10RiskiestGamingSequelsThat

DidntPayOff
http://www.gamescdkey.com/news/10-riskiest-gaming-sequels-that-didnt-
pay-off
Please, sir, I want some more, remarks Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens most renowned novel,
anditcansometimesfeellikecompaniespictureusgamersasOliver;onlywerebeggingforproper
sequelsratherthananotherservingofgruel.Howeverinadditionweresousedtoseeingthesame
titlesoverandoverthatweenthusiasticallycelebratenewIPsbeingunveiledatpressconferences,
simplybecauseitmightbesomethingnewandexcitingtoplay.Ofcoursethemajorityofsequels
are exactly what we want as gamers but saturation is a regular danger that developers must be
aware of, as when the number of instalments in a series grows, so too does the risk of mass
disappointmentalteringtheformulaforasuccessfulgametoomuchwillleadtofansturningon
aseries,ratherthanembracingit.Eventheverybestgamescanhavearushedordisappointing
sequel which could ruin a developers reputation in a heartbeat one game on this list was so
unwelcomethatitactuallyledtojoblossesitseemssequelsareaveryriskybusinesswhennot
handled appropriately. Theres a wide variety of faults displayed in the gamesselected for this
article;fromcontroversialnewfeaturestopoorlydevelopedstorylineswhichactuallyundermine
the series as a whole. All have the same thing in common though; these are games that really
shouldnothavebeenmadeorattheveryleast,shouldhavestuckmoretoanestablishedcomfort
zone.Whiletheymayhavebeenacommercialorcriticalsuccess(notthecaseforeveryentryon
thislist),fanreactioncanmakeorbreakaseriesandsomeofthesegameswereturnedonalmost
instantly. Let this be a lesson to game developers all over the world: be careful when creating a
sequeltoawelllovedgame;sometimesitsfarbettertoleaveitwellaloneinstead.
10.TombRaider:TheAngelOfDarkness
TombRaiderisagreatseriesbecausetheconceptisafairlybasiconetograsp,aseversinceIndiana
Jonesstolethatgoldenidolandescapedthebouldertrapwevefalleninlovewithtalesofaction
adventure,andLarasiconicseriesswasoneofthefirsttosuccessfullycapturethatinavideogame.
Withamixofgreatplatforming,intelligentpuzzlingandexcitingcombat,itsaseriesthatremains
intheheartsofmany.SowhydidtheytrytochangethatbasicformulasomuchwithTheAngelOf
Darkness? Mixing RPG elements into a new genre can lead to some exciting games (look at the
Mass Effect series as an obvious example) but its not always guaranteed to work. Levelling up
Shepards abilities to add a dynamic range of skills to use on the battlefield? Great. Moving
wardrobes so that Lara feels a bit stronger? Not so thrilling.Telling the games story through
conversationswithNPCsalsobackfiredforthesoontobedefunctCoreDesign;itjustbecamefar
tootedious.Addinginmoreobviousgameplayrevisionslikeawkwardstealthsections(again,an
unnecessary addition to a series which was highly successful without them) also proved to be a
badidea.ThebacklashtothisgamewassohugethatCoreDesignlostcontroloftheTombRaider
franchise(despitehavingdevelopedeverygameuptothatpoint)andthesecondfilmintheLara
CroftseriesCradleOfLifefloppedattheboxofficewithParamountfirmlyblamingTheCradle
OfDarknessforcausingabacklashacrosstheentirefranchise.WaytokickCoreDesignwhenthey
weredownguys.
