Your most-improved sequels

[ssgt splatter]

Mass Effect 2, the combat felt SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Much better. Seriously combat in ME1 felt like a disabled man trying to open a cupboard while climbing an escelator.

Channeling Yahtzee there are we?

I'd say The Darkness 2's controls and gameplay was much better than the first game.
When I get home today, I'll see if Prototype 2's gameplay has improved at all as well.

All in all, most game sequels improve on the previous game's control schemes.

 

[WanderingFool]

In terms of actual gameplay-affecting things, I really liked the faction system in New Vegas. It made my choices feel just that much more important. Also, and this is a bit smaller, I GREATLY enjoyed the ability to see whether or not speech challenges would succeed or fail, before you choose them. I cannot TELL you how much that frustrated me in 3.

Thats what I really liked about New Vegas. In FO3, you could actually do all the quests with one character. In NV, choices made could lock out whole questlines, practically reqiuring you to play through with multiple characters.

Also, despite all the shit about the ending and such, Mass Effect 3 was, I felt, the best in the series. Mass Effect 1 was slow and the combat was sluggish. ME2 had better combat, but dropped alot of the "open-ness" that you had in ME1. ME3 had almost a good balance with combat and RPG elements.

*Edit*

Also, while its obviously not out yet, I hope Borderlands 2 is better than 1. As much as I loved the game, Borderlands hads its share of problems.

 

[TheCommanders]

Saints Row 2 - Improved everything from the first one. In addition, it managed to strike the perfect balance between ridiculous, serious, and badass. 1 was too serious, and 3 went babbling off to Narnia on the back of a purple pegasus. Good length, memorable characters and villains, great game.

Most of my other best sequels have already been mentioned, but I'll reiterate that Fallout: New Vegas is great.

 

[deleted_scifidownbeat]

DELETED

 

[Austin Howe]

Metal Gear Solid 2.

Oh boy, you better put up your flame shield before it's too late for you.

[http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/91829-shitstorm]

COME. AT. ME. BRO.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Pokemon Gold/ Silver.
While the other future series now make use of the night and day time, why is it only the Gold/ Silver (and Heartgodl and SoulSilver) game that once you beaten the Elite 4 you get to revisit Kanto (the first game)?
Ok sure the other series added a few islands (FireRed and LEaftGreen) or new explore areas within the region (Black and white) after beaten the Elite 4 but I want a revisit an old region dammit and without it being dumb down!!

 

[shadyh8er]

Tekken 2 to Tekken 3 was a HUGE improvement. The latter finally allowed you to get up immediately after getting floored.

I'll also be THAT guy and say Resident Evil 4 was a vast improvement over...the last Resident Evil game that came out before it. (Come at me)!

Honorable mention to Uncharted 2 over the first one.

 

[nuba km]

The second spectrobes game, the first was playable but the second was actually enjoyable.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

Silent Hill 2 is a good example but really I think the sequel that improved most over its predecessor is MGS3 which made the series good again...

 

[xxmyhero64xx]

I'm surprised I haven't seen this yet. Fable 2. Honestly the combat was MUCH more refined and when you got powerful enough it was as though you were playing a demigod. The story was a bit meh but apparently that's par for the course in Fable.

 

[zombieshark6666]

dragon age 2, 1 was awful from the ground up, the whole game was shoddy, but 2 was brilliant not a single issue

You be trollin'.

Why you troll?

You be carin'.

Why you care?

 

[Innegativeion]

Ratchet and Clank 2 set the standard for the rest of the franchise, and maaaan did it up the ante. More focus on gunplay and polishing it up went farther than you would think.

I agree and this point and would go on to say that the "big three" platformers of the Ps2 (ratchet, sly, and jak) had three of the best second-installment games of all time, as far as improvements go.

Going Commando introduced the weapon upgrades, a huge-ass arsenal, arena combat, and a new game plus that didn't eat all of your weapons.

Sly 2 provided 2 new playable characters, many new memorable villains, new platform and combat mechanics, purchasable tools/abilities, and toonami tie-in(teehee. peanuts.)

Jak 2 nearly took a 360 with the generic fantasy setting with hovercraft, ratchet-style guns, an expansive detailed metropolis, a more unique and thought out story, more objective-oriented mission structure, and the metalheads. The goddamn metalheads.

 

[RaikuFA]

Hyperdimension Neptunia.

The first one was my Worst Game award last year, the sequel is way better.

Plus, how can you deny a game where game piracy is the final boss?

 

[Innegativeion]

Pokemon Gold/ Silver.
While the other future series now make use of the night and day time, why is it only the Gold/ Silver (and Heartgodl and SoulSilver) game that once you beaten the Elite 4 you get to revisit Kanto (the first game)?
Ok sure the other series added a few islands (FireRed and LEaftGreen) or new explore areas within the region (Black and white) after beaten the Elite 4 but I want a revisit an old region dammit and without it being dumb down!!

Do they do handheld DLC yet? I've never owned a handheld outside Nintendo, and you know they are about the DLC, so I've no idea.

Previous region DLC would be a fucking gold mine for them. That, along with the lack of DLC in smash bros. brawl... such missed opportunities. It's almost as if Nintendo hates money. (I jest, of course...)

 

[realist1990]

No one mentioned MGS3 because MGS4 was such a let down afterwards

 

[putowtin]

dragon age 2, 1 was awful from the ground up, the whole game was shoddy, but 2 was brilliant not a single issue

While I may not agree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it.

I'm not on the "Dragon Age 2 sucks" bandwagon, but IMO the first game was superior in nearly everyway!

 

[Bugerion]

Why the f*** are people saying witcher 2?Second game is kind of better although I liked the first one a bit better because it was longer and had more story

 

[Norrdicus]

Another vote for Witcher 2. I do think TW1 is great, but someone hating the game due to clunky combat doesn't surprise me one bit.

Why the f*** are people saying witcher 2?Second game is kind of better although I liked the first one a bit better because it was longer and had more story

Yet Witcher 2 pretty much requires you to play it twice to understand the plot, because there's so much content you'll miss on first playthrough

God of War 2 (mostly incredibly tight balance compared to the first game)

 

[Jynthor]

Assassin's Creed 2. It went from being a tedious grindfest to a real fun game, it got improved in nearly every single way.

Saints Row 2. The first one was a fun sand box game, but it was still more or less a GTA clone, in SR2 it really got its own identity, you had A LOT of customization options, hilarious cutscenes/dialogue etc. It had the right balance between funny and serious. Sadly in SR3 they messed it up. Here's hoping the 4th will make things better.

The Elder Scrolls II Daggerfall/III Morrowind. As someone who played the original, let me tell you. It sucks. I never really got into Daggerfall, nor did I have the time, but I do know that in Daggerfall the lore of TES really started, More stuff to do, for example you actually had factions, and many side quests, Arena had very, very basic side quests, and they were all boring. I did play Morrowind and that one was amazing of course, a lot of TES fans will still tell you to this day that Morrowind is the best game in the series. And I can't blame them.

Lots of people mention the Witcher 2, but I won't include it on my list.
I absolutely loved the first one, yes that includes the combat, they were simply very different games. Thus I don't necessarily think it was a big "improvement" over the Witcher.

 

[Aarowbeatsdragon]

Assasins creed 2 improved on EVERYTHING from the first game. I despised the first game, still do!, and then AC2 came out and its one of my favorite game series of all time