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Notoriously on these forums I've always been pro-sequel. Time after time people post in Prime slagging off 'shameless cash-ins', whereas I see them as progressions. Some, obviously, are just in it for the easy money, games like Fifa and Harry Potter...but some, such as GTA:VC, are there to do what the last game didn't, or perhaps couldn't. However, some recent sequels are trying my patience. I'll come back to Vice City later, but first let me talk about Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Now some may already have grown tired of Neversoft, after their ridiculous over-exposure (Pro Skateboarder, Pro BMX, Pro Snowboarder, Pro Surfer, Pro Wakeboarder, Pro Wheelchair) but nobody can deny that their Tony Hawk's games are pretty darn good. So it was with relish that I opened the PS2 version last Friday, and popped it in my PS2.
I was greeted with the usual in-yer-face intro sequence, accompanied by AC/DC's TNT. I noticed straight from the off that it was a big improvement - the menus were cooler, the music more aggressive...and then I got to the career mode. I'd read up on the game, and knew there was no time limits, but it was still pretty cool just going around, trying out the spine transfer and grabbing some phat air...but then I took a mission. It was standard stuff, and after about eight I unlocked a new level. Not that suprising, as I had number 3 pretty much down pat, but it didn't excite me. When I got to the Cruise Ship, the last career level in THPS3, I was well chuffed, and rightly so: the level is great. I've been underwhelmed majorly by the new game, mainly because nothing sticks out. Lots of nice things, like the skater shop, the grazings, the improved animations...but nothing like the manual of 2, or the LA Earthquake of 3. It's a very well-crafted game, no doubt, but it just doesn't have that mysterious X-factor that is so crucial to games nowadays.
Even if you're a good game, you need some extra oomph to really go the extra mile and enter the classic game territory. Many games recently, sequels, have been following great games and building on them...but not being as great. People fell head over heels in love with Tony Hawk's 2, but they admired the skill of Tony Hawk's 3. 4's only been out for a fortnight, but I can see the intensity of devotion dwindling yet further, which is a shame.
As I said before, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was always intended to be like GTA3, but better. Motorcycles, helicopters, interiors, more missions, better storyline, better characters, better graphics. Everything Bigger, Bolder, Better. Unfortunately, GTA's recent success has lied in the shock of it all. From a controversial 2D top-down game to a full blown 3D masterpiece, Rockstar had taken a decent franchise and made it a reason to own a PS2. I love Vice City, but I don't love it with the blood-curdling, sniper-rifling insane-stunting car-jacking passion I loved GTA3. It's not any fault on VC's part; like THPS4, it's technically great. It's just not a new experience anymore.
It's not all doom and gloom though. As has been said many times before, without sequels we'd all still be playing the original GTA, with it's scruffy graphics and strange control set-up. We'd never have got Pro Evolution, we'd be stuck with normal International Superstar Soccer. Whilst I point out the faults in some sequels, it's only fair to praise others: WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth has taken a series many had all but lost hope in, and turned it around with tonnes of features that we've all been wanting since the first game. Pro Evolution Soccer 2 manages to take near perfection even nearer, without losing any of the original's charm.
Some may argue that when it comes to jaw-dropping moments, originality can't be beat. It's true that the impact made by MGS is much greater than that of MGS2. The same could be said of lots of games, even genres - where Time Crisis was special, Ninja Assault isn't. A game I love to bits is Ratchet and Clank, mainly due to its overall charm. Lovely, fuzzy characters and fresh, fun, frantic gameplay. However, I enjoy just zooming around performing drive-bys in Grand Theft Auto. I appreciate the nicer textures on the hood of the car, the cuter animation as the pedestrian's head rolls around on the floor, and blood spurts from their neck. I appreciate it; I'm not bowled over anymore.
