Hated sequels that you actually like.

This question was inspired by the recent Deus Ex thread. A number of people admitted to liking Invisible War, despite it being largely shat upon when first released. I haven't played this game, but it did get me thinking about other black sheep sequels that I felt had more going for them than many have them credit for.

Top of my list has to be 1080: Avalanche. Look, I get why people found this disappointing. It came out a few months after SSX 3, and that is very possibly the GOAT of the snowboarding genre. Furthermore, 1080 is pretty light on content. You can play through pretty much all of it in a matter of hours. But what content it has is quite good and very replayable. And the avalanche levels are still freeking spectacular. Can't believe they pulled this of on GC hardware.

Heroes of Might and Magic 4. Again, I get it, this games was released unfinished as 3DO was going down in flames. But if you can get it working, and forgive some clunky design choices, there is a really interesting game underneath it all. It's clear the devs wanted to change things up after four entries, and it's a shame they didn't get the chance to fully realize their vision. Still cool if you can put up with some jank.

Samurai Showdown 3. Not as balanced as the first two, but adds in some new defense and movement options that make things fast and a bit unpredictable.

I may add more later, but will stop here before this becomes a big wall of text. What are some other follow ups you feel didn't get enough love in the shadow of their predecessors?

Crysis 2.

This was the start of the "consolification" of the Crysis series and more or less when Crytek turned into a crap developer, but if I am being honest here, I really enjoyed the game. There was nothing really wrong with the gameplay, it felt very tight. Weapons were fun, the suit powers were still there, and so on.

Story and lore-wise, I liked the direction they took things. It was a very campy story and it worked. I love how the nanosuit was essentially it's own being that took on the "host" and morphed into this superhuman.

I talked a lot of shit about Crysis 2 at first because Crysis 1 is one of my all-time favorite shooters and I loved everything about it and thought Crysis 2 was a step backwards, but as a shooter and judging it on its own merits (that is, putting it in the context of being a standalone game and not part of a series) it was pretty good.

• Lost Planet 2
• Crysis 2
• FEAR 2
• Dead Rising 3
• Resident Evil 6
• Arkham Knight
• Dead Space 3

Crysis 2, perfect Dark Zero, and Castlevania Lord's of Shadow come to mind

Crash Bandicoot Wrath of Cortex - I haven't played it in very long time but I really think it's basically Crash 3.5 and doesn't deserve the negativity. Twin Sanity has more problems that I can think of, but I think it's a pretty fun game as well.

A long time ago when I actually liked the AC series, I liked AC3 alot ... almost as much as 2. Ofcourse they're both bad .

I also like Bioshock Infinite. Not more then 1 or 2 but I didn't hate it ... atleast not the gameplay.

No better examples than Dark Souls 2 and Dragon Age 2.

Bioshock Infinite

Shadow run 2007

Ninja garden 2

Dragonball z burst limit

Tenchu Z

Splinter cell double agent

Rainbow six Vegas 2

I remember 2 being the one everyone looked down on at the time of release, and Infinite being seen as a step up. But that sentiment has definitely switched over the years.

Dark Souls 2.

DmC is a really fun game and Dark Souls 2 is better than Dark Souls 3.

Bioshock 2.

Who didn't like Bioshock 2? People were saying that its not as good as the original, but i don't remember anybody pooping on it.

@hardwenzen: Got shit at launch. Prodded by dumbbells like Jim Sterling.

Yup. More fun than the first one.

@hardwenzen: People pooped.

The only one I could think of, actually. Most hated sequels are hated for good reasons.

Far Cry 2. Far better game than shitty original Crytek game. it was immersive and atmospheric and had STALKER feel.

Arkham Knight. It was great game hated because of bat mobile combat otherwise it was pretty good and best open world game of last gen.

Doom 3. Doom 3 was most hated game in series but I enjoyed it and just like every Doom game I also consider it a masterpiece too.

It was not. they made it more action oriented but if action suck then game also suck.

Story, setting and Villain was far better than bioshock and that was its very few strength as gameplay was pretty mediocre.

