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[Outrun]

Crackdown vs. Crackdown 2

 

[MrCunningham]

There were like 2 or 3 games in between

Duke Nukem 3D - 1996 (PC)
Duke Nukem 3D Atomic Edition (official expansion, PC) - 1997
Duke Nukem: Time to Kill (PS1) - 1998
Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (N64) - 1999
Duke Nukem: Land of the Babes (PS1) - 2000
Duke Nukem Advance (original game, GBA) - 2002
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project (Windows XP) - 2002
Duke Nukem: Critical Mass (Nintendo DS) - April 2011
Duke Nukem Forever (PC, 360, PS3) - June 2011

This is not including the DN3D console ports and crappy mobile phone games.

Duke Nukem Forever is technically the forth game in the mainline series, but yeah, there were a lot of other spin-offs between 3D and Forever.

 

[Gusy]

Afro Samurai wasn't that great... but hey... Have you taken a look at Afro Samurai 2?

 

[Rexatality]

Different direction and more streamlining, sure.

Big drop in quality? Are you ill?

I already changed my answer in case you didn't know (You can see it on page 4 just several posts down)

 

[Common Knowledge]

I'm surprised no one said Super Paper Mario -> Sticker Star yet.

That'd be mine.

 

[PSqueak]

Def Jam: Fight for NY to Def Jam ICON

A dip so sharp, it killed the franchise.

 

[III-V]

For me, it was DA:O to DA:2. Felt like the entire franchise had been sold off to the lowest bidder. There were a few enjoyable moments, but coming from DA:O to that was just like Dart Vader NOOOOOOOO

EDIT: they still were not able to recapture the 'magic' of DA:O in DA:I, but at least it satisfied everything DA:2 strove to be and more.

 

[gatti-man]

For me, it was DA:O to DA:2. Felt like the entire franchise had been sold off to the lowest bidder. There were a few enjoyable moments, but coming from DA:O to that was just like Dart Vader NOOOOOOOO

EDIT: they still were not able to recapture the 'magic' of DA:O in DA:I, but at least it satisfied everything DA:2 strove to be and more.

This was mine too. DA:O was so deep and well written. 2 was like waaaat.

 

[Zen_Arcade]

nahhh, i mean RE6 sucks butt but 5 wasn't so great, the real drop was 4 to 5. and MGS V is way better than 4 too

RE5 was at least a good co-op game.

 

[bobs...onGaf]

Halo 3/ ODST to halo reach, when talking about multiplayer that is, the variety of bad design decision including bloom, armour abilities such as lock and the poor maps and so on was really shocking

 

[Man God]

MGS 3 to MGS 4. 3 is quite simply one of the best games ever and 4 is the biggest video game disappointment of my life.

 

[privitsan02]

Killzone 2 -> Killzone 3 and Resistance 1 -> Resistance 2 are the big stand outs in recent memory.

 

[Jay Sosa]

I've seen some silly stuff in this thread but I cannot let this stand. Yeah the plot was pure balls but dat combat... too good. Once you get the warp boots everything just becomes a joy to fight

Yep, finished Grandia 3 earlier this year and was really surprised at how fun it was. Not only the battle system but the entire game. Imho it's even better than the second one (which was good at first but really overstayed it's welcome)

To me it's either GTA 4 (fuuuuuuuck this game) or Alundra 2.

 

[Kusagari]

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations > Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

From the best in the series to a steaming turd.

 

[IrishNinja]

also, Ultimate Alliance > Ultimate Alliance 2, a game whose only saving grace was Iron Fist

also Def Jam: Fight for New York > Icon

RE5 was at least a good co-op game.

that's true, that's how i played it & enjoyed it, even if it was a clear drop from 4
looking at it single player though, i think it would've hit a lot harder

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX > Pac-Man Championship Edition 2

aw man, is it really that bad? i adore CE DX & was still looking forward to 2 sometime

 

[clem84]

Devil May Cry to Devil May Cry 2.

That would be my answer. First one is a classic. Second one... Average in every way.

 

[NervousXtian]

The real answer is either Resident Evil 5 -> 6 or MGS4 -> 5

Are you in the wrong thread, because both those are the opposite. RE6>RE5 and MGS5>MGS4



Alundra 2 is an abomination.

People saying shit like Souls need to play some more games if they think that's a huge drop.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Arkham City to Arkham Origins hasnt been mentioned yet.

