Mid-Week(ish) Question: What's the best video game sequel (or prequel)?

[MaddMann]

Personally I would have to go with Total War Shogun II. While I love the total war Warhammer series, I don't think any of the total war games have done things quite as well as that one. Shogun II had amazing naval battles, incredible locations, more battlefield tactic options, and incredible campaigns. Second for me would be Knights of the Old Republic II. The story was fantastic (although not quite as good as KOTOR I imo) the RPG mechanics were fantastic. It still reminds me of when BioWare was a RPG company that got you excited for games.

 

[Johnway]

I guess i'll be that guy and suggest Half Life 2. The original was fantastic and the sequel was even better; better graphics, physics, story, set pieces, ideas and characters. It was miles ahead of its time and lived up to the hype and it certainly was my measuring stick to compare other action adventure, FPS games with. More importantly however, It had a massive impact on the games industry and the games we play even to this day. For a while we saw the rise of physics based puzzles and gravity/portal guns (Doom 3 Resurrection of evil, Dead space series etc etc). But the even greater impact was the rise of steam and the game cemented valve as one of the greatest developers ever. HL2 was the start of great games we would associate with valve; TF2, Portal, portal 2, L4d, L4d2 and counter strike source.

 

[Sarafan]

With no doubts Baldur's Gate 2. This game was a huge step forward when you compare it to the first one. It has better storytelling, better character progression system, more memorable and talkative companions. It involves less wilderness exploring than BG1, but the locations are more polished and include better content in overall. When you reach Chapter 2 you're basically flooded with good written side quests. In BG1 they were quite simple. In BG2 they're epic thanks to high level characters. Also the main plot is of higher quality and involves a very charismatic antagonist - a combination of madness and eloquence. If someone would want to play a model isometric RPG, I'd point him to BG2.

 

[OsaX Nymloth]

I definitely approve of Sarafan's example of Baldur's Gate 2 - I love both games and I think the wilderness and low level exploration in BG1 are interesting and logical in their own rights, but BG2 was trully amazing experience. Going from mediocre band of adventurers into semi-gods was quite a journey and I remember most (if not every - yes I played it a lot) quests and even dialogues, all the riddles etc. And Jon Irenicus was a superb villain IMHO.

Personally I would also mention Fallout 2. Yes I know some people prefer the way more bleak and dirty world of Fallout 1, but I have spent far more time in F2. Everything is so similar and yet so much improved, the world size, amount of locations and stuff in general, some quality of life improvements as well (ability to tell NPC to move was lifesaver). Really a lot of stuff to like there. And those random encounters, easter eggs and extra layer of references added a lot of flavour. And since the game is so open and doesn't shove player into One And Only Right Way To Play, one can replay the whole game many times with such varied builds and options, even if playing a dumb dumb brute. Btw, how many games have totally different dialogue options for super low intelligent characters, eh? You may not be able to finish the game wish such hero, but hey, it's still fun!

 

[randyl]

I'm not one for 'best' lists. Here are some sequels I like a lot. This is the long "chillin in lockdown" version.

Guild Wars Factions - The successor to GW: Prophecy and the setting for the illustrious Cantha. At this point in the life of the franchise the skills and meta were at the peak.

ChronoCross - It took ChronoTrigger to new places. The vibrant color palette, interesting characters, distinct combat system, and complex branching narrative are a few of its best features.

DOOM 2016 - Doom Eternal is all the rage and I'm sure I'll love it once it actually runs on Linux. But for me Doom 2016 is so good. It is a lot like the original Doom in many ways (hidden objects, doors, secrets, level design) but modernized a little. The parkour is very tight as is the shooting. Great visuals too.

Fallout: New Vegas - As a west coast native I find the desert well done and fits how I could see post-apoc going down. The reputation system, which makes an appearance in Pillars of Eternity as well, is notable feature.

Grim Dawn - As a spiritual sequel to TitanQuest.

Hero of the Kingdom III - A casual point and click narrative adventure with a collection and achievement system. This version removed some of the annoying random grind and pixel hunting from the previous game.

