Throughout the years there have been game titles that we all would love to play more of. But sadly some of those titles never get a shot at a sequel, while titles that no one really seem to care about just keep on keeping on. The hardest pill to swallow, though, is the fact that we gamers are nothing more than a means to an end for most publishers. We add to their bottom line. Even if a game is a fan favorite, that doesn’t ensure its place in that company’s future lineup. So after some deliberation, we decided to put together a short list of titles that we would love to see get a sequel (we know a few of these have already had at least one sequel, we want more). Even though we are sadly and fully aware that it may never happen.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
Mismanagement is the name of the game here, folks. Some big shot sports guy (ahem, Curt Schilling) decided to buy a game studio and have them make a game. Except there was that whole issue of money, taxes, payroll and the like. I guess he figured that since he was already making an ungodly amount of money that everyone else just automatically had it to. It’s funny how that works, right? Wrong. After being bogged down in litigation for eleventy-billion years, it looks like we may never see a sequel to what could have been the next Fable . It sold around one-and-a-half million copies or so, but needed to hit the three million mark just to break even. And that, my friends, is why we will probably never see another.
Black
Shooter fans we didn’t forget you. Especially all you old geezers out there who actually remember and enjoyed playing Black on the Playstation 2. This was the last shooter title to be released with any kind of steam on the PS2. It was one of those rare games that, at the end of a consoles lifespan, showed what the platform was really capable of. The graphics were awesome for the time, the controls would set the bar for all serious shooters to come and the story was engrossing. For those of you who played and loved the COD: Black Ops titles, you owe it to yourself to buy a PS2, play this game, and see where the inspiration for those games came from.
Psychonauts
Quirky, crazy, zany, tough, fun, frustrating, laughable, loveable–these are all words that you could use to describe Psychonauts . And with there being a fairly large amount of gamers who played it the first time around, it’s a little strange that there was never another one put out there. Especially in this digital age where you can download entire games in no time at all. Seriously, we want another trip to the shores of Lake Oblongata. We want to take another romp through summer camp with the Psychonauts . Tim Schafer, I know you don’t read my stuff but I am going to say it anyway. There needs to be another Psychonauts game.
Megaman Legends
Capcom is stupid. That’s pretty much all that can be said about the MM Legends saga of pain and anguish. The fans of this series banded together in an attempt to save what was arguably the best Megaman game ever made from total extinction–only to be met with Capcom’s dismissive, “There’s just not enough interest in this title.” Press release. Really?! Hundreds of thousands of us want another Legends. We would love the chance to play our way through more fully rendered, open-world style fun. This is the game that gave us the Bonnes. Tron and her crew have made numerous appearances due to their popularity from these titles. Wake up Capcom, we don’t want any more freakin’ Resident Evil games (until you come up with something better than 6, anyway).
The Legend of Dragoon
RPG fans know how incredible this game is. Old schoolers far and wide reveled in the glory of combat while in control of the new Dragoons. Dart and his pals took us through an adventure to rival that of FFVII . I realize that this statement is blasphemy to some of you, but I don’t care. I would rather see a sequel to this title on the new gen systems before I would ever get behind another FFVII offshoot. Anyone remember Dirge of Cerberus and how much hot garbage that game was? Anyway, Legends of Dragoon had a very cool (even though turn-based) combat system that could bring back some of the fun of turn-based games without feeling stale and boring.
Conker’s Bad Fur Day
This game was just fun. There’s no one that can deny this fact. If you enjoy non-sensical stupidity married up with solid gameplay mechanics and good graphics, then this is your title. Conker was a beer-swilling, womanizing, jerk of a squirrel that loved blasting and pounding the stuffing out of the evil teddy bears that assailed him. Then you mix in a bunch of funny and somewhat corny one-liners and a boat-load of combat and you have the recipe for a really fun game. You could call it Conker 2: The Hangover and do a whole bunch of random, crazy stuff like in the hangover movies. How could that not be fun? Of course, if you didn’t play the first one you wouldn’t have any idea what I am talking about, so go play it right now. You’ll see.
Shenmue
We had a few reasons for wanting another Shenmue game. First–and most obviously to those who played them–the second game ends on a huge cliffhanger. You find a cryptic scroll and sword and combine them with the Phoenix mirror after meeting some chick that keeps showing up in your dreams. A cool cut scene happens and the Dragon Mirror and Phoenix Mirror are shown in a giant, glowy, sparkly hot mess and then the credits roll. It left us with a huge hole in our gaming hearts. Then the series (and the Dreamcast) got cancelled, so we would never see another Shenmue game. The second reason is that Shenmue was innovative. Its randomized weather system actually affected how the people in the background reacted. And it was one of the first open-world action/RPG type titles to not be based in high fantasy and succeed at being awesome.
Brutal Legend
The second Tim Schafer title to appear on this list, Brutal legend is totally deserving of a sequel. Especially if you watched the MTV Video Music Awards this year. In the first game, Eddie Riggs and his crew battled to stamp out crappy rock music in a world ruled by metal. But nowadays, a new hero is needed. Eddie should be summoned again. Only this time, he could set out to destroy the forces of Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. After topping off those fools, he could go after all the hipster bands, culminating with the ultimate battle of heavy metal versus Mumford and Sons. But no matter who the antagonists are, there needs to be another Brutal Legend .
Timesplitters
To anyone who remembers these games and loves them, we salute you. To those of you who don’t, shame on you. This game was the shooter-king in the days of couch co-op and couch versus. What’s that you ask? It’s when the people that you played against in a match were actually in the room with you. So any trash talking ended in actual fist-fights. No disguising your voice or signing off when things get intense. The dude that you were talking smack to could actually reach out and punch you in the mouth for being a smartass. T-bagging someone in this game resulted in an actual fight of generally epic proportions. So please let there be a new Timesplitters with real split-screen versus modes.
Beyond Good and Evil
Disclaimer: Yes, we know that a sequel was announced for this game, but that was six years ago. But for those of you who downloaded the HD redo of this game, you know why it should have a sequel. Beyond Good and Evil told a great story with memorable characters and solid gameplay. Even for a PS2 title with an HD retouch, it still held its own against newer games when it was released. It also generated a huge response in the gaming community to see more games like it nowadays. This game didn’t need huge explosions (though there were a few) and a crazy big budget with a Hollywood film writer at the helm to be awesome. It was simple and created an immersive environment that fostered a desire to scour the islands and discover what they may be hiding that you can use. It made you want to tinker and level-up. It was a great gaming experience and one of our favorite games ever. So, hopefully this sequel will find its way out of limbo and onto store shelves where it belongs.