9.PerfectDarkZero
Creatingavideogameforanewconsoleslaunchwindowisasurprisinglydifficulttask.Notonly
are the developers working with new, more complex technology; theyre also under pressure to
deliver a mustbuy title to justify buying a new console in the first place. Its exactly why the
majorityoflaunchtitlesforanewconsoleareunderwhelming;developersneedtimetolearnthe
intricaciesofnewhardwarebeforedevelopingexcitingnewtitles.Imaginewhatitmusthavebeen
likeforRarewhendevelopingPerfectDarkZerothen.Notonlyhadthegamebeenindevelopment
forfiveyears(originallysettoreleaseontheGamecubebeforeMicrosoftpurchasedthestudio)it
alsoborethenameofoneoftheNintendo64sbiggesthits.Ultimately,PerfectDarkZerofailedto
live up to those lofty standards as certain elements of the game are just okay (the design was
generallywellreceived)butthestoryandvoiceactingarehilariouslybad.Thegameplayispretty
standardfareforanFPSandthemultiplayermodewhichutilisedXboxLiveontheXbox360for
thefirsttimedidntreallysettheworldalighteither.Coopmodeswereawelcomeadditionbut
really, there was little replay value to be had here. Is failing to live up to your older siblings
achievementsacrime?Inthegamingworld,yesitis.SorryPerfectDarkZero,youregoingaway
foralong,longtime.
8.ForzaMotorsport5
LikePerfectDarkZero,Forza5waschosenasalaunchtitlefortheXboxOne,andlikewiseitdidnt
liveuptoexpectations.Upuntilthefifthinstalment,theForzaserieswasregardedasoneofthe
finestdrivingsimulatorsaround(manywouldarguethatiteasilytoppedGranTurismo)andwhile
Forza5containedsomeofthebestgameplaytheserieshasknown,italsostrippedawayseveral
features and added in one that all gamers fear microtransactions. Of course, that isnt entirely
Turn10sfault,afterallitwasMicrosoftwhohadlatchedontothisnewlove forrinsinggamers
walletsaftertheyvepurchasedsomething.Howeverthegamewaswoefullyunbalancedtowards
payingrealmoney;ingamecreditstooktimetoaccumulate,makingthemoreexpensivecarsin
thegamealongtermgoal.Eventhen,somecarscostupwardsof50tobuywithrealmoney
morethantheactualgameitself.ItwasamessandTurn10wererightfullycriticisedforitinthe
end. On top of that, Forza 5 featured significantly less content than in previous games with 200
carsand15coursesavailablefromthegetgo.ConsideringForza4featured500carsand26courses,
youcanunderstandwhypeoplewereannoyed.Thankfully,Turn10haverectifiedmanyofthese
problems,makingtwonewcoursesavailableforfreeanduppingthecreditsreceivedthroughin
gameracing.Still,theirreputationisstillintatterswithsomeanditllbeinterestingtoseehowthe
communityreactstoanewForzatitle.
7. DeusEx:InvisibleWar
Nowadays,wetakemultiplenarrativepathsandplayerchoicesforgranted;gameslikeTheWalking
DeadandMassEffecthavemadethemeffortlesslycommonplace.Backin2000though,choosing
yourownstoryinvideogameswasalmostunheardof.EnterDeusEx,agamewhichsucceededin
puttingpowerbackintoplayershands.Nearlyeveryprobleminthegamehaddifferentsolutions,
allowingforplayersusingdifferentskillstogetaround.Infact,gettingthroughacertainwaywould
rendersomeofthegamescontentinaccessible,greatlyincreasingthegamesreplayvalue.Most
importantly, there are consequences to actions within the game killing certain people or
completinganobjectiveacertainwaywillchangehowpeopletreatyou;itwasprettyrevolutionary
at the time. So, inevitably, a sequel followed. Despite being well received critically, Deus Ex:
InvisibleWarwastrouncedbyfans.Thegamesstorylinerevolvedaroundaconflictbetweentwo
groups over nanoaugmentations (tinymachines which give people superhumanesque abilities)
andatonepoint,yourcharacterhastodecidewhichgrouptosidewith.Sadly,thishugechoice
affectslittleandthatsacommonthemethroughoutInvisibleWar.Thatsenseofconsequencewas
lostandthegamefeltsignificantlyworseasaresult.Fanshavealsocriticisedthegameforfeaturing
too many loading screens; for removing some of the games RPG elements like the skillpoint
system; for featuring a ton of gamebreaking bugs; for poor level design; for poor AI; for poor
inventory systems basically, nothing in this game has gone uncriticised by those who
cherishedthefirstgame.Despiterockingarespectable80onMetacritic(85fortheXboxversion
infact),InvisibleWarwillforeverberenownedasadudbyalargesectionoftheDeusExfanbase.
