Eight Game Series That Should Have Quit While They Were Ahead

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There is something that happens in between a second game and a third game in most video games series’. There is no distinct word for it, and no way to pin point exactly what it is, but somehow, most games master their formula for a second game, and then lose whatever magic made it work by the third. It seems to get even worse the higher a series goes, with a few notable exceptions (Halo, Metal Gear).

At first, I thought it might just be certain games, but then I looked at all of gaming and realized, this is a genuine problem. I think  part of it can be blamed on fatigue on the developers part. By a third, fourth, and fifth game in a series, the developers have spent years working with the same engines and same characters, and I truly believe that can cause burn out, and the end result  is a game (or games) that often reflect that. Even on the off chance that a develop hands the reigns to a different group of people for a third game, that can open up a whole set of new problems. Either way, agree with me or not, here are eight games series that truly lost their magic, and should have quit while they were ahead. Quick shout-out to Dead Space. You JUST missed this list, so stop now!

Fable

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The first Fable HAD to be a let down. There was no way this game was going to live up the hype that creator Peter Molyneux  and developer Lionhead put on it. They told us we would get the most immersive action-RPG experience ever. The reality is, we did not get that. But what we got, and I think most people can agree on this, was fun. No, it was not nearly at the scope we were promised, and it felt flat and very limited (it is the three dimensional version of a left-to-right 2D scroller, with players always forced into virtual “hallways” that only gave the illusion of open space), yet, it had charm and was fun to play.

Next up, Fable 2 pretty much perfected everything that the original Fable did well, and though it STILL was not the deep, action RPG we always wanted (oh look, I can fart. Wow, gaming has come so far), I still thought it was an absolutely charming and fun game, ripe with British humor and a fun visual style all its own.

And then Fable 3 happened and OH MY GOD, what happened to this series? The graphics looked flat and dull, the gameplay felt as sluggish  as a shitty PSone game, and the writing was awful. It was, in fact, so bad, that I found it utterly unplayable. It was as if they took everything that worked in the first two games, and reworked those aspects so they wouldn’t work anymore. Add to that a silly “decision making that has impact on the world” feature that failed on all levels. and Fable 3 is one of the biggest drop offs a major franchise has ever made.

This game is so bad, Xbox was GIVING it away on live two months ago. Seriously.

Sonic the Hedgehog

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What the shit happened to Sonic?

Honestly, I want to make a documentary about this idea, because in the gaming world, everyone has been talked about it for years. Thing is, unlike most of these other examples, with Sonic you can pin point it. A character known for being super fast in two dimensions just does not transfer well into a 3D adventure game. Ever since graphics evolved from sprites to polygons, our favorite blue hedgehog has suffered. To the point where talking about bad Sonic games will eventually be its own list for me, because there are so many to choose from.

Seems it finally dawned on someone that Sonic needs to be a 2D, hand drawn game, so they took it back to that in the recent Sonic 4, and while some people may think it recaptures some of the magic, I have to argue that. Though the sound and graphics are a great homage to the Genesis classics, the physics of the game are absolutely broken, and that kills the whole point of what makes Sonic fun. When you can walk in regular speed around one of the loops, something is inherently wrong with your Sonic.

Sega needs to retire the little guy, honestly.

Gears of War

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I can’t decided if you guys are going to hate me for this one, or agree with me.

I will preface this by saying I think the first two Gears of War were amazing. Gears one was unlike anything we had ever played or seen, and Gears two upped that in every way. Thing is, even though it had a few unforgettable moments (R.I.P Dom), ten hours into Gears of War 3, I was bored. I felt like I had done everything that game series had to offer up to that point, and just felt like I was killing time hiding behind things and shooting at lame enemy generators with fancy new names (ooooh, a lambent stalk!), and it just did nothing for the series. Well, it actually was a solid final entry, story wise, but other than that, what did 3 have that 1 and 2 didn’t?

As if the third game wasn’t “familiar” enough, now we have Gears Judgement. Oh, come on? Can game developers stop promising trilogies, when it is obvious they are going to milk franchises dry, whether we like it or not? I am not saying Judgement was bad, but I am DEFINITELY saying Judgement was nothing new or exciting. Cool part in all this is even Cliff Blezinsky, who created the series, bounced after part 3. He was like, nah, I’m good. So that tells me I am not too out of line with this.

Saints Row

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I will DEFINITELY get shit for this one, but really, the Saints Row series has been SERIOUSLY mishandled from the second game on. Saints Row 2, even if no one but Paul and I will say it, was better than GTA 4. Why? Because GTA 4 just lacked the fun of Saints Row 2. GTA 4 had a far better story, yes, but in the “this is so much fun” department, Saints Row 2 stole the show. From insanely fun missions (driving a flaming ATV through the streets to see how much damage you can do), to the cool manner in which you could take out any gang you want in any order you want, it just worked so well, and I think it worked so well because no one expected it to.

Then part 3 came out, and suddenly, they upped the dick jokes by about 500%, and for some inexplicable reason, took out the fun missions of part two, replacing them with unnecessarily epic missions that just tried too hard. Oh look, I am skydiving in a tank, that is so epic. Oh wait, no it’s not. That is epic if epic was defined by nine year old boys. Also, part three forced a linear mission structure on you that sapped all the fun out of the concept of an open world (and don’t even get me started on how half the games NPC turn into zombies. That worked in Red Dead, failed horribly in Saints Row).

Now we have part four, which, by the way, was supposed to be DLC, but then Volition caught wind of GTA V and decided to steal some of that hype by rushing out a half finished remake of Crackdown with dick jokes. Again, an awful game that tried way too hard, but people liked it because, well, dick jokes. But this series hit its high water mark during its second installment, and the best of us know that. Also, let’s be real for a second, GTA 5 just took the throne back, and no one is going to being touching it for a long, long time. Read my epic review of that epic game right here.

Final Fantasy

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I will never forget that the first Final Fantasy was the first game I bought with money I made from working. I also remember there had never been anything like it before, that I had played, anyway. I was instantly hooked. It was a JRPG, and it was perfect. I liked the fact that one person would take a move, than the bad guy would go. I like the fact that it took planning and item management. I liked the fact that it was, very much, the Dungeons and Dragons experience, made more interactive. And even as the series continued, I played every one. Not only payed, but loved. Pretty much right up until 9. Then Final Fantasy 10 happened, and while I didn’t hate it, it felt very different. It also didn’t help that I hated the main character, and found him and most of the other characters in the game to be grating.

Then X2 happened, and well, it felt like Spice Girls, the game. I had NO PROBLEM playing as females. I actually enjoy it more than playing as guys (enough with the space marines, gaming), but playing as ANNOYING females is what killed it, and from that point forth, the series just died for me. You look at the most recent games and they are difficult to even recognize as Final Fantasy games anymore. That would be okay if they were still fun, but that is the problem.

They aren’t.

Dishonorable Mentions:

Mega Man: I have not played a Mega Man game in years, which is why it is not on the main list, but that is because the blue bomber fell off a long, long time ago.

Resident Evil: Part 6 was a travesty, but I am one of those weirdos who still kind of enjoyed part five, which is why I am not making a huge exposition about it.

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Assassin’s Creed: So what, they put out a new one of these games every two months or something? Jesus, resolve your story and stop passing off the same engine and same game as something new. It will take more than Pirates to save this series.

Okay, so what games did I miss?

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68 Comments

  1. I am still holding out on Fable. Yes, the third one was a tragedy but the first games were a big part of my childhood. I can’t let go of it yet. Hmm, these make me think of games as relationships. Fable is that lover that screwed up a few times, but you’re still giving it a shot. Hey, at least they are trying with Fable Legends. Not sure what to make of it but at least it’s something.

    Resident Evil is an abusive ex that just never seems to go away. I think it is beyond redemption…

    I disagree with Saints Row especially since I enjoy that kind of humor. Yes, Saints Row IV felt like an extended DLC of SR:TT but it was still enjoyable. Not terrible.

  2. Megaman didn’t leave dissaointingly (unless the 8-bit renditions didn’t were your cup of tea but gameplay was challenging and satisfying). Mighty No. 9 is an example that people still want Megaman. I don’t know maybe is like Power Rangers formula, like Mario it adds to it’s level design to stay fresh. The only thing I agree is like Mario, Megaman had become tiredly predictable.

    Also add Castlevania: LoS, that saga has to die (I don’t care the devs have said LoS 2 is last), is not bad to change to appeal to a wider audience, but it’s bad to offer your fanbase a lesser entry in an influential franchise. Presentation is nice, but it tries to hard being Castlevania, and it’s not fun to play.

    Having also played Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi last games, I think they should stop making them for a while, since they have become as practice in tedium.

  3. I really think Resident Evil should have been higher than just a “dishonorable mention”, but since I played Revelations over the summer and really enjoyed it, i’m willing to let it go. Otherwise though, the list is spot on.

  4. They’re finally starting to figure out Sonic in 3d. Both of Sega’s last 2 entries Sonic Colors on Wii and Generations on PS3 And Xbox 360 have been solid. Sonic Lost World for Wii U looks amazing. The Blue blur is making a comeback.

    I agree with you on 4 though. Those physics sucked.

  5. The drop in quality is perhaps not as dramatic as a lot of your examples here, but Uncharted 3 was a bit of a faceplant for me — both in terms of annoyingly unbalanced gameplay and in terms of a disappointing story turn to throw into the franchise.

  6. @David R

    I remember an interview in which the developers said that they made Uncharted 3 story starting with its setpieces and then finding a way to link each one. I did not played the game but I thought that was a recipe for mess.

  7. Ah, I missed you kids.
    These threads have been pretty quiet lately, and it is nice to see us all, out and about again.
    I was a little afraid Gears fan boys might gut me on this one, but this reaction has been awesome, thank you, peoples.
    This is why, no matter what, my heart will always lie with Unreality readers.
    Ya’ll are quite kind, and you def know your shit.

  8. Gears 2 had some of the worst multiplayer I’ve ever played, and Gears 3 had some of the best. Judgement would have fallen under the “best” category if a) they had left Horde mode in and b) other people had actually played it. Judgement appears to be the exact moment people stopped giving a crap about the franchise. The single player isn’t all that, but it’s fun and the multiplayer has been doing a exceptional job of changing it up and adding new and different things every time out, which is more than I can say for other shooters who are still kicking.

    Fable 3 was definitely a shameful drop-off in quality, but to fair XBL has given away a lot of good games like Crackdown, Dead Rising 2, and Assassin’s Creed 2 as well.

  9. What about silent hill.

    the last few editions were unbelievably terrible compared to the first few which were amazing. i dont know, maybe after the 3rd or the 4th, but nothing compares to the first two.

    wouldnt you agree?

  10. @ Nick, yeah, I agree about the free games. That was totes me looking a gift horse in the mouth.
    @ Naz, great call, actually. I can’t even play that series anymore, and part 2 is one of my favorite games of all times.

  11. Prince of Persia. The Sands of Time trilogy was absolutely fantastic. I bought it on PS2 and loved every single second.
    Soon after getting a PS3 I bought the 2008 game and it raped my soul. Visually it was amazing, but cell shading somehow doens’t work with the series, and I couldn’t stand the characters. The prince went from a brooding warrior driven by guilt to find redemption and save those he loves to some random traveller who isn’t even a prince and has a ‘surfer-dude’ attitude to everything.
    In Warrior Within there were over 80 different combos to do, and hundreds of enemies, if not thousands. In the 2008 game there were maybe a dozen combos and you might face a single opponent (which is just an insult to the franchise) every half an hour, and that was only if you revisited areas.
    A waste of your life, money and soul. Least favourite game ever, and the three friends I convinced to play it (which shames me to this day) agreed with me.

  12. I have to disagree with you on the zombies part of Saint’s row. Only 1 small island turns into zombies, but no one else (except for Gat, optional). Also, just my opinion, but how did you forget Call of Duty, Battlefield and Halo?