 

[Mobius and pet octopus]

Saints Row 2 to Saints Row 3. Never seen a franchise take such a sudden nosedive.

Hmmm, I feel like SR2 is just as meh as SR3. I honestly don't see why people rave about SR2.

 

[A-V-B]

1. DMC1 -> DMC2
2. Deus Ex -> Invisible War
3. DA:O -> DA2

Good top 3?

Yeah, but I think DX should be #1. At least Dante still looked cool in DMC2. They replaced JC with some spiky haired jerk who pointed a gun gangster-style on the cover. No one talks about Denton Jr. No one.

 

[RBIYF]

for me, the biggest drop in quality between immediate follow ups have been....

- Unreal to Unreal II
- No One Lives Forever 2 to Contract J.A.C.K.
- Deus Ex to Deus Ex: Invisible War
- Metroid Prime 3 to Metroid: Other M
- Resident Evil 4 to Resident Evil 5 to Resident Evil 6
- Silent Hill 3 to Silent Hill 4 to Silent Hill: Origins to Silent Hill: Homecoming.....
- Dead Space 2 to Dead Space 3
- The Longest Journey to Dreamfall to Dreamfall Chapters
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time to Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
- Duke Nukem 3D to Duke Nukem Forever
- Mafia to Mafia II to Mafia III
- F.E.A.R. to F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin to F.E.A.R. 3
- Serious Sam: The Second Encounter to Serious Sam 2


...it would be interesting to see another thread with the reverse of this theme.

 

[SoundPulse]

Aye. I f**king loved War in world at war. Operations in Battlefield one very much reminds me of it.

Yeah, World at War ended up doing War better anyway. The maps were generally better (in general) suited to it, and the addition of Momentum helped keep it interesting.

If I had to praise CoD3 for something other than War mode, I did kinda-sorta like the Battlefield-esque class system, although it totally wouldn't fly now that the series is about customization. The tanks were also actually balanced, which makes how powerful they were in WaW really strange.

 

[Anticol]

Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2

This.

 

[Atanascovich]

Hotline Miami 1 > 2

Spider-Man 2 (ps2) > Any spider game

 

[GoaThief]

From what I've played these spring to mind;

Dead Space >>> Dead Space 2 + 3

Condemned >>> Condemned 2

Ninety Nine Nights >>> N3 2

Dragon Age: Origins >>> Dragon Age 2

Quake >>> Quake 2 (SP + MP gameplay, engine was loads better though)

Monkey Island 2 >>> All following Monkey Island games

 

[wesleyshark]

Saints Row 2 to Saints Row 3. Never seen a franchise take such a sudden nosedive.

Yep.

Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2

lol what?? no.

 

[K.Jack]

I still don't fully blame Bioware for Dragon Age 2. It was EA's mandate, to rush it out in less than 2 year after Origins. Doesn't seem like Bioware had much say in the matter, so they crammed in what they could (one fully realized area), in under 18 months.

And as far as the inevitable inclusion of ME1 -> ME2, it simply doesn't fit in this thread. The thread isn't "what sequel disappointed you", it's "what sequel was most shit".

Mass Effect 2 has no place, next to DMC2, DA2, Dead Space 3, Invisible War, or Final Fantasy XIII. Thee games are objectively shit, with no improvements over their predecessors.

A much as you despise ME2, for whatever reason, it has too many clear improvements over ME1, to be in this thread.

Yeah, but I think DX should be #1. At least Dante still looked cool in DMC2. They replaced JC with some spiky haired jerk who pointed a gun gangster-style on the cover. No one talks about Denton Jr. No one.

True indeed.

 

[IrishNinja]

yeah, i know they don't connect but FF XII is like the best in the series for years there, then XIII shat all over the franchise

Hotline Miami 1 > 2

see i didn't hate 2, but those huge maps & such made it a drop off, no doubt

Dead Space >>> Dead Space 2 + 3

Condemned >>> Condemned 2

oh my god, i mean Dead Space 2 is where i stopped so good call there, but holy shit the change/drop from Condemned 1 to 2 is tremendous, they don't even feel connected. should you power through & finish 2, you'll totally get why the series died there.

 

[jonjonaug]

Order of Ecclessia -> Lords of Shadow: The best Metroidvania to one of the most boring games I've ever played.

Majora's Mask->Wind Waker: Not that I don't like Wind Waker (I do), but Majora's Mask is my favorite game of all time and Wind Waker is just "pretty good" in my book.

