Above, a scene from “Destiny.” (Photo credit: Activision)

By Omar L. Gallaga
Austin American-Statesman

The thing about video games and expectations is that it’s probably best not to have any.

Once in a while, if you’re an avid gamer, something may come across your game controller that is genuinely surprising. Perhaps it’s an inexpensive indie game that pops up in an online bundle or a free download for members of Xbox Live or the PlayStation Plus club that introduces you to a game you wouldn’t otherwise play. Sometimes going back to an old game reveals new charms (or alleviates old aggravations).

But for the most mainstream video games, the massive-budget ones that line up on store shelves and begin arriving in a bigger, steadier stream as the holidays approach, too much knowledge is the norm.

Video games like this take years to produce. The hype cycle for a title like September’s epic release “Destiny” can seem endless. When Bungie, the studio that released the game with Activision, first introduced the concept of the game in late 2012, it promised a rich sci-fi universe that would continually evolve and a social media element that would link the game to the outside world in new and unique ways.

What finally happened, now that the dust has settled on a gigantic ad campaign and the reviews are in, is that “Destiny” turned out to be in some ways a very mediocre game, one that earned mixed reviews and which was taken to task for an almost comically generic story.

It’s fine. It’s OK. But it was supposed to be game-changing.

The perception that had built around the game thanks to a jaw-dropping TV commercial featuring Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” and goodwill toward the studio that built the “Halo” franchise suddenly changed. This was a gorgeous game with all the potential in the world that suddenly seemed hollow and safe, just another mindless shooter in a genre full of them from a studio that can, and has, done better.

My own experience with “Destiny” was not great and not long. After being initially dazzled by its sleek look and fairly easy learning curve, I began to feel like I was seeing the same spots over and over again. And the story, featuring “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage as a helpful guide orb (I’m not making that up), was ponderous without making any sense. All the names in the story (“The Traveler,” “Guardians”) felt like placeholders that never got a final polish.

I was expecting smart and savvy, a “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Instead, I got a lifeless “Star Wars” prequel.

And that may be my fault. I followed the game’s progress as it was being developed, enjoying beautiful screenshots and absorbing gameplay trailers as they were released. I was hoping I would fall in love with “Destiny,” that it would be my new regular jam. I had a lot of time to build up the game in my mind before I actually played it, and by the time it got here, the shortcomings in “Destiny” felt like dealbreakers.

The reviews and reaction of players like me haven’t stopped the juggernaut, though. It sold about 5 million copies in its first week, and Sony says that “Destiny” is the most-played game on the PlayStation 4 console, “with total gameplay 5x higher than the second most-played title,” according to a press release sent out Thursday. It will get sequels. The franchise is just starting.

The game has a “player-versus-player” battle mode and has gotten a boost from a “loot cave” glitch that has rewarded players in slot machine-like fashion with weapons and gear. If the lackluster storytelling in “Destiny” is a problem for some, others have soldiered on by finding different aspects of the game to enjoy.

Shortly after “Destiny” launched, a theory began making the rounds online about what the narrative in “Destiny” is really about and how, looked at from a certain way, the entire premise of the game could be a massive deception. Like the indie darling “Braid” from a few years ago, looking at the characters differently could yield a whole different experience and all kinds of moral questions to explore.

As I read about that bold idea, I thought, “Why couldn’t I have been playing THAT game?” And if that theory is true, why is Bungie waiting so long to reveal a much more interesting, provocative game than what’s been served so far?

Video game pleasure versus expectation can work the other way, too. The new action game “Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor” had been racking up game conference awards prior to its release, but I mostly ignored the attention.

Another “Lord of the Rings” video game? I had already given up on the “Hobbit” films, finding them long and tedious and completely unnecessary. (In a word: “Hobbity.”) How could a game set in that tired world be compelling at this late date?

But the reviews, almost universally positive, convinced me to give the game a try. And while many elements of the game are borrowed from successful games such as the “God of War” series and the most recent “Batman: Arkham” titles, “Shadow of Mordor” so expertly combines game styles, story and action that it delivers one of the year’s best video game experiences.

Story-wise, it’s not too complicated. You’re a guy whose family has been slaughtered by evil monsters. You become a wraith, and you’re out for revenge. There are orcs all over the place. You know what to do with that sword.

But it’s much brainer than it sounds in the execution, with sly touches, a dynamic sense of style and an open-ended method of delivering game missions. When you’re killed by an enemy (this happens to me a lot), you’re shown a clever summation of who smited you, what power they gained from your defeat, what other monster might have dueled them in victory’s wake and how that fight turned out. You can choose a target of revenge for your post-resurrection fighting and ignore that grudge or pursue it as doggedly as a Park Chan-wook movie character.

Those in the gaming press knew that “Shadow of Mordor” was going to be something special, but for those of us who dismissed it unseen as just another Tolkien-themed cash-in, it’s great news. This game doesn’t suck!

I’m hooked and thrilled to be playing something that doesn’t leave me as disappointed as “Destiny.”

But most of all, in a world of too much knowledge, I’m happy to be so surprised.