10 Brilliant Sequels That Saved Dying Video Game Franchises

Everybody loves a good comeback.

By Zoë Miskelly /

Video game sequels are so notorious for often sucking that many fans have dubbed the issue "sequelitus".

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Be it that developers were too gung ho about rushing out another game, or just that it didn't quite have the thought and care put into it, the second instalment in a series is fraught with danger as the sort of make or break point. If it works, it can become a franchise that lasts who knows how long - if not it can find itself in the depths of a Gamestop bargain bin within the end of the calendar year.

Sometimes, however, the moon and star align, and we're presented with something that is not only better than the first game, but also arguably redeems the first. This doesn't always mean that the initial game was bad, just that it had flaws that may have stopped it from reaching its full potential - until it's new and improved sequel showed up to sort things out.

If some games suffer from the curse of sequelitus, then these are the angelic equivalents of Holy Water. Or just really good games - your pick.

10. Just Dance II

Okay, so, Just Dance II isn't exactly the height of gaming mastery. If you were trying to show someone the upper echelon of gaming, you'd present maybe the new God of War, or the likes of the Witcher 3 or The Last of Us - not a game where you can strut your stuff to the song Barbie Girl.

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But it's undeniable to say that the Just Dance series sells a lot of copies, and this is - in all fairness - because it provides the dance gaming experience the people clearly want.

Or rather, it does not, because this hasn't been a permanent affair. In fact, the first Just Dance was notoriously terrible at actually tracking your sweet dance moves - more so than even regular movement tracking games did, which is really saying something.

Just Dance II totally revamped this, creating a game that could actually tell the difference between professional grooves and some less professional stumblings.

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