Dragon Age Origins > Dragon Age 2

What were they thinking?

I think DA2 has a lot of good ideas, it's just a rushed and unfinished game.

Would WRPG fans agree with Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind -> The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion?

I haven't played either extensively, but Morrowind struck me as much more unique and imaginative. Oblivion had much more forgettable, generic, smaller fantasy world. Despite the combat being slightly improved in Oblivion I would much rather return to Morrowind than Cyrodiil. I wouldn't say Oblivion is a bad game, but it failed to capture my imagination nearly as much as Morrowind and I played both at roughly the same time.

Unmodded Oblivion has a pretty big drop in quality. But at least it's pretty easy to fix Oblivion's major gameplay issues with just 30 minutes of modding. After that you're left with a fairly generic but enjoyable open world RPG.

 

[Sanctuary]

Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2

This never gets old for some I see.

Anyway:

Dead Space 2 to Dead Space 3
Dragon Age: Origins to Dragon Age 2
Dark Souls to Dark Souls 2 (although not nearly as drastic as the games above)

All of these. ME2 is a really good game but they kicked the atmosphere to the curb.

Are you talking strictly the select few times creepy synth music played? Because ME2 had a much more realized world. It also looked a hell of a lot better too.

Im sure its been said a million times, but they removed the rpg aspects from the gameplay and turned it into a VERY mediocre tps. The story went nowhere and the new characters were mostly forgettable or unlikable. Its not a horrible game but failed to build on the first one.

Yet, no matter how many times someone will parrot this, they can't actually give a single example of an "RPG element" that was removed. So now 1-2 extra gear slots makes a game go from RPG to not? Oh wait, you're talking about the skill trees that gave a really small incremental increase per point right? Well that can't be it, because they still exist in ME2, it's just that there are smaller chunks that make more of a difference for each rank. It ends up being the same. You must be talking about one of the least liked aspects of the game then: the Mako. Nothing screams RPG like roaming around in a shitty-to-control helium filled tank over shittily designed, mostly barren worlds!

 

[Sini]

ITT People posting sequels they simply don't like, or that aren't immediate. Modern Zelda, Soulsborne, Mass Effect, Saints Row? Get real. I really dislike MGS4 for example, compared to MGS3 which I love, and I wouldn't suggest that.

lol @ people saying stuff like ME1 -> ME2, Saints Row 2 -> Saints Row 3, etc.

While I don't care much for ME2 there are a significant number of people that like it. There's no one that legitimately likes DMC2, the game doesn't even deserve to be acknowledged. Same with Deus Ex Invisible War. When the hell is the last time you ever saw someone say they enjoyed IW? No one even jokes around about that.

Yeah, people are missing the point of this thread or something.

I'll say Flatout Ultimate Carnage to Flatout 3

 

[gamingPotato7]

Devil May Cry -> Devil May Cry 2

Final Fantasy XII -> Final Fantasy XIII -> Final Fantasy XIV (not Realm Reborn)

Dark Souls -> Dark Souls 2

Soul Reaver -> Soul Reaver 2 (its still a good game, but 1 is so much better)

Driver 2 -> Driv3r

GTA San Andreas -> GTA IV (good game, just San Andreas is so much better)

 

[Landford]

Dark Souls II to III. Should have just ended on the high note that was the DLCs for 2.

 

[web01]

Red Faction: Guerrilla > Red Faction: Armageddon.

 

[Anth0ny]

Melee to Brawl was pretty bad

RE4 to 5 was brutal

 

[Gestahl]

Dark Souls II to III. Should have just ended on the high note that was the DLCs for 2.

Yeah definitely should have ended the series on the Frozen Outskirts

 

[IcyRhythms]

Fallout: NV to Fallout 4

 

[FireBeaver]

Resident Evil 4 to Resident Evil 5.

Duke Nukem 3D to Duke Nukem Forever

Force Unleashed to Force Unleashed 2

 

[Megatron]

Tony hawk 4 to tony hawk 5.

Sonic 3&K to Sonic 4.

 

[gamingPotato7]

wow just found out Driver 2 has 62 metacritic. Thought it was much better? So I guess Driver 1 -> Driver 2 is more accurate.

 

[Landford]

Yeah definitely should have ended the series on the Frozen Outskirts

They are trying, they ported it to 3 again!

Spoiler

Im just joking. But Sunken king was the only time i really felt "this is why i fell in love with this series" after 1

 

[Kodiak]

Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2.

