8 Videogame Sequels that Surpass the Original Game

[Ihateregistering1]

As someone said, I can't believe there was no mention of Diablo 2. That game was just an insane leap in quality over Diablo 1.

I actually preferred the original God of War over 2. I like how you started off not really knowing anything about Kratos or what was going on, but the story fed you small snippets throughout the game that explained his backstory. I also thought it felt more grounded and had more of an "adventure" feel to the whole thing.

But definitely disagree with HL2 being on there. I still like the game a ton, but I don't think it held a candle to the original. The original was a game-changer for FPS games, and while 2 was excellent, it also suffered from vehicle sequences that went on too long, uninspired weapons, AI that was actually a step backwards from HL (oddly), and a plot that left way too many questions unanswered. Also, why would requiring online activation be considered such a positive? Ok, yes, Steam was a positive, but I'm not sure I can credit HL2 entirely for that.

 

[Nazulu]

Some of these are a complete absolute load. Half Life 2 especially, even though I love the game (except some parts).

Besides things like the story giving little motivation and some of the forced cut-scenes (yeah, I said it) becoming stale quick (especially the ones where it feels like Gordon is a mute or is treated like a child), the game and boss design is really lacking in a lot of area's.

Also Half Life has been called the greatest by many as well, including I'm not sure if being the first game to require online activation is a positive.

 

[Kyle Winston]

In the Pokemon franchise, I think the Gen2 games were superior to Gen1. Gen2 had everything Gen1 had, while adding enough to make it more than a rehash type sequel. Gen2 added day/night cycles, breeding, new methods of evolution, branch evolution, two new types, held items to name a few. Arguably the best addition is that you can go against the Gen1 protagonist in an epic battle atop the highest peak in the land.

Eevee was the original branch evolution though

Apologies for my faux pas. I should have known better.

Another sequel that I think is better than the original is Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward to Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. Zero Escape had more puzzles that were more varied and had multiple solutions. The characters had a bit more depth to them and the story seemed bigger.

 

[sonicneedslovetoo]

Daikatana... FOR GAME BOY.
No seriously Daikatana for game boy is a significant improvement over the original game in almost every way, if you don't believe me you can look it up.

 

[RealRT]

SR3 all the way. SR2 looked like shit and played accordingly.

 

[major_chaos]

I will never understand the love for SR2. Not only did it still reek of me-too GTA clone, the limited "humor" clashed so garishly with the gritty brutality that it actually made me uncomfortable. It almost felt like half the team wanted to make "GTA but 1000% edgier and more shocking" and the other half wanted "GTA but wacky" and the result is a grotesque parody of humor, like seeing a clown at a distance only to get closer and realize its a murder victim with their eyes gouged out and a clown mask crudely sewn to the face. SR3 certainly lost some thing, but as far as I'm concerned it was a worthy trade off for the series finaly having a unique identity and consistent tone. I would still put SR4 over SR3 by quite a bit however.

Only thing on the list I would disagree with is Half-Life 2. I love HL1, but almost everything about the sequel felt worse. The sense of atmosphere was totally gone, the guns somehow had even less weight and impact, the excellent pacing and tight level design was replaced by huge swaths of meandering pointless vehicle sections, and the already not amazing enemy variety was made even worse. It has always been very weird having the game that, for most people, cemented Valve as gaming royalty be what killed my interest in them as developers.

 

[New Troll]

Lack of Silent Hill 2 is puzzling. And after reading some of these comments, I'd also add Diablo 2. I realize you could only choose eight games, but with all the gossip around Silent Hills these days, I figured Silent Hill 2 would have been the highlight of the list.

Was glad to see Borderlands 2 though!

My personal 8:
1. Silent Hill 2
2. Diablo 2
3. Borderlands 2
4. Master of Orion 2
5. Dynasty Warriors 2
6. Postal 2
7. Half-Life 2
8. Team Fortress 2

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Nope. Saints Row 2 was the highlight of the franchise. Better story, better gameplay and better character customisations.

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

Doom 2 > Doom
Fallout 2 > Fallout
Descent 2 > Descent
Monkey Island 2 > Monkey Island
Diablo 2 > Diablo
Master of Orion 2 > Master of Orion
Dungeon Keeper 2 > Dungeon Keeper
TIE-Fighter > X-Wing

Wow, this 'bashing out a subjective list in under five minutes' thing is a real breeze!

 

[THM]

Surprised Bioshock 2 wasn't on there. 1 had the twist, and it was a very good twist, but 2 not only had dual-wield, but multiplayer. Added to that, its story had more of an emotional impact - simpler, yes, but it packed a greater punch. And to be honest, it didn't feel like you HAD to know what happened in 1 to enjoy it.

 

[Jacked Assassin]

From Best to Worse Saints Row in my opinion.

Saints Row 2
+ Better Driving Controls. The right trigger was still a gun. It had auto drive so you can focus on shooting instead of worrying about how fast or slow you were going.
+ 3 Different gangs plus Ultor with there own unique stories.
+ Rewatchable Cut Scenes.
+ Vehicles that can spray water, steam, & sewage! Rare Vehicles you can steal in certain missions. And Monster Trucks, but they couldn't flatten vehicles.
+ You can taunt 2 different NPCs into fighting each other.
+ A promise we'll get to kill Dex in the next game. (Based on a DLC.)
- A Bug that can permanently remove hair.
- If you play in co-op escort as a guest you'll be the prostitute. This negative probably doesn't effect you if you're bisexual but it can be uncomforting for everyone else who isn't attracted to a particular gender.

