Given the sheer amount of publicity games receive in the modern age, its almost impossible to be surprised by new releases anymore. Whether its a new game in an established franchise or an original IP from a well-loved studio, anyone with a modicum of interest in something can follow its progress along the way - but you'll still rarely find players just outright expectingsomething to be bad because of it. This huge amount of hype surrounding virtually every new release isnt always the healthiest when it comes to managing player expectations, and as a result it often leaves you feeling massively disappointed when whatever you've been following finally reveals itself as something less than incredible. On the flip-side to this, when a sequel to an awful - or otherwise not critically revered - game is greenlit, you can almost hear the snickering erupt across the internet (Titanfall 2, anyone?), but although some can be treated with hostility right out the gate for a number of reasons, when it comes down to it these sequels to bad titles can make for the best surprises. With no expectations for the game to be good, it frees up a respective developer to come out of nowhere and provide what could be one of the year's best experiences. On the back foot and against all odds, the following titles resisted crumbling to the critical kicking their first efforts received and came out swinging with epic, bombastic and hugely enjoyable sequels - but who did it the best?
