Sequels that far surpassed CRAPTASTIC original games, *NOT GOOD ORIGINALS*

[Tweak155]

I agree - if the game generated a sequel, it likely had at least a good first iteration. Only thing I can think that might fit those guidelines of a craptastic original but a fantastic follow up is something with a lot of backing, I.E Star Wars, etc.

Only thing I can think that comes remotely close is Burnout series. I really didn't like it until Burnout 3 which was of many epic proportions better than any racing game when it was released. It finally brought me to the point of not wanting to turn the console off.

EDIT:

And that was console. I can't think of any PC games unfortunately. I still love Diablo 1, I can't believe Diablo 2 is even a suggestion!

 

[AdamK47]

oh another one! Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines was FAR better than the first game.

Bloodlines and Redemption are not really a series. They are both based off of the Vampire: The Masquerade table-top games. Redemption was developed by Nihilistic and Bloodlines by Troika with Activision as the one with the license. Redemption is actually a pretty good game.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Mechwarrior 2 was such an amazing game compared to the original Mechwarrior. But then Mechwarrior 4 surpassed 2 by quite a bit.

6 years of hardware changes at that time was amazing difference in capabilities. But my point still stands that Mechwarrior was far and away from "craptastic" (any game that earned 5 out of 5 stars in reviews from the day is not craptastic).

 

[CountZero]

Saints Row 2 or (as mentioned) Just Cause 2?

I never played the original for either but word has it both originals were meh at best.

 

[micrometers]

Btw, do 3rd games in a series count, or just the direct second in a series?

because

 

[Olikan]

I agree that D2 was worse than D1. Or more it was almost exactly the same, and since I had played D1 to death, D2 felt old and boring from the first playthrough.

i did find the D2 a bit worse than D1....nothing really major, but that scary\frigtening feel always lacked the whole game

...yeah, nothing compared to what blizard done to that other game :whiste:

 

[Chapbass]

While not a PC game, the original Madden NFL football was terrible. Not that the sequels were any good, but the original...ouch.

 

[Martimus]

I know I said this before, but I think most people will agree that Elemental: War of Magic was a really bad game (completely unfinished when released). Elemental:Fallen Enchantress, on the other hand is one of the better 4X fantasy games I have ever played. This is the only truly Craptastic game I can think of that had a great sequel.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Mount and Blade: Warband. Its so much better than vanilla.

 

[oivoodsio]

The Witcher 2. TW1 wasn't a bad game, but TW2 definitely was a HUGE improvement over it.

Kind of not really the concept at all. The op is asking if any games went from miserable worthless originals to a sequel that was a huge hit, not something that was ok and then improved upon.

@op Idk if any games at all have pulled that off quite honestly. I dont think developers really get a second chance if you make a giant flop you don't try again with that game, sounds unlikely. I mean we clearly have some crappy sequels to games even if its 1 or 4 extras we time to time see a flop but give it, its due because the rest were good.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Dead space on pc was a horrendous port. Dead space 2 was much better

What are you talking about? I'm playing Dead Space right now and it's the perfect port: Customizable controls, no frame rate cap, fast loads from HDD, support for PC resolutions and refresh rates with VSYNC, and great performance. The default control scheme is horrible, but assign stasis to RMB, stomp to X, aim to shift, and run to spacebar, and the controls go from a confusing mish-mash to making natural sense.

 

[AdamK47]

The port of Dead Space to the PC wasn't really all that bad. The default mouse controls weren't very good, but I was able to change a setting in a config file that increased mouse movements. After that it was fine.

 

[datalink7]

Yeah, but I wouldn't called MechWarrior a craptastic game by any means. In fact, MechWarrior far surpassed MechWarrior 2 in many ways, just not graphically (such as having a story that you could do or completely skip. Open ended allowing you to go from world to world and accept missions that you wanted to accept. Actual negotiate on mission payouts, percentage of salvage profits, etc. Find and hire other pilots for your mech lance. Become an arms dealer by buying ammo, weapons, equipment, mechs in places that prices were low and shipping/selling them in locations which prices were high (following ComStar News articles on events occuring such as conflicts, uprisings, labor strikes, etc.)). In other words, a much more immersive game into the "game universe", then MechWarrior 2's simple you can do this fight or that one, but in the end, you will always do battle X, Y, an Z. And looking at the technology at the time, Mechwarrior was pretty advanced piece of work which was probably one of the first times in a game that specific hit boxes were used for shooting at specific locations of something else, allowing you to kill with a "BOOM! Headshot" for the first time that I am aware of in any game (2-3 years before Wolfenstein 3D even came out and another 3-4 more before hitboxes for specific body areas were added to FPS games!). And oh, did I mention that PPC's were not floating blobs that moved at about 5mph?

Maybe you're right, but Mechwarrior didn't have this epic intro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ql8NoIGZzQ

 

[DominionSeraph]

Maybe you're right, but Mechwarrior didn't have this epic intro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ql8NoIGZzQ

That "please comply," always irked me.

 

[Zeze]

lol @ people saying Half Life 1 was craptacular or mediocre.

That game changed FPS as we know it. It was the first game in FPS genre that built an immersive world with a novel-quality plot. It's basically a suspense genre. Half the time, you're solving puzzles or trying make sense of the environment around you.

Prior to that, FPS was all but run 'n gun.

Same goes for Diablo 1. Nothing beats the creepy atmosphere, the sound fx, and amazing music, Diablo 1 has created. D2 is a great game, but D1 was a first of its kind as well.

Nostalgia my ass. I played Diablo 1 just two years ago. Still friggin' amazing. That creepy feel that no other game in history could replicate...

 

[el aye]

I liked and played Rogue Spear a lot more than the original R6.

 

[Tweak155]

lol @ people saying Half Life 1 was craptacular or mediocre.

That game changed FPS as we know it. It was the first game in FPS genre that built an immersive world with a novel-quality plot. It's basically a suspense genre. Half the time, you're solving puzzles or trying make sense of the environment around you.

Prior to that, FPS was all but run 'n gun.

Same goes for Diablo 1. Nothing beats the creepy atmosphere, the sound fx, and amazing music, Diablo 1 has created. D2 is a great game, but D1 was a first of its kind as well.

Nostalgia my ass. I played Diablo 1 just two years ago. Still friggin' amazing. That creepy feel that no other game in history could replicate...

I agree. The combination of music and atmosphere has not been touched. Even the gameplay was ridiculously smooth, albeit slow now.

 

[Euchrestalin]

I would have to go with DXHR. Invisible war was terrible and i never made it past the first 20 minutes. DXHR was much better and on par with the original Deus Ex.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I would have to go with DXHR. Invisible war was terrible and i never made it past the first 20 minutes. DXHR was much better and on par with the original Deus Ex.

Oh hell no. DEHR was good on its own terms and a pretty good sequel, but DX was a masterpiece of gaming

 

[Fenixgoon]

Oh hell no. DEHR was good on its own terms and a pretty good sequel, but DX was a masterpiece of gaming

if you consider DEHR the "sequel" to DX2 then i it was definitely better.

DX is still great..i should go back and play it again. so many fantastic moments (i just did a power rush through BG2)

 

[el-Capitan]

Gothic 2 vs. Gothic 1

The sequel was awesome. Sunk hours, and hours, and hours....

 

[Childs]

Sequels That Nailed It

 

[Spades45]

I'm hoping Homefront 2 enters this list, we shall see though.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Sequels That Nailed It

Resident Evil 2????

 

[Dankk]

I'm hoping Homefront 2 enters this list, we shall see though.

It's being made by Crytek. My expectations aren't very high.