It is a bit much to ask every game I play to make my jaw drop, but every once in a while I'd like to be in awe, amazed by technology. I will play more of Tony Hawk's, if only to see some of the unlockable videos, and skate as Jango Fett...but I doubt I'll ever recapture the moment when I first played as the Hawkster. Sequels, I'm determined to say, are a good thing...but they're not always as great as the originals in terms of experience. Rarely, some sequels can't even match the gameplay and features of their predecessor, but I just hope that when developers start work on GTA4, or Tony Hawk's 5, they add in something REALLY special. Something that'll make me go "ooooooh", or "aaaaaaaaah". It's not impossible...after all, it's their job to make me happy.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey
I was greeted with the usual in-yer-face intro sequence, accompanied by AC/DC's TNT. I noticed straight from the off that it was a big improvement - the menus were cooler, the music more aggressive...and then I got to the career mode. I'd read up on the game, and knew there was no time limits, but it was still pretty cool just going around, trying out the spine transfer and grabbing some phat air...but then I took a mission. It was standard stuff, and after about eight I unlocked a new level. Not that suprising, as I had number 3 pretty much down pat, but it didn't excite me. When I got to the Cruise Ship, the last career level in THPS3, I was well chuffed, and rightly so: the level is great. I've been underwhelmed majorly by the new game, mainly because nothing sticks out. Lots of nice things, like the skater shop, the grazings, the improved animations...but nothing like the manual of 2, or the LA Earthquake of 3. It's a very well-crafted game, no doubt, but it just doesn't have that mysterious X-factor that is so crucial to games nowadays.
Even if you're a good game, you need some extra oomph to really go the extra mile and enter the classic game territory. Many games recently, sequels, have been following great games and building on them...but not being as great. People fell head over heels in love with Tony Hawk's 2, but they admired the skill of Tony Hawk's 3. 4's only been out for a fortnight, but I can see the intensity of devotion dwindling yet further, which is a shame.
As I said before, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was always intended to be like GTA3, but better. Motorcycles, helicopters, interiors, more missions, better storyline, better characters, better graphics. Everything Bigger, Bolder, Better. Unfortunately, GTA's recent success has lied in the shock of it all. From a controversial 2D top-down game to a full blown 3D masterpiece, Rockstar had taken a decent franchise and made it a reason to own a PS2. I love Vice City, but I don't love it with the blood-curdling, sniper-rifling insane-stunting car-jacking passion I loved GTA3. It's not any fault on VC's part; like THPS4, it's technically great. It's just not a new experience anymore.
It's not all doom and gloom though. As has been said many times before, without sequels we'd all still be playing the original GTA, with it's scruffy graphics and strange control set-up. We'd never have got Pro Evolution, we'd be stuck with normal International Superstar Soccer. Whilst I point out the faults in some sequels, it's only fair to praise others: WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth has taken a series many had all but lost hope in, and turned it around with tonnes of features that we've all been wanting since the first game. Pro Evolution Soccer 2 manages to take near perfection even nearer, without losing any of the original's charm.
Some may argue that when it comes to jaw-dropping moments, originality can't be beat. It's true that the impact made by MGS is much greater than that of MGS2. The same could be said of lots of games, even genres - where Time Crisis was special, Ninja Assault isn't. A game I love to bits is Ratchet and Clank, mainly due to its overall charm. Lovely, fuzzy characters and fresh, fun, frantic gameplay. However, I enjoy just zooming around performing drive-bys in Grand Theft Auto. I appreciate the nicer textures on the hood of the car, the cuter animation as the pedestrian's head rolls around on the floor, and blood spurts from their neck. I appreciate it; I'm not bowled over anymore.
It is a bit much to ask every game I play to make my jaw drop, but every once in a while I'd like to be in awe, amazed by technology. I will play more of Tony Hawk's, if only to see some of the unlockable videos, and skate as Jango Fett...but I doubt I'll ever recapture the moment when I first played as the Hawkster. Sequels, I'm determined to say, are a good thing...but they're not always as great as the originals in terms of experience. Rarely, some sequels can't even match the gameplay and features of their predecessor, but I just hope that when developers start work on GTA4, or Tony Hawk's 5, they add in something REALLY special. Something that'll make me go "ooooooh", or "aaaaaaaaah". It's not impossible...after all, it's their job to make me happy.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey
Change too little, and you risk being hated for being a rehash.
As you say though, that's the thing with a sequel, it is primarily more of the same.
But really, there should be SOME innovation in there, but it's a dangerous balance, change too much and you could alienate the original audience...
