2. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
To this day, I think most of us have fond memories of the anticipation for the release of Rockstar's GTA: Vice City - it was the first game I was truly excited for, and I followed news and rumours about the game in tidbits from any other source of information I could find. Gaming would never be the same again: it lost some of its innocence but it also lost some of its elements of secrecy - before, Vice City I didn't care about release dates or rumours, I just cared about the game once it was in my hands but this all changed after the game's release. But what exactly made the game so good? The Grand Theft Auto series had already made a successful jump onto PS2 and into 3D Graphics with the release of Grand Theft Auto III in 2001. GTA III had already made a massive impact upon the gaming industry, but it was missing some key components; for example III didn't have a cohesive story that the player could get involved in due to the mysterious nature of main-character Claude. GTA III also had fairly low quality graphics for the time and a troublesome lighting engine that made Liberty City appear too dark and dingy for its own good. Rockstar not only took these criticisms on board but also improved the general game-play and usability for GTA: Vice City. Unlike many of the games on this list Vice City was not particularly revolutionary, the ground-work had already been done but it should be seen as a great sequel as it bettered an already excellent game. I'm sure of us still have fond memories of taking over the Diaz Mansion, acquiring property, completing side missions, spotting the pop-culture references, jumping over the river on a motorbike and thousands of other activities that took place in Vice City. It is truly one of the memorable games ever and even more importantly, it is a game that one can find very few faults in.
What can be learned: If a previous sequel has broken new ground, make sure you better it within a short space of time.
Honourable Mention: Grand Theft Auto III I think this another one that will split fans down the middle. GTA III was a brilliant game in itself but the fact that it was beaten by at least two of its sequels has shown how talented Rockstar are as developers.