6.DevilMayCry2
Its not often that a game is criticised for being too easy but thats exactly what happened with
DevilMayCry2.Tobefair,thefirstgameisarealchallenge,requiringtheplayertouseallofDantes
skillsandabilitiestoovercomethevarioustrialsandtribulationsofMalletIsland.DevilMayCry2
can mostly be completed by spamming Dantes pistols which suffice to say, certainly made it an
easierride.Itwasntjustthedifficultywhichdisappointedfansthough.DevilMayCryisanabsolute
masterclassinatmosphereandsetting;withtheCathedralinwhichmostofthegametakesplace
beingverymemorableandhaunting.ObviouslyDevilMayCry2couldntsimplyjustrecreatethat
setting but it opts for a more openworld location thatdidnt really suit the game all that well.
Dantehimselfwasamereshell;hiscockinessandconstantchatterwhichhadmadefansfallinlove
withhiminthefirstplacewasallbutremoved.Theweaponsystemwasalsoalotlessrefined;in
DevilMayCry,differentweaponsweresuitedfordifferentscenariosandenemies,butinDMC2
certain weapons were clearly upgrades of previous ones, rendering the early weapons obsolete
tooquickly.Anewcharacteralsoentersthefray,butsadlyLuciasmissionslargelyrecycledmaterial
fromDantes.Foraserieswhichfocusedsoheavilyoncharacterisationandstyle,DevilMayCry2
wasamajorstepback.Still,itprovedtosimplybeablipasthefollowupDevilMayCry3:Dantes
Awakening (a prequel story) is often regarded as the series finest moment. We can all agree to
overlookCapcomsshortcomingsherethen,aslongasweallpromisenevertospeakofthisagain.
5.Fable3
AhPeterMolyneux;arguablyBritainsmostrecognisablegamedeveloper,hesmadehismarkon
the gaming world with titleslike Black & White, Theme Park and Populous, however his most
famousworkprobablycamewithMicrosoftandtheFableseries.AnRPGseriesallaboutmorality
and choices, Fable 1 and 2 are considered some of the finest RPGs on the Xbox 360. Fable 3
however,isadifferentstoryThemainstoryinFable3dealswithyourheroleadingarevolution
to overthrow the tyrannical king of Albion before taking his turn to rule. In theory, its a pretty
unique idea for a game but it fell short. Ruling Albion was a tedious series of choices which
eitherworsenedlifeforyoursubjects(butsavedmoney)orimproveditatthecostofthenations
wealth.Bizarrely,beingagoodKingwouldactuallyleadtomoreofyourcitizensdyingwhenthe
beastlyCrawlerattacksattheendofthegame,renderingyourheroicactionsandchoicesearlier
inthegamecompletelypointless.TheRPGelementsoftheserieswereallbutremovedwithlittle
choice offered in shaping your character and the whole game felt significantly worse than the
previous instalments because of it. Even worse, the game once again suffered from Peter
Molyneuxsoverhype,leadingmanytobedisappointedwhenfeatureshedmentionedatvarious
pressconferenceswerentincluded.Perhapsitwasntallhisfaultthough;themainmanhassince
goneonrecordassayinghewasashamedofFable3andthathewouldneverworkwithMicrosoft
againasaresult.Dontyoujusthatewhencouplesendupairingtheirdirtylaundryinpublic?