Turok 2 Remastered - Turok 2 is a better FPP action shooter than Turok, but the remaster kicks that up to a new level. The remastered version of Turok 2 added or completed features the developers would like to have included but couldn't due to platform and technology limitations of that time. This remaster of the sequel is a real joy in my opinion. It captures the feel of the original and the modern features enhance that and stay out of the way.

 

[SWard]

Max Payne 2.

 

[zSCHIZOz]

Forgive me brothers and sisters for I have sinned. Halo 2 was amazing! I know its a console game but gosh was it great. Use to come back home from school, after getting some Mountain Dew Game Fuel (Halo branded by the way), and play for hours. Needless to say my grades dropped but it was for an important cause. Am I right?

 

[I Will Haunt You]

Mass Effect 2 without a doubt.

 

[XoRn]

If you want my safe, mainstream answer then you can pick a Valve game with "2" in the title and you're pretty much set. Half-Life 2, Portal 2, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and DOTA 2. They may not be able to count to three, but I'll be damned if they don't consistently make the best sequels on the market.

After a bit of a ponder, my actual answer surprised even myself. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 I think might be my favorite sequel of all time. It was certainly the peak of the franchise when it came to gameplay I love, and that's coming from someone who generally enjoys the Call of Duty series more.

The Squad Deathmatch mode consistently provided the single best online action experience of any shooter I've had the pleasure of playing. It combined lethal midrange gunfights and squad based teamwork on tight maps that offered just enough cover for four separate teams to duke it out. The fact that their were four teams in the fray was critical to the experience and unique to anything else I'd played up to that point. It meant their were ALWAYS more enemies than friendlies out their and the threat of getting pinched between two enemy squads always loomed. Now it's a common experience thanks to the battle royal genera but in 2010, there was nothing else like it.

Destructible buildings meant the best cover was temporary. Sometimes you could hold the high ground for a while and rake in the points. Other times you couldn't get near it because another squad had control, so you blew it to hell with a coordinated rocket barrage. Overall the mode reduced the impact of powerful (read: annoying) vehicles and emphasis infantry combat and teamwork, which is something Battlefield feels like it normally strays away from.

 

[Topher]

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

The best Jedi game I've ever played.

Agree with others who said Half-life 2. Probably the best game ever made.

 

[Frindis]

Hitman 2: Silent Assasin is a sequel I had a lot of fun playing. Great music, locations, stealth, ways to kill silence people, some really cool weapons! (suppressed hardballers being my personal favorite) and the story is not too horrible either.

 

[Zloth]

The Witcher 3 (sequel to Witcher 2!). It's the best game ever so obviously it has to be the best sequel. Superb story telling, superb music, superb graphics, and combat that isn't too bad, either.

 

[Topher]

The Witcher 3 (sequel to Witcher 2!). It's the best game ever so obviously it has to be the best sequel. Superb story telling, superb music, superb graphics, and combat that isn't too bad, either.

Yeah....Witcher 3 was truly awesome.

 

[Johnway]

The Witcher 3 (sequel to Witcher 2!). It's the best game ever so obviously it has to be the best sequel. Superb story telling, superb music, superb graphics, and combat that isn't too bad, either.

Damn straight, a fantastic open world RPG that puts other sandbox/openworld games to shame with its quality visuals, combat, voice acting, map design and small details. As i have said in other threads, the witcher 3 is probably my new measuring stick to compare all other similar single player experiences. You could see and feel the passion for the game. With the price you get for the GOTY edition theres no excuse not to try it. Hell, in many ways i rate this higher then GTA V.

The blood and wine expansion pack was phenomenal. It was seriously impressive stuff and a real stark contrast to the main game. It was every bit as amazing with its fantastic cities, soundtrack, armor, quests, story, characters the works. The D.L.C insertion was damn good. Put many AAA pieces of work to shame.

Will Cyberpunk 2077 live up to the same standards? i hope so! CDPR are like the new Valve. When they were still making quality games and not sitting behind fat stacks steam was pushing out.

