Once We Pop, We Just Can’t Stop!

Gamers have an obsession and it’s one I’m not immune to – we always want more. Whenever a new game is played, if it was any good (admit it) the first thought is always I wonder if they’ll do a sequel. We’re never happy with what we’re given and always want an extra game or twenty. But then the sequel comes along and da da daaaaaaaaa! it’s rubbish and we all end up saying they shouldn’t have bothered with the sequel. Whilst this must leave the games industry incredibly confused by what we want I started thinking about what makes a good (or bad) sequel.

The problem with sequels is trying to change the right amount of things to keep it true to the original whilst still captivating the players with a new storyline and updated technology. Final Fantasy XI will forever be seen by the majority of JRPG fans as “not a Final Fantasy” as it was so radically different that it really shouldn’t have been included in the series. Mass Effect 2 was wonderfully pleasing in so much that it contained everything that the original introduced but was also much improved with smoother systems and more in depth characters. My favourite casual series on the PC, Virtual Villagers, is now on to its fourth installment and it’s so nice to see the basics kept in from game to game with new challenges brought in each time. On the flip side, Bioshock 2 felt the need to add in a multiplayer mode, something that a lot of people felt was unnecessary and didn’t really fit the mood of the game.

The strange thing is that many games wouldn’t be looked down upon so much if only they accepted that the game was too different and stuck a different title on it, but seriously, are we that fussy?! Okay, in general yes, and I for one would have much preferred FFXI to be called “FF: The online one that is nothing like the others” just so I felt justified in disliking a title in one of my favourite series (a slight segue, but a similar argument to the Scrubs series on TV if anyone has been following it). The point is that, as a series progresses, our ideas about what it constitutes become increasingly cemented and I find it very disconcerting when a title falls outside these boundaries in an effort to be “different” or “new”. A favourite game series can become like a virtual comfort blanket for me, as picking a title that I understand the workings of means I can plough straight in and reminisce about the previous titles in the series.

There is a wealth of good and bad sequels out there and I generally lap them up but it is always a risky path to take. However, looking at the year ahead there are so many sequel titles on my wishlist that I just hope they don’t let me down. Here’s to FFXIII, Dead Rising 2, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, Two Worlds: Two and all the other sequels that I will be anxiously waiting for this year.