Last night, I stayed up ludicrously late to beat Assassin’s Creed 2. It was one of those things where I knew I was closing in on the end of the game, and was willing to do whatever I had to in order to see the end. Fortunately for me, the game is a blast, and has easily become one of my favorites for this past year, if not one of my favorites of the generation.
Part of what is so fascinating about the game is that as a sequel, it is such a ludicrous improvement over the original it’s hard to even compare the two. The gameplay that was only hinted at in the first one seems fully realized here, and the story is way better to boot. I’d even recommend it to people that hated the first one, it’s such a great open world game in comparison.
When I really think about it, next to maybe Metal Gear Solid 3, it’s one of the best video game sequels I’ve ever played. Seriously. Maybe one of the greatest sequels ever made. Lots of games improve with new iterations, but there are some that occasionally take gigantic leaps over the predecessors in a way that’s hard to imagine. Metal Gear Solid 3 was one such game for me, because it blew MGS 2 out of the water completely. Uncharted 2 is a great sequel and game, but the first game was already good, where as the original Assassin’s Creed was just mediocre.
Anywho, all of that to ask you guys- what’s the best sequel to a game you’ve ever played? As good as AC2 is, I think MGS3 is still the king of all sequels. One of the greatest games of all time, hands down. What about you? Go!
Half-Life 2.
Far Cry 2 !… Im kidding.
MGS is one of those series that all I hear from everyone is that the “next one is better than the last”. I’ve only played the first 2 games, but MGS2 was absolutely amazing, even compared to MGS which was easily one of the best games for PS1.
How about GTAIII after GTA 2? going from 2D to 3D is a pretty significant change I think :). That’s got to be one of the best, seeing as GTAIII was one of the best games of it’s generation, if not ever. Best in the franchise for sure.
Uncharted 2 is far and above the first game. GTA III was a huge step up, as well.
Far Cry 2 was better than the first in every concievable way.
I’ll +1 your Uncharted 2 and AC2 decisions for the same reasons too.
One choice that I think will be more controversial than my Far Cry 2 suggestion is that of Twilight Princess. OoT is nowhere near as good. Yes Twilight Princess is very easy in comparison, but the level design and gameplay is leaps and bounds above the prior iteration. I left Wind Waker out because I think it sits between the two. OoT < WW < TP. I think I got those greater than/less than symbols correct but you get what I mean.
[quote comment=”9645″]Half-Life 2.[/quote]
This.
Assassin’s Creed II gets my vote too. Mass Effect 2 looks like it’s on track to top its predecessor as well.
Also, Majora’s Mask.
Shrek 2.
Oh, video games.
Hmmm, I’ll have to saaaaaaay…errrrrr…uhhhhhhh
Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time for Action-Platform-esque Dungeon Puzzle Adventure games,
Half Life 2 for Shooters (and mod-ability)
and Fallout 3 for Open-World RPG.
Yeah, I don’t believe in deciding on one.
HL2, MW2, UC2, TF2, GranTurismo5. Can’t really decide, but I think it’s between hl2 and uc2.
I find it funny that you stated UC2 as being out of the running because UC1 was good, but then say MGS3 is your favorite sequel even though MGS2 was an amazing game. Is it really that much better?
For me, though: Mediocre game made much better = AC2
Great game made incredible = Shadow of the Colossus (if it counts as a sequel), God of War 2 if not.
Well I didn’t think MGS2 was very good. Probably the worst of the bunch. And MGS3 is what I consider one of the greatest games of all time, and probably the best of last generation. So yes, MGS3 is much greater than MGS2 in my mind 🙂