Bioshock: It didn't appeal to me when it first came out. I can't remember why, but I just didn't feel any need to play it even as stellar reviews flooded the internet. A year or so after it released my brother in law lent it to me and I figured I'd give it a try. It turned out to be freaking great.
Tron 2.0: It came out at pretty much the same time as Halo 2. I liked the original movie, but more for it's visuals than story. When Tron Legacy started getting hyped I remember that I had never picked up Tron 2.0. I bought it uses, poped it in and found one of the best first person shooters of all time. It has a surprisingly good story and the gameplay is both fast paced and stretegic. The visuals are top notch as well is the art style.
Splinter Cell Conviction: I never liked the original Splinter Cell. It was too stealth for me. I do like stealth games, but Splinter Cell lacked the fun factor that Metal Gear Solid had. If it wasn't for a cool trailer and the demo I'd have never given Conviction a try. I picked it up in a bargin bin and didn't even get around to playing it for about a year. When I finaly did play it I was blown away. It was exactly the kind of action/stealth game I love. You get to sneak around and kill silently, but you can also shoot your way out of situations. The story, writing, acting, and plot twists rival hollywood's best efforts, and the controls were perfect. I can't wait for Blacklist.
Mass Effect: When Mass Effect came out I was under the mistaken impression that it was standard RPG. What I mean is when you attack an enemy it doesn't matter if you hit them but instead the attack is determined by stats. I thought it was going to be like SW KOTOR. I enjoyed KOTOR, but I had lost my taste for standard RPGs. Around the time that Mass Effect 2 was hyping up I found out that the series had action style combat. I picked up a used copy of Mass Effect and loved every second of it. I preordered Mass Effect 2 and loved it even more than the first. Did the same and felt the same about Mass Effect 3. It's now one of my favorite game franchises, and comes in close to Halo for me.