But really, there should be SOME innovation in there, but it's a dangerous balance, change too much and you could alienate the original audience...
Pop.
Notoriously on these forums I've always been pro-sequel. Time after time people post in Prime slagging off 'shameless cash-ins', whereas I see them as progressions. Some, obviously, are just in it for the easy money, games like Fifa and Harry Potter...but some, such as GTA:VC, are there to do what the last game didn't, or perhaps couldn't. However, some recent sequels are trying my patience. I'll come back to Vice City later, but first let me talk about Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. Now some may already have grown tired of Neversoft, after their ridiculous over-exposure (Pro Skateboarder, Pro BMX, Pro Snowboarder, Pro Surfer, Pro Wakeboarder, Pro Wheelchair) but nobody can deny that their Tony Hawk's games are pretty darn good. So it was with relish that I opened the PS2 version last Friday, and popped it in my PS2.
I was greeted with the usual in-yer-face intro sequence, accompanied by AC/DC's TNT. I noticed straight from the off that it was a big improvement - the menus were cooler, the music more aggressive...and then I got to the career mode. I'd read up on the game, and knew there was no time limits, but it was still pretty cool just going around, trying out the spine transfer and grabbing some phat air...but then I took a mission. It was standard stuff, and after about eight I unlocked a new level. Not that suprising, as I had number 3 pretty much down pat, but it didn't excite me. When I got to the Cruise Ship, the last career level in THPS3, I was well chuffed, and rightly so: the level is great. I've been underwhelmed majorly by the new game, mainly because nothing sticks out. Lots of nice things, like the skater shop, the grazings, the improved animations...but nothing like the manual of 2, or the LA Earthquake of 3. It's a very well-crafted game, no doubt, but it just doesn't have that mysterious X-factor that is so crucial to games nowadays.
Even if you're a good game, you need some extra oomph to really go the extra mile and enter the classic game territory. Many games recently, sequels, have been following great games and building on them...but not being as great. People fell head over heels in love with Tony Hawk's 2, but they admired the skill of Tony Hawk's 3. 4's only been out for a fortnight, but I can see the intensity of devotion dwindling yet further, which is a shame.
As I said before, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was always intended to be like GTA3, but better. Motorcycles, helicopters, interiors, more missions, better storyline, better characters, better graphics. Everything Bigger, Bolder, Better. Unfortunately, GTA's recent success has lied in the shock of it all. From a controversial 2D top-down game to a full blown 3D masterpiece, Rockstar had taken a decent franchise and made it a reason to own a PS2. I love Vice City, but I don't love it with the blood-curdling, sniper-rifling insane-stunting car-jacking passion I loved GTA3. It's not any fault on VC's part; like THPS4, it's technically great. It's just not a new experience anymore.
It's not all doom and gloom though. As has been said many times before, without sequels we'd all still be playing the original GTA, with it's scruffy graphics and strange control set-up. We'd never have got Pro Evolution, we'd be stuck with normal International Superstar Soccer. Whilst I point out the faults in some sequels, it's only fair to praise others: WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth has taken a series many had all but lost hope in, and turned it around with tonnes of features that we've all been wanting since the first game. Pro Evolution Soccer 2 manages to take near perfection even nearer, without losing any of the original's charm.
Some may argue that when it comes to jaw-dropping moments, originality can't be beat. It's true that the impact made by MGS is much greater than that of MGS2. The same could be said of lots of games, even genres - where Time Crisis was special, Ninja Assault isn't. A game I love to bits is Ratchet and Clank, mainly due to its overall charm. Lovely, fuzzy characters and fresh, fun, frantic gameplay. However, I enjoy just zooming around performing drive-bys in Grand Theft Auto. I appreciate the nicer textures on the hood of the car, the cuter animation as the pedestrian's head rolls around on the floor, and blood spurts from their neck. I appreciate it; I'm not bowled over anymore.
