The_Boots

I think it was totally awesome that the team put all the effort into getting the Building the Bastion stuff made. If for no other reason than they showed GB and the GB community love, we should be willing to show a little back. I think the art looks amazing, the narrator sounds neat, and the Bastion mechanic seems like a fun idea. Game play looks like a blast, too. I'm buying it day 1.

+1.

There's also a weird glitch in Opera on news items. Every link results in a new line on individual article pages. Not to hijack or anything, but I figure Opera specific bugs are probably a low priority, and they don't need a whole new post for another minor fiddly problem.

Please tell me that this signals the imminent return of TANG!

So I just entered something into the "Biggest Disappointment" thread, and it got me thinking -- why so negative? Has there ever been a game that you picked up without any real expectations that just blew you away?

I'm thinking that the original Homeworld qualifies for me. I got it from Columbia House as one of my two full-price games since it looked interesting-ish. I was totally unprepared for how incredibly amazing it was. The story was surprisingly effective, the gameplay was completely new to me, and Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei will always be linked with the beginning (and ending) of that game.

Anyone else have some experiences with games that have surprised you in a good way?

White Knight Chronicles. Both my wife and I are huge Level 5 fans, and WKC just... Sucks. This "wins" for me.

I would also agree with the Deus Ex 2 comments, except that the physics engine is just TOO FUNNY. There were ragdoll glitches all over the place, so I could barely play for laughing. Not exactly an endorsement, but at least it was some entertaining in an otherwise miserable game.

I also agree with Xenosaga II and GTA IV.

I have to keep EA Download Manager installed? No thank you.

Another thought is that if you want to have some common ground, look into remakes of your favorite classics and see if they suit you. That way it can be a two way street instead of "boring old game time with dad." If there are a few changes in the versions, then he'll be able to tell *you* things that he knows and you don't. No kid likes to be lectured about the good old days. Maybe this is a way that you can share an experience instead of just him experiencing yours.

I love Ender's Game, but I think it would be a.really niche game. So much of the stuff there is about spatial disorientation (The enemy's gate is down) that without the physical cues of motion, it would be even harder to keep track of orientation. At the same time, as a physics sandbox for people to experiment, I think the potential for people to come up with their own clever solutions to the scenarios thrown at Ender is really intriguing. I mean if people can jump Warthogs...

I don't hate many kinds of music. 
... But I hate the Beatles. A few of their songs are pretty good, but theres so much garbage they made that people seem to love.  
You know, I really think that's it: I probably would think they were *okay*, but the reverence people show them gets under my skin. I would never have *liked* the Beatles, but I wouldn't have despised them either.