Saints Row The 3rd
+ Female Russian Accent was awesome! So was the orange Cheetah Leopard Face Paint that I used with Orange Skin! Basically their was some customization I really enjoyed for a Female Character I made.
+ The RC Gun was fun to use while robbing your own stores. Also some very amazing Gun DLCs like The Shark Gun & that Genki Gun with the mind controlling octopuses that can explode.
- The 3 gangs are technically 1 gang.
- The story makes nudity mandatory during a mission. This turned me off on the idea as replaying as a male. And made it confusing as to why my female would object if she was already nude.
- There wasn't a Vagina Weapon to go with my Dildo Bat. Like a Vagina Gun that shoots out ping pong balls.
- No hidden islands. (That I know of so discard this negative if you know any.)
- We didn't get to kill Dex. (Like a Saints Row 2 DLC implied.)

Saints Row 4
+ I enjoyed it regardless of all of the negatives.
- Once again mandatory nudity so I didn't replay as a male again.
- Female Russian Accent replaced by a French one.
- Powers while enjoyable made most vehicles unnecessary.
- No Boats.

- A negative for all of the above is DLC vehicles. Because they couldn't be customized, took up slots, & made stealing vehicles kind of pointless.

Saints Row
+ I kind of enjoyed creating a Male Character. The lack of Female Character Creation wasn't a negative for me.
- I have to dress the way the game wants me to if I want to gain respect. And some of the clothes I rather wear give me negative respect.
- Man, this game is really hard. (Discard this negative if you think I just suck at playing the first Saints Row.)

Saints Row: Gat Out Of Hell.
+ I enjoyed the endings.
- You have to play as Gat in the final boss fight in you aren't in co-op.
- No option to play as your created character after beating it.
- Least scary version of Hell I've seen. Maybe it could've looked more hellish if it weren't for all the paved roads. And they replaced the vehicles with mounts like The Raptors in Saints Row 4. Or even the Tiger that was in The 3rd & a cut scene in 4.
- Not enough cameos & even then they were reduced down to Husks.
- Ultor Tower doesn't look like it did in Saints Row 2.
- So bad I hope that if there is another Saints Row its a reboot.

_
As for Resident Evil 4 it ruined Resident Evil. And those encouraging Capcom to make more sequels like Resident Evil 4 continue to destroy this series.

 

[The Real Sandman]

Why do I come here anymore? The Escapist has been going downhill for a good year now, and these cheaply cobbled together articles and bits of click bait are part of the problem. Apart from Yahtzee and Shamus, The Escapist is several cow skulls and tumble weeds away from being a barren wasteland.

Not even gonna bother commenting on this post in particular, because the users above already quoted most of my thoughts verbatim.

You're always welcome to move on to greener pastures, pilgrim. No malice intended just saying if you're not gonna contribute to the discussion, and are gonna echo the "this place is dead" sentiment, you may have no more business here. Sorry but I don't see why you wasted time posting that when you could just close the tab and find something else to do, nothing of what you said is constructive or furthers any conversation/discussion.

Fair point, guess I was in a mood that day.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Fair point, guess I was in a mood that day.

We all have those days, its well understood. I've had the sentiment as well, I just reserve it to other spaces where it doesn't possibly derail a discussion. Have better days and goodwill to you and all.

 

[soren7550]

Sequels I would have included are:

- Pokemon Gold/Silver (and to an extent, HeartGold/SoulSilver)
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (shit, that game went on to change pretty much all military FPSs and multiplayer)
- Mass Effect 2/3 (they surpass the previous game in very different ways however, 1 is still the best story and size wise)
- Fable 2 (maybe it's because I was only able to play Fable: Anniversary, and it was pretty buggy when it came out, but I just don't get how so many people insist it's the best in the series)

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Halo 3 - STILL, after more than seven years, the best Halo for multiplayer. Period.

Unreal Tournament - Started a generation of multiplayer shooters and gave even Quake 3/id a SERIOUS run for their money. Currently still (generally) agreed upon as the best UT today. Well, until UT4 starts ramping up here which it is getting seriously close to.

Red Faction: Guerilla - Showed us a true evolution of the destruction engine that was first showed in the original Red Faction. Better graphics, better gameplay, more everything, open world... And in HD too. What more could you want?

Timesplitters 2/3 - The jury is still out on this one but for me personally, definitely 3.

Banjo Tooie - Banjo Kazooie was really really good. Yet somehow, Tooie managed to be better in pretty much every way.

Riven - When Myst first came out, it was incredibly amazing and almost one of a kind. However, it quickly began to show its age after a bit and it just continued to look worse from there. But then Riven came out and completely showed Myst how it was done in almost every department. And while the graphics today look kinda grainy still, it is still far and away much easier on the eyes and just simply better to play than Myst was, almost making the original game obsolete really.

Portal 2 - No more ****ing cake! Thank the gods... Valve was listening to our prayers when they made this. XD Plus, super effing awesome massive abandoned 1950's/60's era deep deep DEEP underground facilities you explored. I loved that part so much for some reason. And the characterization and story was even better than in the first one, plus more fun physics toys, and greatly expanded multiplayer with full custom content support and a bunch of awesome small little touches everywhere make this game truly stand out over the first one. Like Riven, it almost makes the original game obsolete but then again, the first game still serves as a really good introduction to the series so there you go.