Red Red Redemption - personally, I think Grand Theft Auto is the most overrated franchise of the past two console generations. I try and try to like those games, but I just can't get into them. As a result, I almost didn't play this masterpiece. Practically everything I don't like about GTA was fixed in this game. A great story, fun missions, a likeable protagonist, a regenerating health system, a decent shooting system, etc.
Dead Space - this game was released during a time when I thought the Resident Evil franchise was the be-all-and-end-all of survival horror. After Resident Evil 5 turned out to be a complete piece of crap, I decided to give this game a chance. I'm glad I did. And because I loved this game so much, I didn't hesitate to buy Dead Space 2 on day one.
Forza Motorsport 4 - I gave up on the racing genre long before I played this game. I took a leap of faith and bought it, only to end up becoming obsessed with it. This year, this game has spent more time in my disc drive than anything else. I especially enjoying playing it while I'm listening to my iPod.
