Games you thought would be crap that weren't

[Hucklebubba]

A rather lengthy thread title inspired by a recent trip to EBGames.

I picked up a pre-played copy of Star Wars Episode 1: Jedi Power Battles for the ol' PSX as a stocking stuffer for one of my nephews. I did this for two reasons:

1. The nephew in question has an inexplicable love for Episodes 1 and 2, and eventually 3.

2. I care enough to buy used.

Now, anyone who buys used games knows that they tend to be all scratched to death. On the rare occasion that I find a pristine or near-pristine used game, I wish I could find the previous owner and give them a certificate that says, "I am most certainly not a slack-jawed moron."

Sadly, this particular copy of SWE1:JPB looked like somebody had taken a belt sander to it. So it was with much trepidation and apologizing to my little chiclet-sized PSOne (Ain't it cute?) that I tested the game's functionality, fully expecting pure feces to spew out of my TV.

Turns out, the blasted thing is actually good. It's like Streets of Rage, but with Jedi! Keen! Sure, there are some annoying platforming elements to which the control scheme is ill-suited, but that's easily countered by the fact that one of the playable characters is a bug-guy.

Due to this unforseen turn of events, I decided to pick myself up a copy. Said copy was perfectly scratch-free, (Certificate!) and it included the manual. So I'll be sending that copy to my nephew, and keeping the diced-up one for myself. Yeah. Because I'm the cool uncle. And because I'd be wracked with guilt until I died otherwise. It doesn't take much.

[Al]

I definitely agree that JPB doth rocketh--Plo Koon was my man.

I'd like to nominate Beyond Good and Evil for the Surprisely Good Game Award. I bought this little gem from Gamestop because I had twenty dollars in my pocket, and anyone who knows me also knows that *that* certainly won't do. Luckily, I found it to be a really intelligent, funny, well-paced action title with a kick-ass heroine, Jade, that doesn't need a mind-bogglingly out-of-proportion chest size to get the job done and a walking pig in a wife-beater and low-riding jeans, Pey'j, who probably deserves his own game. The Crossfire and podrace minigames and ongoing "Pokemon Snap" side mission add lots of fun and dimension when you feel like getting away from the plot for a bit, and the action is simple and fast enough to not frustrate or bore you. Really terrific stuff that was sadly overlooked. Check it out, I promise it won't disappoint.

beyondgoodandevil.com

Al

[siegeshot]

im really tired. and so typing crappier then usual. but i want to throw my hat into the ring. or... ring into the hat. or something. normally i'd rant all day about games other people think suck but i think dont. but since thats not the topic im trying really hard to find one i actually thought would suck or something. (did i mention i was tired) and actually i couldnt find any cuz im such a picky video game shopper. but what i did find was some games i bought for ludicrissly cheap and ended up liking and that seems to sort of fit the bill so here we go. i've bought tons for around 5 dollars. but i think i'll stick to one. here we go
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"glover" for the n64

price. 5 usd
condition. factory sealed

premise. your a glove. you bounce balls around of different densities and try to get them to the end of obsticle courses.

i actually played this for a long time and might even boot up the 64 again some day and play this game. it was surprisingly fun in that child kind of way where you dont have to preform any complex mathmatic algorithms to get your character to be able to do 1 hp more of damage kind of things. basically. you throw a ball around. if you screw up no biggie.

score b+

edited: fixed typos (why am i so tired, holy crap)