You know the one thing I love about sequels in games (and movies)? When the developers decide to completely ditch one killer app's slow pace in favor of a more action-packed one, sometimes even re-inventing the whole experience. This blog is about the Two's that changed my belief that something awesome cannot be possibly be created differently.

Half-Life 2: Seriously, do I need to explain? There's a reason why the PC geeks kissed their computers at night after this game came out, and it's because it has surpassed the first one in every possible way. Intense action, insane physics, being able to pick up any menial object in the game (my personal favorite), graphics that are still on par with the next gen age, and one of the best written storylines crafted flawlessly in gaming history.

Deus Ex II: Honestly, I feel nothing really has changed other than graphics, the same awesome "explore the enviroment to your heart's content" and "do things your way" gameplay was still intact in this game on par with the X-Files. But really, when you realized how the first Deus Ex looked worse than crap, a sequel that looked this good (at the time) deserves an honorable mention.

Condemned II Bloodshot: The first one blew me away because of the whole "hunt down the serial killer of serial killers" storyline, the brilliant use of forensics, and brutal melee confrontations, and a whole new enemy to fear: people. Other games make you fear zombies, ghosts, vampires, but to make you truly fear the kind of people that seem like they came from New York? Brilliant. Of course, the sequel tones down the fear factor in favor of even more brutal combat and intense moments on par with Half-Life 2, but the cutscenes that show Thomas' evaporating fear of this world just convinces you to swing that pipe at someone's face with pride.

Bloodrayne 2: Take a sexy vampire woman who loves to kill, give her even more ways to kill, and even maker her look sexier with sharper graphics...while I loved the first one, I loved the sequel more. It wasn't a decision just to kill enemies, it was more of a decision of how to do it and where to do it.

God Of War II: There's really only one word to describe the franchise: Epic. Take every known creature and person in Greek mythology, and have them sent to a glorious death at the hands of one man. Kratos is angrier, more brutal (if it's even possible), and seeks blood at a higher stake: the Gods themselves. You know someone is bad ass when they can: go back in time, change his fate, convince the Titans to help him out, come back from the dead, and kick Zeus' ass so hard he crawls back to Olympus...which Kratos follows anyways.

Dino Crisis 2: The first one was a "Resident Evil spliced with Jurassic Park," but a very fun spinoff. In 2, it's more of a run and gun type of game, where you actually try to kill as much dinosaurs as possible without getting hit for a huge combo multiplier. A far cry from the formula it once was, but when you're fighting an army of T-Rexes Hard Boiled style, you know this baffling decision was worthwile.

Parasite Eve II: Less of an RPG it once was and more of an action game, it had more shootouts, grotesque variety of monsters, bigger bosses, basically everything you loved about Parasite Eve, just more of it delivered with more "Holy Sh*t!" moments. And it was one of the first RPGs that ditched random battles in favor of actually seeing what you were going to fight, and when.

The Suffering Ties That Bind: Basically, "Resident Evil with an Oz twist," I loved the first one because it captured the dread of prison, and created more dread by unleashing Clive Barker's mind into it. If they somehow sent Pinhead from Hellraiser to prison, this is exactly what would happen in the game. The sequel completely strips you naked: instead of a prison going to Hell, an entire city is engulfed, and happy looking homes are now filled with demonic creatures. And instead of fighting in narrow corridors, you're fighting a war on a city block.

Manhunt 2: Although clearly not as good as the first one, it did have its fine moments. Danny Lamb is a complete psycho, has a dozen or more ways to massacre a small army from the shadows, and when/if you get sick of the whole stealth vibe, go ahead and run around, guns blazing.

ReLoaded: I doubt anyone remembers this game. It's an ancient PSone game, isometric extremely violent shooter, sequel to Loaded. But if I can find this game anywhere, my soul will be content. Basically, the characters are the same psychos you'd find in Twisted Metal, but instead of cars you have big ass guns to splatter hundreds of people onscreen. Seriously, the carnage in this game was beautiful: I can never forget how every man I shot left a graphic splatter mark on the pavement...hell, I still remember the code to unlock the iconic clown from Loaded: put your cursor on the robotic nun, and press: L1, circle, R1, down, down, R1, circle, L1, L1. First cheat code I've ever used, I'm not kidding.

Def Jam Fight For NY: This one surpasses the first Def Jam Vendetta by every single way. Instead of a story mode that pits you against other fighters elimination style, FFNY gives you an insane amount of options (well, for a fighting game about rappers). You create your character, fight for money to pimp out your character, and even customize your fighing styles. But what I liked most was it felt less like a wrestling game, and more about pit fighting, something that feels right if you want to make a wrestling game about hardened gangsters living in the slums.

Metal Gear Solid 2: While not as epic as MGS or MGS 3 Snakeater, at the time it was hyped up for a very good reason: Great graphics, realistic enemy patrols (when you alert an enemy, reinforcements come in...beautiful), the beginning of cinematic cutscenes for the future Metal Gear titles, it was everything a sequel should be. Although not the best in the series, it does deserve respect for literally re-defining the first MGS...gamplay wise.

Well, that's about it. If you want to mention a game you loved, feel free. I mean, I haven't really played video games until the Super Nintendo days, but never truly owned a console until the first Playstation came out. So I really have a lot to learn from the wiser gamers out there. Oh, and here's a list of games that deserve honorable mentions, but weren't included, mostly by the whole series being awesome, or it's first sequel wasn't the one to revolutionize.

GTA series

Resident Evil 4

Silent Hill series

Halo series

Call of Duty 4

Twisted Metal series