Video Game Sequels That are Better Than the Originals

Video games are, by their very nature, iterative. They are constantly being revised, updated and broken down to their core parts in order to build it all back up again. In a great many ways, it’s just LEGOs with software. Some things are salvaged, some things are completely given up and others are refined. Regardless, often enough, these changes are inevitably brought to bear in a sequel. And after that, they go through the whole process again before yet another sequel.

It should come as no surprise then that with all of these changes and updates that sequels can tend to be better than their original counterparts. This even includes some of those games that many might consider classics. Sure, some might call that blasphemy but the fact of the matter is that some sequels just are better than the originals.

So, here’s a handy list of those sequels that most definitely are.

1. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2 is basically as close to an interactive movie as the medium has achieved. That’s not meant to be disparaging of movies nor video games; it’s just how it is. There’s a reason it was used in those slew of Kevin Butler ads to illustrate just how gorgeous the PlayStation 3 could truly be.

There’s something about the characters of Uncharted that make them memorable and compelling. By extension, their dialogue and interactions are just as well-crafted and worth celebrating. The second installment adds more characters, deepens already existing relationships and doesn’t have a single level based on jet skis. Sounds like an all around improvement on the first one to me.

2. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Nobody in their right mind would argue that Assassin’s Creed is a better game than its direct sequel, Assassin’s Creed 2. Where the argument comes in is between Assassin’s Creed 2 and Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. That’s when the details really start to matter.

Pretty much everything that folks loved about the second installment makes an encore appearance in Brotherhood. Investing, equipment and the like were lovely additions that make complete sense to continue using. Where the two diverge is in the use of other assassins and also in scope; Brotherhood takes places in one city alone compared to the multiple cities of Assassin’s Creed 2. This might, at first, seem like a limitation but proves to be an expansion as the focus on a singular city provides a much more intricate relationship with the player.

It is, for lack of a better phrase, a better, more refined version of what Ubisoft wanted to do in the first place.

3. Mass Effect 2

Though the role-playing game fanatics out there might cry blasphemy for this, Mass Effect 2 is just a much better version of Mass Effect. Sure, it has its flaws, but what do you expect when equal parts first-person shooter and role-playing game are thrown in a blender and expected to cohabitate civilly?

The first game suffered from rather lackluster gunplay. When playing, the dice rolls going on underneath the hood were never more visible than when things like carefully aimed headshots veered off course, among other similar incidents. It was a frustrating experience and one that the second aimed to improve. And improve it did. Unsurprisingly, this was accomplished with the streamlining of some elements and the complete removal of others. In some ways, it was better off. In others, the sudden hole left by the removals was jarring and unfortunate. But, overall, it was still better for it.

4. BioShock 2

The first BioShock is often hailed as one of the most influential games of this console cycle. This is for good reason. BioShock is definitely something of a milestone for the medium and yet… BioShock 2, while not as much of a milestone, is just an all-around better game to play.

Firstly, playing BioShock a second time doesn’t work. Not in the same way as the first time. The second game doesn’t have that same kind of limited time appeal. It has a sympathetic protagonist, the ability to wield both a weapon and a plasmid at the same time and the option to participate in sieges with Little Sisters in order to gain more Adam.

If you consider the addition of multiplayer and the absolutely excellent Minerva’s Den DLC, BioShock 2 is hands down a better game than the original. That’s in no way diminishing BioShock, it’s merely praising BioShock 2.

5. Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto, as a series, almost didn’t make this list. That isn’t to say that Grand Theft Auto IV isn’t head and shoulders above the games that came before so much as that they aren’t really connected by anything other than a name and some gameplay mechanics. There’s no direct relationship between any of them and that’s what kept Final Fantasy off this list.

Oh well, screw it. Grand Theft Auto IV is beautiful, complex and convoluted in ways that only serve to drag the player deeper into the narrative crafted for them and the one they make for themselves. In many ways, Grand Theft Auto IV’s urban environments are some of the first that just sort of… feel real, for lack of a better description. None of the other games that came before it in the series had that going for them.

6. Team Fortress 2

It’s almost shockingly unfair to compare Team Fortress 2 to the original Team Fortress, but here we are. Technically, Team Fortress 2 still has that two that follows it and is therefore a sequel. Then again, Team Fortress was a mod for Quake, and then Valve hired the development team and released it as Team Fortress Classic after it was ported to the Half-Life engine. It’s all a bit murky.

But Team Fortress 2 is probably the biggest leap, that’s included in this list anyhow, in terms of sheer amount of improvement from the first. Beyond merely talking graphical improvements, the design decisions from the beginning and constant updates since then have made and remade the game from month to month. And now, it’s free. Like I said, it’s almost unfair. The differences are astounding, profound and glorious.

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