First and foremost, ME2 was a massive shift in tone that focused more on "grittiness" and "maturity" in a way that reminded me of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. Jack is the perfect example of this shift, as well as the dumbed-down gameplay.

The sequel abandoned so much of what made the first feel like an adventure. Open level design, unclear boundaries between combat and shooting sections, story popping up in the middle of a combat zone.

In ME2 it was like... "Here are the combat sections, here are the story sections. Never the twain shall meet."

ME1 felt open, and each environment felt like self-contained episodes. ME2 was a corridor shooter with story peppered throughout.

Also the ending of ME2 was horrible compared to 1. 1 had such a satisfying conclusion, and left you with a great cliffhanger that had you hyped for the next game. ME2's ending was bogus, everything involving the "human" Reaper and Cerberus left me feeling bad rather than excited.

Also Dragon Age: Origins > Dragon Age 2. There is actually a lot to like with DA2 and the risks it took with narrative structure, but the game was clearly so rushed with its recycled environments and ridiculous combat spam, whereas 1 was a fully fleshed out adventure.

And for that matter, Dragon Age: Inquisition was even worse than DA2 in some ways. All the stupid resource-gating of missions, the empty MMO zones devoid of story content. "Too little butter scraped over too much bread."

 

[Slythe]

Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction > Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

First game was essentially MGSV lite in North Korea. Second game was an awkward mistep and tanked the series.

 

[Landford]

Mass Effect 1 to Mass Effect 2.

First and foremost, ME2 was a massive shift in tone that focused more on "grittiness" and "maturity" in a way that reminded me of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones. Jack is the perfect example of this shift, as well as the dumbed-down gameplay.

The sequel abandoned so much of what made the first feel like an adventure. Open level design, unclear boundaries between combat and shooting sections, story popping up in the middle of a combat zone.

In ME2 it was like... "Here are the combat sections, here are the story sections. Never the twain shall meet."

ME1 felt open, and each environment felt like self-contained episodes. ME2 was a corridor shooter with story peppered throughout.

Also the ending of ME2 was horrible compared to 1. 1 had such a satisfying conclusion, and left you with a great cliffhanger that had you hyped for the next game. ME2's ending was bogus, everything involving the "human" Reaper and Cerberus left me feeling bad rather than excited.

Also Dragon Age: Origins > Dragon Age 2. There is actually a lot to like with DA2 and the risks it took with narrative structure, but the game was clearly so rushed with its recycled environments and ridiculous combat spam, whereas 1 was a fully fleshed out adventure.

And for that matter, Dragon Age: Inquisition was even worse than DA2 in some ways. All the stupid resource-gating of missions, the empty MMO zones devoid of story content. "Too little butter scraped over too much bread."

That is sadly too true. ME had a lot of jank going on, but it felt really unique, like a Battlestar Galactica with Star Wars and Trek mixed up in the Bioware formula. Then it became a shooter with slightly better production values.

 

[bobawesome]

Virtue's Last Reward to Zero Time Dilemma

 

[Gestahl]

999 to VLR.

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

I'm going by developer here on some of these not necessarily series.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon to Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Next Level)
Bayonetta 2 to Star Fox Zero (Platinum Games)
Bioshock to Bioshock Infinite (Irrational)
God of War: Ghost of Sparta to The Order: 1886 (Ready at Dawn)
Uncharted 2 to The Last of Us (Naughty Dog)
Dead Space 3 to Battlefield Hardline (Visceral)
Resident Evil 4 to Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption to Metroid: Other M (Retro/Nintendo SPD/Team Ninja)

 

[mrmickfran]

Virtue's Last Reward to Zero Time Dilemma

999 to VLR.

lol

 

[ChrisInCali]

Dead Rising 2 - Dead Rising 3. Good god what a wreck.

Oblivion - Skyrim. Everything became more restrictive, more repetitive, less fun, and with worse quests and writing.

GBA Zeldas - DS Zeldas. Touch screen controls ruined it for me, and it didn't help that the games weren't as good as before either.

Fallout New Vegas - Fallout 4. The most awesome, detailed, well-written, deep RPG to a generic shoot-fest with crap writing and quests.

 

[Mr. X]

DMC to DMC 2

DMC 2 was another game in development they attached the branding to midway without the DMC1 team's knowledge.

Def Jam FFNY to Icons

Totally abandoned Aki games and the wrestling thing they had going on for some nonsense.