304: Play It Again

[AvsJoe]

or maybe his friend's record goes gold and they all go out for fast food.

I'll have two number 9's, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45's, one with cheese, and a laaaaarge soda.

I have that line memorized; I won't forget it 'til the day I die.

 

[A Curious Fellow]

Why mention the other two myths in your opener if they aren't going to be a part of your thesis? I stopped reading halfway through the second paragraph.

Why argue with some dude who didn't even read the article? I set out to write a thoughtful response, but stopped writing somewhere in the second

Well played sir, touche. I stand impressed.

 

[Calvar Draveir]

I'm confused as to what Desmond misremembers in Assassin's creed. Do you mean that he misremembers it in the context of the Assassin's Creed universe or that he experiences a different version of history than the one we're told happened in real life?

 

[subtlefuge]

We often try to compare gaming to film, when a closer (although still inaccurate) comparison is television. A franchise is more organic than a film, and while a satisfying conclusion still needs to be reached by the end, the exposition can be infinitely more subtle. This opens up more interesting opportunities, and the ability to create "variations on a theme."

The book is always better, the adaptation is always worse, and sequels are always rotten ... When it comes to videogames, the first two rules still rule supreme, but the third is nowhere to be found.

Mega Man 8
Mega Man X6
US Super Mario Bros 2 (AKA Doki Doki Panic)
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (the mandatory green star half of the game before you could get to the final level sucked)
Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
Majora's Mask
Four Swords Adventures
Phantom Hourglass
Command & Conquer 4
Sonic Adventure 2

I could go on, but I think I made my point. There of plenty of rotten sequels to be found.

MM8-true
MM X6-true
US Super Mario 2- "Lost Levels" is the Bible for bad Mario rom hacks, so I think we got a good deal.
Mario Galaxy 2- come on, really?
Zelda 2- Progress isn't always pretty, but this game gets an unfair rep.
Majora's Mask- The most underrated Nintendo game, and my 2nd favorite Zelda game (behind WW).
Four Swords- Sequel to? Link to the Past? It's co-op, which was entirely different.
Phantom Hourglass- the DS is a love it or hate it thing, but isn't exactly rotten.
C&C 4- haven't played it, but you're probably right.
Sonic Adventure 2- sequel to the bad Sonic Adventure, it removed Big and the hub world, and offered a tighter and more satisfying mission structure and story arc. Substantially better than the first, but still not great.

 

[Iconsting]

Sly Cooper made leaps and bounds with every sequel.

 

[veloper]

In cinema, the best is always the original or the 2nd. The 3rd and everything after that always decline and good 3rd and 4ths are rare, even if the original was great.

In games there are high sequels that beat the original (WC3, COD4, CIV4bts, simcity4, homm3) so rule #3 doesn't apply.

Ofcourse the stories in games are mediocre, shit or non-existant and it doesn't matter. Film makers don't have that luxury.

 

[Brendan Main]

In cinema, the best is always the original or the 2nd. The 3rd and everything after that always decline and good 3rd and 4ths are rare, even if the original was great.

So it's the number three that does it. That makes sense, as the number is clearly haunted. But if that's the case, then tell me:


Does Toy Story 3 suffer from this type of decline? Could someone make a valid case towards it being the best of the bunch?

What about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? It's the darkest, and in some ways the oddest one. It's also the only one directed by Alfonso Cuarón, so does the "rule of threes" only apply to directors?

Third Bond film? Goldfinger. "No, mistah Bond, I expect you to DIE!" Can you see any of the decline you mention in that film?

(Of course, this is the movie where Connery spins a girl around, slaps her on the butt and says "Man talk" to get her to leave, so maybe it's a sign of the general decline of civilization as a whole.)

On the subject of Bond films, I thought Casino Royale was pretty rad. Is that the 21st Bond film, or the "first," since it's a reboot? Do reboots count among the rule of threes?

And then there's Sergio Leone, plunking around Italy and making a trilogy of Westerns. 1964, Fistful of Dollars. 1965, For a Few Dollars More.

The third film, in 1966? The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

I think The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly is a greater film than Fistful of Dollars, and I bet three full internets against anyone to convince me otherwise. When it comes to that film, I follow a very simple formula: I think it's Good. If you say it's Bad, then I call your mom Ugly.

 

[awdrifter]

I think the reason why games defys the 3rd rule is mainly because of technology. Back in GTA1&2, there's simply no way of making a fully 3D game, so the devs compromised. When the tech is able to produce a 3D game, they switched to 3D, we the gamers loved it. GTA4 is another graphical and gameplay improvement, but that's about it. It's the technology that allows the developers to improve the games.

On the other hand take a look at Crysis 2. It was panned by users, because Crysis 1 pushed the graphics envelope so much that Crysis 2 isn't able to surpass it yet. The technology is not there yet.

As long as technology continue to improve at the current pace, we'll see better sequels in games. Whether it's 3D, motion control, mind control or whatever they can come up with to improve the grahics and gameplay.

 

[olicon]

It's a good read--and it's also a topic that is truly taken for granted. I've never thought about it until now.

 

[veloper]

In cinema, the best is always the original or the 2nd. The 3rd and everything after that always decline and good 3rd and 4ths are rare, even if the original was great.

So it's the number three that does it. That makes sense, as the number is clearly haunted. But if that's the case, then tell me:


Does Toy Story 3 suffer from this type of decline? Could someone make a valid case towards it being the best of the bunch?

What about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? It's the darkest, and in some ways the oddest one. It's also the only one directed by Alfonso Cuarón, so does the "rule of threes" only apply to directors?

Harry Potter and Toystory are mediocre stories for kiddies. Maybe the third one is better, maybe not, but why bother when the whole thing isn't worth the time?

Third Bond film? Goldfinger. "No, mistah Bond, I expect you to DIE!" Can you see any of the decline you mention in that film?

(Of course, this is the movie where Connery spins a girl around, slaps her on the butt and says "Man talk" to get her to leave, so maybe it's a sign of the general decline of civilization as a whole.)

IMO Bond films are too predictable to be good. The first one set the pattern for all to follow. Which one is best? None of them.

On the subject of Bond films, I thought Casino Royale was pretty rad. Is that the 21st Bond film, or the "first," since it's a reboot? Do reboots count among the rule of threes?

Yeah it was alright, but better than a Sean Connery Bond? Not so sure. Ask some fan instead.

And then there's Sergio Leone, plunking around Italy and making a trilogy of Westerns. 1964, Fistful of Dollars. 1965, For a Few Dollars More.

The third film, in 1966? The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

I think The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly is a greater film than Fistful of Dollars, and I bet three full internets against anyone to convince me otherwise. When it comes to that film, I follow a very simple formula: I think it's Good. If you say it's Bad, then I call your mom Ugly.

A good film, but not a sequel.