind to my memories, but it's still a really solid third-person action game. It's simple, but then it was aimed at kids, and I think it's great when viewed through that lens.

      What retro games have surprised you?
      Great game that - true retro as I think it was made by Melbourne house!

      Comment


        #4
        Mercs on MD surprised me. Because it had this extra mode, practically a second full game where you could utilise all four Mercs in a more RPG type of way, it was still shallow but had a *tad* more depth than the main campaign.

        (it *might* have even had a few extra tunes that weren't in the main game...but I can't remember fully...?)

        This mode is really nothing amazing but I never knew about it prior to getting it and it pretty much felt like Capcom was looking out for me and all MD owners when I booted it up, like they *cared*.

        However, I've *just* been for a wazz and random thoughts tend to form when you're wazzing and I've just remembered that it was possibly a single player-only campaign and they probably stuck that mode in some vague attempt to placate the disappointed.

        Anyway, it surprised me and I loved it!!

        Comment


          #5
          It's going to sound daft but GTA3. To go into a game with zero hype and such an expectation that it was going to be ropey rubbish and then be blown away by it to such an extent. The rarest of experiences

          Comment


            #6
            I remeber being supprised by Riddick on the XBox. Not only becasue the game was amazing fun to play, but also becasue the game looked so amazing with effects and lighting that looked like it belonged in Doom 3 on a high end PC

            Exhumed on the Saturn also floored me... That game had next to no hype and even launched on Pal 1st too. I remember getting my Pal copy a week early thanks to Lee. Not execting much but being totally blowen away with a game that not just looked and moved like no other Saturn FPS game, but how the game was mix of FPS along with Metroid style gameplay and Mario IV level's of stage desgin perfection.

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              #7
              Vietcong on the original Xbox. It's an FPS set in the Vietnam War (predictably). I had the PC version, which is a beautiful and atmospheric game that plays like no FPS I've ever played - you go around moving very slowly in a little squad, following the pointman around and worrying about your next attack. It's a harsh game that punishes you for running around or even just suddenly standing up (you'll be sniped from miles away). I'm not a big fan of action FPS titles and this is something very different - long stretches of moving at a snail's pace looking for booby traps and panicking every time you hear a twig snap broken up by usually distant firefights between enemies you can hear but barely see.

              The Xbox version is a pretty bad port that will give you an extremely bad impression, with a single player campaign that is awful. So what surprised me? Well - the multiplayer, on the other hand, is a co-op affair of your team versus the VC - but with the exact same "don't run off, move slowly, be careful" mechanics that made the PC version great. Every single time it was a challenge, with AI that I swear got better every time we improved. Despite the smeary graphics and middling presentation, I reckon it was easily the best multiplayer experience I've had on any system. Me, VP, TA and a few other folks on this place had loads of fun (and fear) creeping around the jungle. It was a real surprise that such a crummy port contained the most fun multiplayer ever.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Hirst View Post
                Me, VP, TA and a few other folks on this place had loads of fun (and fear) creeping around the jungle. It was a real surprise that such a crummy port contained the most fun multiplayer ever.

                I loved playing that online, I remember the first time TA played, he was terrified and hid behind us all game The AI was amazing too, I remember one time it spawn camped us, and we had to fight like mad just to take back the spawn area

                Comment


                  #9
                  I think, probably the original Forza Horizon tbh, or to be more precise, the demo for Forza Horizon 2 on 360. I was burnt out on open world games, didn't really enjoy any of the last gen racers and thought the entire premise of an open world racing game was ridiculous and shoehorned. I think Fuel was open world as well right? I was not impressed by that at all.

                  Anyway, I downloaded the demo for Forza Horizon 2 one night out of boredom with no expectations and holy ****! That was amazing! I rinsed that demo, over and over until a few days later I went out in search of the full game which, surprisingly, still held its value extremely well. So I picked up the first game instead and had an absolute blast playing that from start to finish.

                  I never did get round to playing the second game but that demo is seared into my mind. Just speeding up and down the (Mediterranean?) coast with the music blaring and gorgeous visuals was so pleasing and fun. It puts a big smile on my face just thinking about it.

                  The Horizon games are some of the best racing games around as far as I'm concerned and have actually overshadowed the main Forza games for me at this point.

                  When I think of Forza, I think of Horizon.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    F*ck me, that sh*t’s considered retro now?

                    Feels old.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      We're getting to that point now, the 360 did come out in 2005!

                      Comment


                        #12
                        What surprised me fairly recently was the Sega Master System.

                        I mainly knew it as a “poor man’s NES” as a kid but wow it has some stunning games. Graphically it kacks all over the NES from a great height, Donald Duck: Deep Duck Trouble for example looks stunning for an 8 bit game.

                        I picked up a few games for the system and consider it massively under appreciated.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by vanpeebles View Post
                          I loved playing that online, I remember the first time TA played, he was terrified and hid behind us all game The AI was amazing too, I remember one time it spawn camped us, and we had to fight like mad just to take back the spawn area
                          The AI was out of this world, it was so scary at times you could swear they were alive. Speaking of LIVE there were 2 games that really supprised me and where I didn't expect them to do be as good as there were

                          Rainbow Six Vegas - I was not expecting this to be much good, but it turned out the best multi player Co-Op game ever

                          Chromhounds - For me, this was the best game ever on LIVE.

                          One more game I would like to list would be Binary Domain on the 360/PC.
                          I didn't think much of the 1st trailer and thought it wouldn't be up to much. I got the final game and was amazed by the gfx engine, those stunning huge boss battles and the ace firefights and I also loved the dismemberment system for the robots. It was so ace blowing their arms and legs off and for them to still try and come at you. It's such an overlooked and underrated classic

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Superman Falls View Post
                            It's going to sound daft but GTA3. To go into a game with zero hype and such an expectation that it was going to be ropey rubbish and then be blown away by it to such an extent. The rarest of experiences
                            Nope, totally agree. In fact I think anyone who says otherwise is being revisionist. It came out of nowhere, long after GTA1 had lost any notoriety and GTA2 had been disappointing. It absolutely blindsided people.

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