Without a doubt, Mass Effect: Andromeda! I really like the gameplay despite the story was poor, the gameplay of Mass Effect: Andromeda really blows the original trilogy out of the water and plus, I just enjoy the game and I took it as a spin-off from its main storyline.

Halo 4 is actually my favourite Halo game after Halo CE and Halo 3.

Also Heroes of Might and Magic 4 too. While i prefer the visual direction of the first 3 games, i loved the new features and mechanics of the game. It was also the last Heroes game i loved.

-Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III - Rebel Strike (GameCube) - Nowhere near as good as Rogue Leader due to those awkward on-foot segments, but still fun. Plus, it contains a mini-compilation of Star Wars Arcade games.

-Bayonetta 2 (Wii U/Switch) - Hated along Bayo's hardcores in this forum at least. But unlike the first one, at least I was able to beat it.

-Super Mario 3D World (Wii U/Switch) - The disappointment that it's a sequel to a handheld Mario.

-Tekken 6 (XBOX 360)

-Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance (PS2), Deception (PS2) and Armageddon (PS2 and Wii) - Oh the fun I got out of Armageddon's KAF especially...

-Fallout 3 (XBOX 360) and Fallout 4 (XBOX ONE) - Okay neither are as good as New Vegas, but they were still fun and... yeah I didn't mind Todd's take on Fallout. Though I ain't touching 76 with a ten-foot pole.

-SoulCalibur IV (360), V (360) and VI (XBOX ONE) - Again, the character customization rounded out the most fun, but I didn't mind the guest stars in any of them.

-Star Fox Assault (GameCube) - Same deal with Rebel Strike, but I think the on-foot segments are actually better than that game.

Dead Space 3 - It's a legit good game but the focus on action over horror drove the hatred for this game.

DmC - While not as good as the series best titles, it's still a great entry in the series with solid and fun gameplay, great art design, and great level design.

MGS4. Also better than anything on x360.

@hardwenzen: Bioshock 2 PLAYS immensely better than 1, but the story is worse.

@nintendoboy16: Oh man, the 3D Mortal Kombats get a lot of hate, but they hold up way better than the original trilogy. Deadly Alliance has it's issues, but was a major step up for the series.

• Crysis 2

Crysis 2 is a great game, it's just a shame that it's a Crysis sequel. People were expecting huge maps with tons of freedom. But as far as linear shooters go: Crysis 2 is among the best.

It has massively improved gunplay over the first game, and the audio kicks ass.

• Max Payne 3

When Max Payne 3 was shown off, it was hated on massively. People still complain about the three-weapon limit and the changes to the character of Max Payne.

I've finished Max Payne 3 more than any other game in the series, not necessarily because it was the best, but because it has the best technology by far, making it the most fun to play.

Crysis 2

A number of COD titles (didn’t hate AW or IW, for example. Both were fine to good games, Kevin Spacey and Jon Snow notwithstanding).

MGSV (IMO the best MGS outside of the PS1 title)

• Mirror's Edge: Catalyst
• DMC 2013
• Splinter Cell: Conviction
• Bioshock: Infinite
• Dead Rising 4
• Rage 2

Borderlands 3 is phenomenal, especially now. 2,000+ hrs in.

I am definitely with you on this. Andromeda is brilliant and I couldn't care less about the funny running animations. The gameplay is solid and the story is better than Mass Effect 3.

Another great sequel is Dragon Age 2. I know it has received a lot of hate, and yes, it is inferior to Origins. But still a very good game. In fact I am booting the game on my xbox right now.

Parasite Eve 2

Dark Souls 2

Dead or Alive 6

Mechwarrior 5

Dark Souls 2.

It's is a very good game but it just so happens to be the worst Souls game.

Crysis 1 second Half is Crysis 2. people always forget that after alien hit. Crysis become a Linear and scripted shooter. not to mention the awful final mission set on ship

The starting of game was great and feel like groundbreaking FPS ended on suck abysmal level design??? really Crytek??

my friend, I was a huge fan of splinter cell trilogy. consider Chaos Theory one of the best game ever made. and conviction is Deus Ex 2 of splinter cell franchise. worst example of dumbing down. even Crysis 2 was more closer to Crysis 1 then Conviction to Chaos theory. Now I dont want ubisoft to make splinter cell they will turn it into Far cry/AC clone open world RPG game.

The game was sooo Great that its sad we dont get this kind of stealth game anymore. Thank Goodness for Hitman series.

also, Tried Bioshock infinite for first half and hour and found it among worst AAA FPS ever made.

@mrbojangles25: I am with you on that one. I actually had more fun with Crysis 2 than Crysis.

My friend Ghost4ever, get that crap out of here! I also enjoy the Splinter Cell games but Convection was also my fav for being a Jason Bourne type of video game and as a fan of the Jason Bourne franchise, Convection was as close to playing Bourne as I'll ever gonna get.

I actually like Crysis 3 for doing its own thing.

You guys aren't the only ones. I found the streamlining of Crysis 2 a bit better. No need to switch between powers manually like jumping/strength/sprinting, etc. Plus the actual second half was a slog considering how bad the aliens were to fight in the first.

It just sucks that the story was kind of ruined/ret conned in the process from Crysis 2/3.

Metal Gear Solid 2. It was hated by countless fans back in the day. But not so much nowadays. Some of its bold predictions have come true, so it's easier to appreciate it today.

Age of Empires III was a disappointment by fans and critics but I still fairly enjoyed it.

It was graphically impressive, that's for sure. It was the first game that truly showed off the power of the PS2 and convinced me that the PS2 was technically superior to my beloved Sega Dreamcast.

@pmanden: MGS2 was definitely the best-looking PS2 game at the time, and remains one of the best-looking PS2 games. It showcased what the PS2 was capable of. MGS2 didn't have a lot of textures, which was a PS2 weak point, but instead showcased its high fill rate with mind-blowing particle effects. Even the Xbox couldn't handle those particle effects when MGS2 was ported to the Xbox.

Crysis 1 was consolized shooter that was disguised as PC shooter. I mean a PC exclusive shooter have health regen and on rail segments???

after the first few hours game lost its sandbox feel and become linear shooter.

Don't know. Looking back, I think UMK3 holds up best of the 2D trilogy, but that said, the 3D games (minus maybe MK4) of the PS2, XBOX, GameCube era were definitely better than they were let on by fans. I mean, hell, I'd rather play those than the little I played of Street Fighter EX. My god, that was horrendous.

Says the person who praises Far Cry 2.😂

Fable 3 was glitchy, but awesome..

Made me feel like the hero far more than the other games did.

Mgs2.... Didn't realize it was so hated. I loved it. Played it on original Xbox. :D

I like Crysis 1 alot. I never said its bad game. the bad is final hours but first few hours were really good.

but It was consolized shooter that disguised as PC shooter.

Far Cry 2 was immersive. didnot had regen health, had big immersive map, no arrow show where to go unlike later FC games, it was underrated game.

It was not a "consolized" anything. The game was a PC game and designed as such. The game was initially viewed as not possible on consoles and the engine had no console support.

Far Cry 2 is the worst game in the series.

Then please explain me Why the Hell Crysis had Regen health, console sprint, Cinematics, On rail segments???

None of those things are exclusive to any platform. Stop being so basic.

If Crysis was multiplat (not 7th gen. 8 gen game since 7th gen wont work). same mechanics, same graphics. no PC gamer would praise it much and will see regen health, on rail segment and scripted segment as consolized. but in case of Crysis 1 its not.

Metro Exodus has more depth than Crysis yet it was criticize.

Non of that changes anything. Crysis was a PC only game and was released 4 years later debuting console support for the Cryengine. You cannot claim no PC gamer would praise the game when it already received praised. No matter how much mental gymnastics 🤸‍♀️ you perform.

This is not about your cinematic walking game Metro Exodus.

@ghosts4ever: I wanna believe that you're just trolling because I don't want to live in a world where people are as stupid as you are.