Game sequels that actually lived up to their name

So name here any game that actually equaled or surpassed its predecessor.

For me GTA-SA was better than GTA-VC, and GTA-VC was better than GTA-III. And that is quite an accomplishment because all 3 are among the best games ever made!

I'm struggling to think of other examples... A lot of people will want to so HL2 over HL1 but I personally don't agree. Given the impact, etc for their day I enjoyed the original Half-life much more than HL2.

Sims 2, certainly should be on the list and given the fact that that its the best selling game franchise of all time it should be at the top of the list. You may not like it but what it is and its incredible levels of details, open-endedness are truly amazing.

What else? Civ IV? I personally did not play any of the former versions so I can't say. But Civ IV is really great.

Maybe KOTOR I & II??? They were very good. But not even close to the GTA series in my opinion. But do belong near the top of the list.

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II completely raised the bar in every way from the original Dark Forces.

Jedi Outcast was a worthy successor to the original Jedi Knight.

Although it was shorter, NOLF2 was a great follow-up to The Operative: NOLF because it refined some of the gameplay dynamics regarding stealth and introduced RPG-lite elements.

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind was vastly superior to the other games in the series.

Eye Of The Beholder 2: Legend Of Darkmoon had a better and more interesting story and encounters than EOB1.

Ultima Underworld 2 was a better game than Underworld 1.

System Shock 2 refined the gameplay dynamics of it's predecessor and delivered a great horror/suspense tale.

Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield was a decent improvement over the others in the series.

SWAT 4 was the best game of that series.

And yes, I think Half-Life 2 was superior to Half-Life 1 in terms of quality, atmosphere, story, characterisation and ending (although I really liked Half Life).

Return To Castle Wolfenstein was superior to the original Wolfenstein 3D in every way.

Age of Empires II was a better game than the original.

So yes, there are quite a few instances where a sequel can surpass the original game in a series, but even so the opposite is generally true.

I might go along with NOLF2 but it still was not as good as NOLF1. No way.

And I'm a HUGE SWAT4 / The Stetchkov Syndicate fan! I play it online everyday (HawkOne). Its still one of my favote games now. Better than TF2, FEAR Combat (which I play too). But no way, SWAT 3 was better than SWAT 4! SWAT 3 is too out of date now but there is really nothing better about 4 than 3...

I actually like Blood Money over the other Hitman games - more interesting environments, accidents added a new mechanic that made you replay it after the first completion.

Max Payne 2 - just as good as the original I thought, and he finally got something to take care of his constipation :?. They also managed to give him arms proportional to the rest of his body.

Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast - never played Dark Forces but its hard to imagine it would be better. Weeks rolled past when I played the multiplayer.

Civ IV cuz it's better than Civ II

Age of Empires II would be a game to mention, but i think AoE III wasn't that great.

PES 2008, cuz gameplay is getting better and more realistic

ofc GTA:SA but u already mentioned that

System shock 2

Doom II

Baldure's Gate II (the best rpg ever made)

Halflife 2 wasn't that great, Halflife was better imo.

I actually like Blood Money over the other Hitman games - more interesting environments, accidents added a new mechanic that made you replay it after the first completion.

Max Payne 2 - just as good as the original I thought, and he finally got something to take care of his constipation :?. They also managed to give him arms proportional to the rest of his body.

Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast - never played Dark Forces but its hard to imagine it would be better. Weeks rolled past when I played the multiplayer.

Tresca_

Oops, yea Max Payne was good. Hitman 2 was the best,

All the "Wing Commanders" were superior to their predecessor. "Dune 2" was different and superior to "Dune". "Dune 2" invented the RTS genre. "IL2 Forgotten Battles" was far superior to "IL2 Sturmovik". So here are several games wherein the sequel not only "matched" the first iteration but supassed it.

Da Worfster

Baldur's Gate 2, HL 2, SS2, Fallout 2, HoMM 3, Myth 2,diablo 2, warcraft 3 are all games which lived upto the name of their amazing predecessornaval

Seconded.

CoD 4 over Cod3DeathStar17

That doesn't really count Cod3 was an xbox exclusive made by a different company..

AOE III, WAY BETTER than AOE II+I

Unreal tourney 2004 , haven't played 2003 but it is better than the orginal

Unreal 2 , i find it way better than the orginal

Half-Life 2

Portal 2 (im keeping my hopes up!)