 

[SWard]

@Johnway and others, you're famous! https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/whats-the-best-sequel-or-prequel-in-games/

 

[Pifanjr]

I haven't seen any RTS games mentioned here, so I'd like to add Age of Empires 2 and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth 2.

Also, Dungeon Keeper 2.

 

[McStabStab]

Can't believe that not one person has put System Shock 2 yet. The first game was pretty good but the second is the stuff of legends.

 

[mainer]

I have to agree with many of the above posts: Baldur's Gate 2 being, in my opinion, one of the best sequels ever made. But also like Half Life 2, System Shock 2, Witcher 3, and Mass Effect 2.

I'd also like to add (going way, way back): Gothic 2, Wizardry 8, Realms of Arkania: Star Trail (2nd in the series), and Morrowind (next Elder Scrolls game after Daggerfall).

Of newer games not mentioned, I'd say Divinity Original Sin 2 (many improvements over DOS 1), and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire.

 

[drunkpunk]

I must be in the minority who liked the first BG way more lol... Something about the lower level D&D campaigns just click a lot better with me, I guess. I also liked the world a lot more in the first one. But it's definitely a close one, they're both fantastic games.

I think Alyx was the better sequel in terms of Half Life. I loved the first half life, felt kind of in the middle of half life 2, but Alyx was something special.

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is I think one of the best steps up from it's predecessor. The first Divinity did a lot of cool things, but I feel like every idea they had was refined and made better for the sequel. The only exceptions being the armor system, and I only say that because a lot of people seemed to have a problem with it (I personally liked it a bit more than the RNG nature of abilities in the previous game, and feel like it presented more tactical opportunity, but it was obviously a little controversial), with the other exception being the crafting system (just because it felt a little underwhelming or unnecessary). Everything else felt like a solid step up from the previous. The combat and AP management, the skill system, they even upped the multiplayer capacity. It's rare to me that a sequel can correct so much of what was wrong with it's predecessor.

Also, Team Fortress 2. Such a fantastic game that still stands up to the test of time. It's just as fun to me now as it was when it launched, and was most certainly an improvement over TFC.

 

[Zloth]

I must be in the minority who liked the first BG way more lol... Something about the lower level D&D campaigns just click a lot better with me, I guess. I also liked the world a lot more in the first one. But it's definitely a close one, they're both fantastic games.

So no Mask of the Betrayer? I like the high level stuff but that one got kinda crazy.

 

[drunkpunk]

Mask of the Betrayer

I sadly never really got a chance to play neverwinter nights back in the day, and i've heard it didn't age too well so i never picked it up.

 

[badman]

The best?

No matter how good Dark Forces was, Dark Forces 2 was better. And I remember thinking: this can not get any better. Oh boy...Jedi Outcast was even better. Then it stopped with Jedi Academy

Why?

Dark Forces, when it came out, was an icon. Not because of great graphics (IMO they were good) or because it was a leap in technology (the levelcreator build on existing FPS games). But because it was Star Wars, it had an 'ok' story, it had great weapons and because it did had great leveldesign. It pulled you in the Star Wars universe.

The follow ups did better: it let you use the Force, lightsabers, bigger and better levels, more weapons, FMV (ok, maybe), great graphics...

 

[drunkpunk]

The best?

No matter how good Dark Forces was, Dark Forces 2 was better. And I remember thinking: this can not get any better. Oh boy...Jedi Outcast was even better. Then it stopped with Jedi Academy

Why?

Dark Forces, when it came out, was an icon. Not because of great graphics (IMO they were good) or because it was a leap in technology (the levelcreator build on existing FPS games). But because it was Star Wars, it had an 'ok' story, it had great weapons and because it did had great leveldesign. It pulled you in the Star Wars universe.

The follow ups did better: it let you use the Force, lightsabers, bigger and better levels, more weapons, FMV (ok, maybe), great graphics...

I totally forgot about all of those games, I played each one around the time they came out. Man Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy were some of the best games ever. Those are two of the main Star Wars games I think about when I reflect on how bad the current generation of Star Wars games are. Lucasarts made it seem so easy to make great games with that IP.