  13. I agree about FF but still hold out hope Square will get it right again. I mean how fing hard can it be to make a good FF game with the current consoles? FF6 was amazing and that was on SNES. What is wrong with going back and using game play elements from the old titles? Nintendo has been remaking OoT for 15 years and those games still sell consoles.

    I don’t know, AC4 looks sick. There’s a series that has genuinely made good improvements over time.

  14. MegaSolipsist: Do yourself a favor and play TFS, the ’08 release may have taken a dump on the series, but TFS is where Ubisoft realized that they made a mistake and fixed it.

    Also IF AC4 is anything like the let down at the end of AC3 I’m done with Ubisoft in general

  15. I think Soul Calibur should get a mention on this list because the last two were less than stellar, also Dynasty Warriors and Harvest Moon. These series have been awful for years. Oddly, I’m one of the very few people who liked Assassins Creed 3, up until it came out I totally hated the series. But I’m over 40 years old and am out of touch with reality lol.

  16. I have to disagree with Saints Row and Assassin’s Creed — albeit with the caveat that I haven’t played SR4 yet, and AC4 isn’t available to play that I’m aware of.

    With Saints Row, the minigames are still fun. Yes, there’s stupid shit in SR3, but the control system was so much better than SR2 that it’s much *more* fun in my opinion. The world is still open, even if you don’t have as much control over the story as you did in 2. Is that a death knell for the series? No, I really don’t think so. Saying that should have quit at SR2 is a huge mistake.

    With Assassin’s Creed, again, the third installment wasn’t as good as the second [err… the fifth wasn’t as good as the combined second-third-fourth, I suppose?], but one less-than-stellar game is not the end of the world. AC3 was still fun, it just wasn’t *as* enjoyable. I didn’t really care to see the American Revolution; I would have been much much more pleased with the French Revolution, frankly. The cities of Colonial America are simply too empty for a good AC game. Also, you seem to have missed the fact that AC3 *was* the end of the original story. Yes, certain elements will be coming back to haunt us [heh] but the first three [*coughs*five*coughs*] games do tell a complete story.

    1. X, X-2, 11, 13, and 13-2 were all crap. 12 was just okay. 14 needed to be recalled it was so bad, though the reboot of it is okay. Just okay. I hope 15 is good again.

      1. I completely disagree. I like all Final Fantasy games that I’ve played, this includes Crystal Chronicles. I’ve played 1 through 13-2 excluding 6, 9, 10-2. I personally think 13 and 13-2 two are great, aside from over melodramatic characters, and incredibly linear worlds different from the typical Final Fantasy precedent. 13 and 13-2 had great battle systems. 12 was hilarious, personally I liked Vaan. I’ve only spent an hour with 14 but it is exponentially way less crappy than 11.

        1. You should play 9. It’s definitely a good one. There’s some things in it that aren’t so great, and some things in it that are just plain stupid (like Excalibur II’s acquisition conditions….(play for less than 12 hours, or over 2 years)…..but overall, it’s awesome. (And despite the card game having no point, unlike in 8, I LIKED it. The perfect card playing rank has beyond stupid conditions…but it’s pretty nice overall.)

        2. Here is my rundown of my favorite to least favorite Final Fantasy games that I have played. It sounds pretty different than yours.

          Final Fantasy 6
          Final Fantasy Tactics
          Final Fantasy 9
          Final Fantasy 7
          Final Fantasy 8 (Including Squalls Dead Theory)
          Final Fantasy 4
          Final Fantasy 10
          Final Fantasy 2
          Final Fantasy 1
          Final Fantasy 12
          Final Fantasy 5
          Final Fantasy 3
          Final Fantasy 13

  17. are you kidding me? Sonic Adventure battle and ADV2 were some of the best sonic games in my opinion. Screw his unleashed, even 06 was not too bad but 3d sonic is still cool. you can retire your mouth

    1. Agreed there is nothing wrong with 3D sonic. It wasn’t the 3D that made a lot of recent sonic games suck and anyone who isn’t blind can see that. This guy is just bitching about what he doesn’t like and is blaming everything on it. Unleashed sucked because the werehog gameplay was weak and took up 85% of the game and the main problem with 06 was poorly designed boss battles and a whole mess of glitches. I really wish people who made articles like this would make at least an effort to not be completely biased.

