What games have you seen a description or video of and then when you tried the game were surprised at how GOOD the game was? For me (in no particular order): Drop7 geoDefense Airport Mania Ragdoll Blaster iBomber iFighter Ranch Rush Azkend
For me it is Knights Onrush. I didn't find the original promo video very interesting and the game didn't look that fun. It just looked like a version of StickWars with better graphics but so many people were raving about it so I bought it. I was absolutely amazed by how good it was, it was well worth my $4.99 Anyone who hasn't picked it up for $0.99 is going to regret it. Oh and by the way there is already a thread about this here.
Air Master 3D I played the Lite version some time ago, had a hard time controlling it, didn't care for it much. However, the developer, AlexN, apparently has been hard at work as when I saw information about recent updates to the game (with more to come!) I've completely changed my mind about the game. It's always nice to see a developer active here on touchArcade. If you haven't seen it yet, give it a shot and/or wait for the 1.5 version to get approved, it's got even more good stuff...
Sorry didn't see other thread. Also, I guess I should have specified good or bad surprise (e.g., I'm sure a lot of people were surprised with Worms, both good and bad).
Real Soccer and Stoneloops really became quick favorites for me even though I wasn't sure I would like them.
Vanguard Storm, Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles, Bugdom 2, Monkey Ball, DinoSmash Online, CUBE, Freak Bike, PayBack, and Boomer's Sky Fishing, Vans SK8: Pool Service, and Crazy Snowboard.
stick wars to be honest. DYC came out at about the same time and I decided to pick that up instead since it cost more and I got bored of it after a while so I was like stickwars must suck then. But then I finally got it and it was pretty cool and better than DYC. stragea-how it sucked that bad QC/warfare inc-how this good of an rts exists on the idevice. dinosmash-how entertaining it is and how badly ppl suck...xD dungeons and heroes-how a rpg is this bad. underworlds-why 4.99=1 hour of gaming ahaha. zenonia-why is this the best purchase i've made. F.A.S.T.- how did this get so boring and why are ppl so bad online? alien abuse-why is this game pointless and impossible. cjs-why is this game over a 20 week or more span. plenty more but ya
Wolfenstein 3D. I had yet to have a good FPS experience on the iPhone, and I was sure it wouldn't be any different (I'm talking more about controls than graphics/sound). Then I tried the demo and was very pleasantly surprised. John Carmack did a great job on the port, particularly with the controls. While the game is pretty repetitive and nothing amazing graphics/sound wise, the controls are as good as I've seen for an FPS on the iphone, and I have no trouble using them.
I second that, but only because I didn't think Wolfenstein would have been good because of the graphics. I have no problem with controls on iPod Touch shooting games.
Flight Control, I bought that one before it hit such high spots on the charts. Pleasant surprise and Rolando, maybe the most annoying game I've gotten. not so pleasant
i bought real soccer 2009, even tho i saw some negative comments, but that just gave me even more surprises, as there was no crashing and the controls and features were impeccable. for 99 cents it is awesome!