In other words, the new game is so good, it renders the original basically unplayable. To borrow a term from my advertising life, truly transcendent sequels “cannibalize” their predecessor. The best sequels, though, do one other thing. Change too many things and fans will be alienated from the franchise – remember when XCOM: Enemy Within was going to be a first-person shooter? Was anyone happy with that? Make the new game too similar and you get the Madden series or Assassin’s Creed – a game that feels more like a full priced expansion pack than a new, unique release. At the same time, the sequel must also improve on the previous installment, evolving the gameplay so that the new experience feels like it’s worth a fresh investment. It has to look and feel like its predecessor, but also fix all the problems that held back the previous iteration. The new game needs to be similar to the first, but not too similar.
Making a quality sequel is almost a more challenging endeavor in some ways than crafting the original entry, itself. Anno 2205, Ubisoft Blue Byte’s sequel to Anno 2070, has just been released and while it’s not my favorite sequel of all time, it definitely comes close.
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