4.ResidentEvil6
Thedeclineofthesurvivalhorrorgenreisoneofmoderngamingsbiggesttragedies.Whilegames
likeSlenderandOutlasthavebeenontherisethankstojumpscaresandcheapthrills,theclassic
thirdpersonstylehasslowlydiedout.ThebiggestcasualtyofthistrendisResidentEvil,asthefirst
threegameswerethepinnacleofthegenre;eachoneloadedwithatmosphere,greatsoundtracks
andterrifyingscenarios,yetafterthatitwasallagradualdownhillslide.Sure,weregladtosee
thebackoftankcontrols,butjustlookatthewayResidentEvil2drewyouintoitsworld;itwas
masterful. Many highlight Resi 5 as the series first major fault but at least the game was still
enjoyable.part6howeverisanabsolutehorrorshow(andnotinagoodway).Ittriestointroduce
morestandardthirdpersonshootingmechanicsintothemix(likeGearsofWarscoversystem,for
example)butindoingsoloseswhatmadetheseriessosuccessfulinthefirstplace.Itallstartswell
too;Leonsfirstmissions,whichdealwithhisescapefromazombieinfestedcollege,areactually
pretty suspenseful. But moving to fellow series veteran Chris campaign highlights the games
massiveflawsitsamachoactionfestandunliketheaforementionedGearsofWar,itsnotany
good. Much of the storys best moments are told through dreaded quicktime events and the
remainder of the game (particularly Chris and Jakes campaigns) is made up of dire shootouts
againstenemieswhichcanbarelyevenbeclassedasundeadanymore.WhileResidentEvil4took
amajorstepawayfromtheseriesroots,itstillmaintainedaResidentEvilfeel.Resi6isjustabland
actiongameusingthenametogenerateinterest,andthatsthebiggesttragedyhere.Remarkably,
the game still sold a ton of copies (over five million) despite heavy criticism, soquite what the
futureholdsforthefranchiseisunclear;thataloneisscarierthananythingonshowhere.
3.DukeNukemForever
Fifteenyearsisanawfullylongtime.Eveningamingterms,entireserieshavebeencreatedand
soldmillionswithinthistimeframeeverymajorgamingconsoleslifespanhashappenedwithina
shorterperiodoftimetoo.Yetfifteenyearsishowlongthedevelopmentofoneofgamingsmost
infamous sequels took Duke Nukem Forever. The title was originally announced by 3D Realms
waybackin1997andafterseveralreleasedatescameandwentwithnogame,3DRealmsstated
thatthegamewouldbereleasedwhenitwasdone.ThenexttimethepublicgottheireyesonThe
Duke itwas a teaser trailer released in 2007, ten whole years after that initial announcement;
which isan astonishinglylong period of time. It got worse though. 3D Realms was downsized to
cutcostsandthegamesdevelopmentteamleftthestudio,evenafteritwasapparentlyreadyto
go Gold (indicating it was pretty much complete), making the entire project vanish into thin air.
Finallyin2010,2KGamesofficiallyannouncedthatGearboxhadtakenoverdevelopmentofthe
game and after 15 laborious years of development, Forever hit shelves on June 2nd 2011. Even
then,peoplepresumedthewholethingwasahoaxthatsjusthowlongandinsanethisentire
processwas.Sowasitworththewait?Ofcoursenot.Withhorriblecontrols,awfulloadingtimes
and an offensive sense of humour which showed just how dated the game was, Duke Nukem
Forever was officially a flop. Noticeably, the game served as a callback to FPS titles of old but it
lackedtheirspeedandexcitement;insteadthewholethingcrawledalongatasnailspace.Above
allelse,criticsstatedsimplythatDukeNukemsimplywasntamoderndayhero;thegamingworld
hadmovedonfromthelikesofhim.Itsreallyquiteamazingthat2KandGearboxdecidedtopick
upandfinishtheprojecttobehonest,beingthatitwasclearlydestinedtofail.WillDukeNukem
Foreversimpressivedevelopmenttimeeverbetopped?Valveseemtobemakingagoodattempt
atitwithHalfLife3(orEpisodeThreeorwhatevertheyreconjuringup)butDukeNukemForever
willmorethanlikelyholdthecrownforBiggestWasteOfFifteenYearsforsometimetocome.Hail
totheKingofdevelopmenttime,baby.
2.DragonAge2
BiowaresDragonAge:OriginswasexactlywhatyouwantinabrandnewRPG.Itintroducedusto
the world of Ferelden through unique origin stories that were based around which race wed
selectedforourherocharacter,andwithavarietyofchoicestobemadeineachstorytherewasa
fairbitoforiginalitytoeachplayersgame.TheworldandthelorecreatedbyBiowarewaspretty
indepth;almostonparwiththeMassEffectuniverse.Sohowdoyoufollowupagamelikethat?