RE 4 , i know don't a PC game...... but still it was way better and it didn't have the annoying RPG elements

[QUOTE="DeathStar17"]CoD 4 over Cod3ferrari2001

That doesn't really count Cod3 was an xbox exclusive made by a different company..

i have it on my Wii, it was not an Xbox exclusive. I hate that ubisoft or who ever made it , made it cause it is horrible compared to COD 2

Jedi Knight 2 > 1

COD4 > COD3

Fallout 2 was just as good as fallout 1 imo

System Shock 2

Call of Duty 2

Day of Defeat: Source

Unreal Tournament 2004

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Quake III: Arena

Battlefield 2

WarCraft III

WarCraft II

Half-Life 2

etc.

Decent 2

Freespace 2

Thief 2

Doom 2

Quake 2

Jedi Knight 2

Civ 2, then 3, then 4

Daggerfall, Morrowind, Oblivion (2, 3, and 4 in the TES series)

X-Com 2

TIE Fighter (sequel to X-Wing, kinda)

System Shock 2

Fallout 2

Baldur's Gate 2

MDK 2

Gothic 2

probably tons more, just cant think that far back.

First my favorite game ever, the game that brought me from snes and amiga to the PC: Master of Orion 2.

The others great sequels:

Fallout 2 - totally improved original

Baldur's Gate 2 - the great epic. With the original and the expansions it's probably the greatest RPG saga ever to come to any piece of electronic equipment

Kotor 2 (the first 80% of the game at least, the rest is unfinished mess)

System Shock 2 - the revolution in atmosphere and storytelling back then.

Resident Evil 4 - reinvented the franchise

Phantasy Star IV - the third part was, at least to me, lame

Warcraft 2 -no need to comment on this

Red Alert 2 - this rocked in Lan

Street Fighter 2 -no comment

Neverwinter Nights 2 - good, immersive single player

Dark Sun 2 - this was good back then

Medieval total war it improved a lot gamespot said it didn't but i would have to dissagree.

i disagree with kotor 2 and nwn 2 as obsian should be ashamed with them selves for producing such crap i don't know they could stay in business with that tripe buggy and hidius messes like my spelling.

And Hitman, at least Hitman II Silent Assassin. One of the best sequels of all time! None of the other Hitman sequels have lived up to Silent Assassin in my opinion.Store24

Come on! The new gfx, gameplay mechanics (stuffing bodies in freezer; hiding in closets et.al.) and the almost-AO content makes Blood Money my favorite.

max payne 2

HW: Cataclysm

HW2

System Shock 2 had a nicely revamped interface compared to its predecessor while still largely living up to the pedigree the former game set. (However, a few things such as cyberspace seem to have been omitted.) Magic Carpet 2 was quite a leap above the first game, especially in regards to singleplayer mission variety-instead of just hoarding mana, you now have specific objectives to complete. There are also underground areas and new spells to spice things up. The MechWarrior 2 subseries brought profound graphical and sound improvements over MW1(and MW2:31stCC also has a ton of 3D-accelerated OEM versions for 3dfx Voodoo1/2, PowerVR, ATI Rage, S3 ViRGE(:D), and other such cards!). Finally, on to Star Control II. This sequel was one of those radically-changed ones in the sense that it went from being some sort of space combat strategy title to a Starflight-esque space adventure and exploration game, but I'll be damned if this isn't the best (space adventure and exploration) game I've ever played!NamelessPlayer

I was waiting for Capt Fwiffo to show up. Yes, Star Control 2 is the best sequel ever, IMO.

The GTA series has constantly been improving with each sequel. The COD and MOH series has improved as well. I prefer the original HL to its sequel which while being good, i found a bit dissapointing.

Doom is another one that got worse.. Doom3.. biggest let down for that year.

Age of Empires continues to improve and add new things. (Can't wait for Age of Mythology 2)

The GTA series has constantly been improving with each sequel. The COD and MOH series has improved as well. I prefer the original HL to its sequel which while being good, i found a bit dissapointing.

Rattlesnake_8

I disagree, I loved gta3 and Vice City, but Snoop Dogs voice over was horrendously terrible in San Andreas was absolutely terrible, and the game-play is essentially the same, checkpoint, kill this guy style, minor innovations hear and there, but I didn't really bother finishing the game, had the "been here, done that" feeling to it.

max payne 2

half-life 2

trackmania (any)

commandos 2

quake 3

diablo 2

Doom 3

SC: Chaos Theory

Hitman 2 + Blood money

TF2

Resident Evil 4 was THE best resident evil game by a long shot. So in my opinion that has lived up to its name.

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory was insanely awsome. Another great sequel.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein

Soldier of Fortune II

Quake 2 was masses better than Q1, and Q4 is good too

Star Trek Elite Force 2

The worst sequel i've come across so far is Red Faction 2 - the first game was great (Edit - apart from the annoying bit with the submarine), the second unplayable

Baldur's Gate 2 - the great epic. With the original and the expansions it's probably the greatest RPG saga ever to come to any piece of electronic equipment

zhivago_x

well said