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MisterBananaFoam

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Astonishing Sequels in Game Series

As I have no doubt made clear in a previous list of mine, there are plenty of franchises with lackluster sequels under their belts. Perhaps they didn't quite live up to expectations, or maybe they strayed too far from the core game's unique features. Fortunately, in many cases, these catastrophes can be easily avoided, as evidenced by the following Astonishing Sequels in Game Series. If only all sequels could be as enriched and advanced as these titles.

Please note that I often periodically update my lists from time to time, with this one being no exception. Also, the quality of the game's predecessor need not apply to any of the games on this list. This means I'll can potentially put sequels to terrible games on this list as well.

List items

  • Man, I have logged countless hours of B-movie fun onto Just Cause 2. Maybe it's the terrific, fluent control scheme. Maybe it's the vast, immense landscape which you can explore every inch of. Perhaps it's the infinite amount of carnage you can cause all at once while soaking up bullets like you're made of steel. One thing's for sure, though: it's DEFINITELY not the dialogue. I never played the first Just Cause, which I heard was still alright but somewhat uninteresting, but whatever the first game had done, Just Cause 2 bumped it up about a hundred notches. This game has so much stuff to blow up and so many sidequests to finish that you'll most likely only be 15% done with the overall completion rank by the time you finish the story. Now THAT'S lengthy, gentlemen. All in all, Just Cause 2 captured that same exact feeling I encompassed when I first played Mercenaries, and the intense battles and constant chaos still arouse me and my friends to this day, a couple years after its release.

  • My family must have been jealous of Rareware for stealing much of my childhood from them with their excellent titles. The shining jewel that towered above all other Rare games for me at the time, however, was none other than Banjo-Kazooie. Few games could understand the full potential of the Nintendo 64 like Banjo-Kazooie did, with diverse levels, hilarious comedic overtones and euphoric gameplay to top it all off. It was the perfect spectacle of brilliance, so Rare decided to go beyond the impossible and attempt to create the sequel to end all sequels, Banjo-Tooie. And DAMN, did it outshine its predecessor. The previously massive world were QUADRUPLED in size, the character roster was revitalized with even more wacky personas (and some recurring faces from Kazooie), and more playable characters were added to the mix, such as the returning Mumbo Jumbo the shaman, who can access new areas and open up the landscape with his mighty magic powers. The levels were preciously and artfully designed to each become its own unique experience, ranging from Mayan-like temples to a sunken Atlantis to a half-fire, half-ice mountain range. This game was and still is Rareware's most significant achievement in their long-troubled past, making its mark as one of the most outstanding 3D platformers ever to grace a video game console. It's such a pity that it was followed up by a half-baked, vehicle-oriented sequel that while good on its own could never be called a Banjo game in its own right. You can see what I have to say about it in my Disappointing Sequels list.

  • Everyone has a tiny sliver of sorrow in their heart at the fact that Grand Theft Auto IV took the realistic route instead of being goofy and crazy like its predecessors. Fortunately for some, that feeling was wiped clean with the release of Saints Row, which essentially was the polar opposite of GTA IV at the time. It had wacky storyline missions, a dozen sidequests, an expansive arsenal, and loads and loads of content to unlock. How does its sequel, Saints Row 2, hold up compared to it, then? It pretty much, oh, I don't know, BLOWS IT THROUGH THE DAMN ROOF. The city feels like it was tripled in size, the missions kick vigorous amounts of ass, the side missions are wacky, dirty fun (come on, one of the missions has you SPRAYING SHIT FROM A SEPTIC TRUCK. Try and top THAT, Rockstar), and your character is more than a faceless, voiceless goon this time: he's the fucking boss of the Saints. That's right. You control the Saints now. This includes what they wear, what they drive, and how much firepower you want to give them. Saints Row 2 wasn't just a massive step in the right direction, it ENCOMPASSED the right direction for Saints Row 1. It was everything I had hoped SR1 would become and more. Saints Row 3 lived up to some hype as well, but was much shorter than both one and two in terms of the campaign, so I can't really say it deserves being on this list since it wasn't a humongous improvement to SR2. It was pretty good, though, and if you can find it for cheap, by all means, go and get it, and DEFINITELY pick up a copy of SR2 while you're at it.

  • Red Dead Revolver, the spiritual predecessor to this game - *ahem* - REVOLVED around the story of Red Harlow, a bounty hunter who sets off on a quest for revenge due to the early death of his parents. Revolver, in its own right, was a decent little third-person shooter with a few glaring flaws that kept it from becoming very popular. After its release, not a single mention of the series was uttered from Rockstar for a good half a decade, until Rockstar took a break from making Grand Theft Auto games to work on... a Grand Theft Auto game set in the wild west. I don't know about you, but I wasn't really that ecstatic the first time I heard the next Red Dead Redemption was going to heavily borrow from Grand Theft Auto since it seemed like Rockstar ran out of ideas to make the game good. So the game released, and I ignored it, but I looked in gaming magazines everywhere, and Red Dead Redemption was getting Game of the Year awards and perfect scores across the board. "How is this happening?" I thought to myself. Then we received the game as a Christmas gift. The curiosity overwhelmed me, and I simply had to see why Red Dead Redemption was so perfect, so I popped it into my 360... and I was in shock. Don't let any of the gameplay trailers fool you; Red Dead Redemption is, without question, one of the deepest gaming experiences I've ever had in a sandbox game. Really, that's all I can say. This game gives you an incomparable amount of activities to partake in, such as hunting wild animals and gambling. Hell, you can even skin the animal you kill for their pelts and trade them in for money, just like in the old days! However, that's not all you get out of Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar also managed to chisel an amazing, artful story line filled with dangerous shootouts, quirky personalities, and all-around exciting twists and turns, and let me tell you, the ending almost had me in tears, and I almost never cry. Oh, and the gameplay is fantastic. Your characters jump between cover with ease, and the unique Dead Eye feature from Revolver, which lets you slow down time and pump holes in your enemies by targeting them and letting loose, returns in glorious fashion. It never gets old targeting a man with a full 22-clip rifle and blasting him to pieces with every single bullet. If you're looking for the perfect personification of the wild west in a video game, this is as good as it gets. Rockstar managed to get everything right, and while it may be a GTA clone, it manages to be EVEN MORE EXPANSIVE than most of the GTA games I've played. Props to you, Rockstar, for relieving me of my doubts.

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