  18. Agreed. Ever since Sonic and Knuckles things just haven’t been the same for our favorite Sega mascot. Sonic Adventure and Generations had its moments, but it’s not the same…

  19. OK. I love all of the final fantasies that I have played. There are some that I wouldn’t want to play again, simply because the gameplay wasn’t as fun and the story was not engaging enough for a second playthrough, but when playing them for the first time, they were great. Call me whatever the hell you want, but I love the series, and that is my opinion. You have yours and I have mine. Lets agree to disagree, shall we?

  20. Prince of Persia.
    I loved the Sands of Time trilogy (haven’t played Forgotten Sands yet), but the first one for the next gen (the 2008 game) was literally the worst game I have ever played. It had beautiful visuals, but took everything from the series that made it what it was. You fought one enemy every half an hour, and only if you revisited places. You went from having over 80 combos to maybe a dozen. You weren’t even a prince any more, just some guy looking for his donkey. And don’t get me started on the actual characters.
    But the worst offender was the fact that you could not die. Literally. Your magic friend pushed you out of the way if you were about to be killed, or your health magically refilled, or she pulled you back up if you fell off something. What kind of fighting game removes any possibility of consequences? I left the ‘prince’ in a boss fight for ten minutes and when I came back it was as if I hadn’t left.

  21. Y’know what would be absolutely perfect? 3D reboots of all the old FF games, in order.

    I loved the original FF more than a lot of other games, and playing it in a 3D engine would be absolutely amazing.

  22. I don’t agree with assassins creed. ACIV is pretty darn fun, and pirating is awesome! (The one with the ships obviously)

    Also, I can’t be the only person who loved Sonic Heroes???

  23. this is a BS list. He rips Fable 3 for being free on X Box Live, says that Sonic should only be 2D when arguably the best Sonic game ever released was Sonic Adventure. And while I agree on certain games he mentioned, like Saints Row, he spouts off horribly elitist remarks such as:

    “But this series hit its high water mark during its second installment, and the best of us know that.” Seriously?

    it’s also riddled with spelling and grammatical errors that leave it being laughable at best.

    1. “when arguably the best Sonic game ever released was Sonic Adventure”
      Arguably indeed. I think more would agree that Sonic 3 & Knuckles takes that title.

      1. Sonic and Knuckles is definitely the best of the 2D. But for me the best Sonic title is definitively Sonic Adventure 2/Battle. After that Sonic Heroes. Then Sonic Adventure/DX. The 2D are precedent, they are classic, but the matter of fact is that sonic just got better when he became 3D up until Shadow The Hedgehog came out. That game was an embareassment.

        1. Then colors and generation came and brought hope back and then lost worlds came and lowered it some but did at least help them kind of test to see if any new things work.

  24. I have to say Assassin’s creed too. I think Ezio’s story would of been a perfect way to end it and leave it on a high( I think maybe that was even dragged out longer than it should of been, never the less) Unfortunately they are just milking the situation now and i’ve lost interest. To be honest i think they risk ruining any credibility the title had.

  25. wow man i guess u must be very bad playing these games, because indeed saints row IV just rox, and in fact it is MUCH BETTER than this stupid GTAV, the one that should be stopped in GTA 3 or Vice city, but people wants more of the same, so sheeple. And FF… well i wonder why should they stop, just because FF XIII and FFXIII-2 are different from the “good ones”? or what? well you r really bad, please give me the info to contact your boss, i want to work here too, my vision is indeed better than your one

  26. Prince of Persia and God of War. Love them both dearly but the God of War PSP games felt like the creators smashed their heads against the desk until the story wrote itself in bloody stains. Liked the multiplayer though, gotta admit. All games in general need to start doing less frequent releases. The rush to release one a year takes a massive toll on story quality, originality and often leads to a large number of game breaking glitches that aren’t patched for up to months

