Games that you enjoyed despite thinking they will suck before purchase

[Grey Acumen]

I expected Blood Omen 2 to suck horribly. It didn't blow my socks off and the controls gave me some solid moments of frustration, but it shaped up to be a really solid game. Same for Soul Reaver, though it was almost too easy to be honestly frustrating, just tedious in a few areas.

Tomb Raider Legend was rather nice. I hated the graphics that I had seen for the earlier versions, but I really liked what they did for this one. The gameplay had a few irritating moments, but the controls actually were very smooth.

Now, if we're talking totally mind bending different, I've got to raise Psychonauts back up onto it's pedestal. I had taken one look at the cover and dismissed it as something similar to bug's life. I was so wrong that it still boggles my mind to this day. It was utter gaming bliss the entire way through. There were elements of the basic gameplay that remained consistent throughout the entire game, but each level was so unique and completely its own, but also entirely logical for why it was designed the way it was.

Thief: Deadly Shadows should also get a mention in here. It was basically THE game that introduced me to the idea that games not made by Nintendo could still be pretty decent. I missed out on the Silent Hill and Resident Evil series, so this was also the first game to actively scare the crap out of me when I got to the "cradle" level.

Zelda 2: Adventures of Link was actually a game that I used to hate and despise, but now I hate and respect. It helped that the DS NES emulator allows you to rewind time ala Prince of Persia style.

I actually am very picky about what games I'm willing to consider great games, but I've found that there's a much larger library of games out there, that I'd have considered decent, than what I originally expected.