Haven't I seen you somewhere before strikes back, part 2, redux

First off, I'd like to mention a few movies that I forgot to mention and was reminded about by Lola in my post about movie sequels.  Two other sequels that are far superior tot he originals are "Terminator 2" and "Superman 2".  So thanks Lola for pointing out that oversight.  Funny thing is, those were two of the movies I specifically wanted to mention but just forgot about them.

Now, thankfully for us gamers, video game sequels seem to be a lot easier to pull off and be made into successful franchises.  Halo, Gears of War, Fallout, God of War, Metal Gear Solid and Grand Theft Auto are just a few of the many quality game franchises that come to mind.  And in the next 3-9 months, we will be seeing some phenomenal game sequels, including Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2, Left 4 Dead 2 and Mass Effect 2 among quite a few others.  At some point in the next 1 to 10 years we will also be seeing Diablo 3 and Starcraft 2, but with the way Blizzard works, no one knows when these will eventually be released.  But we do know that Blizzard time and again has put out some classic games, even with the long waits between titles.  You will notice I didn't mention any of the Madden games, the other EA sports games, or the Final Fantasy games.  I'm not sure if those qualify as sequels, but are more considered new installments in the series.

So what makes a quality game sequel?  A few things do, starting with gameplay.  I don't care how good a game looks, but if it has a crappy control system, most people are not gonna be playing it.  I will admit graphics are important, but you have to have good gameplay mechanics to back them up.  Another thing that makes a good game sequel is the story.  Now granted, games like Call of Duty don't depend as heavily on the story to carry the game, but games like Bioshock and Mass Effect do.  Graphics do end up being important if the game plays well, because if you have both of those going for you, most likely you have a hit game on your hands.  And lastly, the thing that makes game sequels what they are is you don't have to worry about replacing cast members who play important characters because they want more money.  I mean can you imagine if after "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" they had to replace Viggo Mortenson as Aragorn or Elijah Wood as Frodo with other actors?  Games don't have to deal with that issue to quite an extent thankfully.

Anyway, sit back and enjoy your sequels, both movie and video game.  I am off to spend some quality time with the Big Daddys.