  27. uhm… did we play the same saints row 4? cos’ I never heard a dick joke and thought it was very cleverly written. I’ll be honest I liked SR3 but won’t defend because I know what people didn’t like about it and I can understand it but I WILL defend SR4 to the death. it was cleverly written, well presented (if quite a bit buggy but what game isn’t these days?) and above all, it had the SR2 fun factor back. it was an excellent parody of the modern gaming industry which people seem to forget that the series has been a parody since SR2 when it stepped up from ‘cheap GTA knock-off’.
    and as much as I really want to defend fable… I can’t… just… no, it manipulates my love of English Fantasy, humor and comedic actors and drags me into the piss poor-ness of Fable 3. not saying I didn’t love the first Fable though… because I did and still do.

    1. Sr4 was a really bad story line, just a basic run around and shoot stuff only thing ok about it was……… Nope can’t think of anything only people who enjoyed it was kids under 10!!! The original halos were good BUT the spin offs were crap and ruined halo 4 for me. Gta5 is a good game but it just seems lacking in something, I completed it thinking that was ok but is that it to much hype not enough game

  28. i really don’t agree with any of these i thought all these games were pretty awesome i don’t care about graphics or how well the story is as long as its fun its a good game all the games you listed i found quite fun. The only game I’ve not liked what i played is Ghost Recon I also Quite loved Shadow the Hedgehog game so much fun

  29. There ought to be a “what games should not have died” section, because there are some games on Nintendo that can still one-up the trash they are releasing on X-Box, namely any original idea for Nintendo (Maniac Mansion, Little Nemo, Excite Bike) vs. most movie-based games.
    I totally agree about Gears of war, and for that fact, Halo also falls into the category. As far as Saint’s Row, it has always felt like the improved 3-D version of GTA 2, only very limited as far as gang alliance and color goes. 4 was so cliche’, even the jokes had a very scary movie feel rather than anyone that can actually make a decent parody or satire (See Weird Al Yankovic or Riff Trax).
    I would have to add Borderlands to this. Since the first Borderlands, the same thought comes to mind: Cartoon multiplayer Fallout 3, but with vehicles. Which is probably why GTA V multiplayer will eventually be much more awesome than most games out there.

  30. Final Fantasy XII was fun. Most of the people who hated it were the ones crying about tradition when people were complaining about how they’ve been the same for years. I swear, you just can’t please everyone.

  31. final fantasy X sucked?? no it didnt! i agree with X-2 but X was awesome. it was one of my fave ff games! the story was a bit melodramatic but it was really moving. isnt that what ff games were SUPPOSED to do?? what was so bad about it?? ff6 which, by the way, is the exact same game as part 3, was really good and had a melodramatic story. but it was still awesome. i never really played ff7 due to the overwhelming hype that the game recieved, so i kninda missed out on that one. i just wasnt interested because everyone ruined the story for me. but ffX is up there. its the best one along with 6/3 , and 8 and 9.. everyone up until 10-2 was really good. how can you say it sucks?? even the blitz ball game was fun. once u learn the high level shots, it actually has strategy you need to use in order to play it. i actually spent many hours playing it. it was a fun diversion to the story. blitz ball was ruined in X-2 so i didnt even play it. i dunno. everyone is judging it too hard.

  32. Seriously no CoD it is literally the same game year after year after year. STOP BUYING IT YOUR LETTING THEM GET AWAY WITH MURDER!

  33. fable 3, SR3, and FFX are among some of my favorite game titles.
    I’ve beaten SR3 twice and FFX maybe 5 times. I would definitely beat Fable 3 again.
    I have heard all these arguments about how theyre terrible.
    Here’s the deal.
    The developer doesn’t owe you anything to remake the same model. You shat on most the games you liked in this article anyways.
    I’m not saying you’re being pretentious, cause it’s your opinion. But I think you’re being harsh. They were great games and very enjoyable. Don’t be a grandpa.

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