Youcreateasequelwhichissetinacompletelydifferentpartoftheworld,hasalmostnothingto
do with the previous storyline and allows you precious little exploration of course. To be fair, at
first,youllpushyourselfthroughDragonAge2quitequickly,thoughyourmainmotivationwillbe
tofindthegoodpartofthegame,yetsadlyitnevercomes.FollowingMassEffectscustomisable
hero example, you play as [Insert First Name and Gender here] Hawke who flees to the city of
Kirkwall during the events of Origins. Pretty much any link between the two games ends here,
thoughyoullspendagoodcoupleofhoursfromthispointraisingmoneytogoonanadventure
into some tunnels. Were being facetious but the games storyline is so insufferably dull that it
deservestoberidiculed.YoumaythinkthatyouradventureintotheDeepRoadswillleadyouaway
fromKirkwall,butafteraboutanhouryoullbedroppedstraightbackintothecitytospendthe
rest of the game there. Youll see the same areas constantly and itll drive you absolutely mad;
theres no sense of exploration whatsoever. The combat is okay (largely because its unchanged
from Origins) and the supporting cast are reasonably memorable (some more than others) but
Dragon Age 2s main crime is simply being tediously boring. Origins had a great storyline with
plentyofreplayvaluetoboot;DragonAge2hadneither.IntroducingHawkeasamaincharacter
wassupposedtosetthegameuptofollowaMassEffectstylestoryline;atrilogyofgamesbased
aroundoneherocharacter,butthefactthatHawkesstoryisapparentlyoveraccordingtopre
releasematerialsforthenextgameInquisitionshowshowwellthatwholeideaworkedoutin
theend.
1.BanjoKazooie:Nuts&Bolts
Sometimesinlife,youdiscoversomethingthatyousimplycannotfathom;youjustcantwrapyour
headaroundwhyitexistsorhowitcametobe.BanjoKazooie:Nuts&Boltsisagreatexampleof
this.BanjoKazooie(anditsfollowup,BanjoTooie)isoneofthefinestplatformersofalltimeand
itprobablyrivalsSuperMario64asthebestgameontheN64.Eventothisday,theoriginalityin
itsdesignisamazing;itsarealtestamenttojusthowgoodRarewarewereasadevelopmentstudio.
It might be unfair to paint Microsoft as the villains here but their purchase of Rare marked a
significantdownturnintheirproductionofqualitygames.TheyremadeConkersBadFurDayinto
Conker:Live&ReloadedfortheXboxanditwasntverywellreceived.Theyreleasedasequelto
PerfectDarkandwevealreadyseenhowthatturnedout,andnowadaystheyremainlypumping
outKinectbasedgamesliketheSportsseries(theyalsoremadeKillerInstinctfortheXboxOne).
Beforethatthough,theybroughtBanjoandKazooiekickingandscreamingontothe360.Originally,
Rare intended to create a coop remake of Banjo Kazooie, though that idea was eventually
dismissedasawasteoftime.Instead,theysetaboutcreatinganewsequeltoBanjoTooie,though
theprojectwentstaleandwasagaindismissed.Finally,theysetaboutcreatingNuts&Boltswhich
bizarrelythrowsasidetheseriesplatformingrootsandinsteadrequirestheplayertocreatecars.
Sure, thats an unexpected move guys, but did we have to swerve away from the
originalsthatmuch? Its not even a terrible game really. It looks beautiful (Rares art style is so
refreshinglyunique;itsashametheyhaventbeenabletoshowcaseitproperlyyet)anditsawell
designed game with good controls and plenty of replay value. It will forever be regarded as a
disappointment though, simply because people were expecting Banjo Threeie (the name comes
fromacommentmadebyseriesvillainGruntildaattheendofTooie).Raretookariskincreating
Nuts&Boltsandwhilethegamestillsoldwellandreceivedgoodreviewsfromcritics,fansturned
on it almost instantly. Perhaps in the future, well see Banjo Threeie in all its glory; it would be
incredibly bizarre for Rare and Microsoft to abandon such a big series when theres still a huge
demandforit.ThatinturnmayleadtoNuts&Boltsbeingacceptedforthecreativespinoffthat
itis.Untilthenthough,itllbethegamethatkilledBanjoKazooie;notaparticularlynicetitleto
haveatall.
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