To be honest, FF13 wasn't that bad.  It just did so much stuff wrong.  I don't regret buying it.  It was literally the only game I played for that month.  Goood graphics and combat system.  Bad everything else.  Sorry.

Oh, and I fired up Soul Calibur 4 forr the first time in three years, yesterday.  Really enjoyed it.  Maybe it was a victim of its own legacy/expectations?

I wouldn't say "bad everything else". The only part where I thought it failed was certain aspects of the gameplay, especially the linearity. The dialogue and story didn't flow very well either and it was patchy at times.

Everything else though was spot on. The soundtrack, battle system, characters, story, world and mythology are my favourite of any game though. I don't think I even need to mention the presentation and graphics either.

I agree that the game has some serious faults, it feels incomplete. But that doesn't overshadow the positives of the game.

I try to avoid Day 1 purchases as much as possible. The ones I got this gen are:

Super Street Fighter IV - did not regret buying, only purchased day 1 as it was released with a discounted price. I had been tracking SFIV for quite some time.

Gran Turismo 5 - bought under the impression that it would take ages for this to drop price. So far it has worked out this way.

I also got FIFA 11 as a gift. Would not have bought full retail myself.

and that's about it!