10 game sequels that shouldn't have been made

Everyone has a favorite video-game, don’t they? After spending a few hours of your life in a game and feeling truly fulfilled by it, when it turns out brilliant, naturally you get excited, when they announce a sequel is underway. You tick off each day, waiting for the game to arrive, and when it does, you hurriedly buy it online or from stores. Finally the game is in your hands, and with trembling hands, you put the CD inside the console, waiting for the game to load and anticipating a few more hours of wonderful gameplay. But what you see onscreen, disappoints you big time, and you sulk for weeks to come…If the above scenario feels familiar, presenting you a list of ten sequels that you definitely need to avoid, if you don’t want to face disappointment again.

#10 Metal Gear Solid 2

The game gave us one of the strongest male heroes also gave us a sequel that never uses that that protagonist, and that’s disappointing. No, I don’t mean to say that game is disappointing; it’s fairly entertaining and received much critical appreciation on its release. The disappointment arises when you have a bland hero in Raiden, instead of utilizing Solid Snake as a hero, who surprisingly was there in the game. The sequel has more cut-scenes and actual gameplay, making it look like you are watching a movie more than playing a game.

#9 Deus Ex: Invisible War

Following the same disappointing trail as the previously mentioned game, Invisible War has exactly the same problem as MGS2 – it is a great game, but compared to its highly superior predecessor, it sorely lacks in thrills. The gameplay doesn’t use much of the innovative warfare the previous game used, and the plot is also not that engaging. However, the prequel, Human Revolution, stays true to the spirit and scores highly.

#8 Prince of Persia: Warrior Within

Sands of Time was a truly revolutionary game, even inspiring a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal. The sequel was definitely expected, therefore it was truly a letdown when Warriors Within released, and we were left looking at a game, that tried to very hard to be different from its predecessor, and that’s what becomes its undoing. The morbid one, the unsuitable sound-track and the lagging narrative doesn’t do any good to a game, that’s known for its fun elements.

#7 Max Payne 2

Max Payne is a legend, and so is the first game. Never has the bullet-time so beautifully been used in any game, and the dark themes make this game a definite one that you could play again and again. Max Payne 2 too follows the same tone of its predecessor, but there is some thrill sorely lacking here. There was nothing new in the narration, and the bullet-time was feeling a bit jaded by now. Thankfully, Max Payne 3 perked up the interest, making us ask for another installment.

#6 Devil May Cry 2

Devil May Cry is well popular for its innovative action and stylish game-play, and its hero, Dante, is an icon on his own. Unfortunately, he and his charm could do little to save the bland sequel that followed. Losing many of the appealing features of the first game, DMC2 turns out to be just a run-of-the-mill kind of sequel, no first-class game actually wants. Thankfully, DMC3 doesn’t repeat the same mistakes and revives our interest in the Capcom series again.

#5 Duke Nukem Forever

When a sequel comes after fifteen years, you expect fireworks to come out of it, and not fizzle out like a wet cracker. Unfortunately for all Duke Nukem fans, the yellow-haired, cigar chomping hero seems to have reach a level of stagnation. With so much development that have happened in that long period of time, the makers seem to oblivious to the happenings, sticking to the tried and tested. It was like having old wine in a new bottle, only in this case, the bottle seems to corrode the wine.

#4 Halo 2

If there was a list of any games that effectually blend stylish action with beautiful visuals, you can be sure Halo will certainly be in top three. One of the best sci -fi action thrillers, Halo has everything going for it…except for a good sequel. Halo 2 has only thing going for it – the multi-player campaign. The single-player campaign sucks big time, almost throwing all the good name the first game has made for itself out of the window. The combat is boring, the visuals are stuck in a continuous loop, and there are glitches galore.

#3 Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil series is not exactly a consistently great series, but no one can deny that Resident Evil 5 had brought life back into the flogging series. However, the sixth title undoes everything. It throws away the basic genre of the series, which is horror-action third party shooter, and turned it into a pure actioner, sacrificing all the horror elements for being a generic shooter. Some stages are too hard to get by, while others are just flaccid. Maybe it’s time to shut down the shop.

#2 GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

GoldenEye is one of the best James Bond titles in the video-game genre. The sequel for this particular title, Rogue Agent, just damages everything. It’s just a generic game that does nothing much to the Bond legacy; in fact, if you take out the Bond name, it make no difference to the game. Plus, the graphics are sub-standard, with technical glitches strewn around, and the action, just ho-hum. There is just nothing golden about it…

#1 Bomberman: Act Zero

Bomberman is one of those classic games that used to rule arcade and consoles in our childhood, along with Super Mario Bros., Contra and Donkey Kong. Then they brought out Act Zero, and our childhood was ruined. The worst of the lot here, the game literally bombs the image of Bomberman, by taking out the innocence of the game completely. The camera angles are so awkward that you can’t figure out what’s actually going out there. The only thing they have taken from the original source is explosions and…that’s it…only the explosions…