It is a bit much to ask every game I play to make my jaw drop, but every once in a while I'd like to be in awe, amazed by technology. I will play more of Tony Hawk's, if only to see some of the unlockable videos, and skate as Jango Fett...but I doubt I'll ever recapture the moment when I first played as the Hawkster. Sequels, I'm determined to say, are a good thing...but they're not always as great as the originals in terms of experience. Rarely, some sequels can't even match the gameplay and features of their predecessor, but I just hope that when developers start work on GTA4, or Tony Hawk's 5, they add in something REALLY special. Something that'll make me go "ooooooh", or "aaaaaaaaah". It's not impossible...after all, it's their job to make me happy.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey
I was greeted with the usual in-yer-face intro sequence, accompanied by AC/DC's TNT. I noticed straight from the off that it was a big improvement - the menus were cooler, the music more aggressive...and then I got to the career mode. I'd read up on the game, and knew there was no time limits, but it was still pretty cool just going around, trying out the spine transfer and grabbing some phat air...but then I took a mission. It was standard stuff, and after about eight I unlocked a new level. Not that suprising, as I had number 3 pretty much down pat, but it didn't excite me. When I got to the Cruise Ship, the last career level in THPS3, I was well chuffed, and rightly so: the level is great. I've been underwhelmed majorly by the new game, mainly because nothing sticks out. Lots of nice things, like the skater shop, the grazings, the improved animations...but nothing like the manual of 2, or the LA Earthquake of 3. It's a very well-crafted game, no doubt, but it just doesn't have that mysterious X-factor that is so crucial to games nowadays.
Even if you're a good game, you need some extra oomph to really go the extra mile and enter the classic game territory. Many games recently, sequels, have been following great games and building on them...but not being as great. People fell head over heels in love with Tony Hawk's 2, but they admired the skill of Tony Hawk's 3. 4's only been out for a fortnight, but I can see the intensity of devotion dwindling yet further, which is a shame.
As I said before, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was always intended to be like GTA3, but better. Motorcycles, helicopters, interiors, more missions, better storyline, better characters, better graphics. Everything Bigger, Bolder, Better. Unfortunately, GTA's recent success has lied in the shock of it all. From a controversial 2D top-down game to a full blown 3D masterpiece, Rockstar had taken a decent franchise and made it a reason to own a PS2. I love Vice City, but I don't love it with the blood-curdling, sniper-rifling insane-stunting car-jacking passion I loved GTA3. It's not any fault on VC's part; like THPS4, it's technically great. It's just not a new experience anymore.
It's not all doom and gloom though. As has been said many times before, without sequels we'd all still be playing the original GTA, with it's scruffy graphics and strange control set-up. We'd never have got Pro Evolution, we'd be stuck with normal International Superstar Soccer. Whilst I point out the faults in some sequels, it's only fair to praise others: WWE Smackdown Shut Your Mouth has taken a series many had all but lost hope in, and turned it around with tonnes of features that we've all been wanting since the first game. Pro Evolution Soccer 2 manages to take near perfection even nearer, without losing any of the original's charm.
Some may argue that when it comes to jaw-dropping moments, originality can't be beat. It's true that the impact made by MGS is much greater than that of MGS2. The same could be said of lots of games, even genres - where Time Crisis was special, Ninja Assault isn't. A game I love to bits is Ratchet and Clank, mainly due to its overall charm. Lovely, fuzzy characters and fresh, fun, frantic gameplay. However, I enjoy just zooming around performing drive-bys in Grand Theft Auto. I appreciate the nicer textures on the hood of the car, the cuter animation as the pedestrian's head rolls around on the floor, and blood spurts from their neck. I appreciate it; I'm not bowled over anymore.
It is a bit much to ask every game I play to make my jaw drop, but every once in a while I'd like to be in awe, amazed by technology. I will play more of Tony Hawk's, if only to see some of the unlockable videos, and skate as Jango Fett...but I doubt I'll ever recapture the moment when I first played as the Hawkster. Sequels, I'm determined to say, are a good thing...but they're not always as great as the originals in terms of experience. Rarely, some sequels can't even match the gameplay and features of their predecessor, but I just hope that when developers start work on GTA4, or Tony Hawk's 5, they add in something REALLY special. Something that'll make me go "ooooooh", or "aaaaaaaaah". It's not impossible...after all, it's their job to make me happy.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey