10 Video Game Sequels Better Than The Original

Riding a unicorn, photographing the Loch Ness monster, winning the lottery - there a lots of impossible things in this life, but a sequel truly better than the original?

Don't make me laugh.

Broken Sword 2: The Smoking Mirror was excellent, but was never going to overshadow the superb Shadow of the Templars. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II was hurried and unfinished. Heck, even the incredible Dragon Age: Origins managed to take a giant step backwards with Dragon Age 2.

And yet, just as people do win the lottery, so are developers capable of releasing sequels that not only match the series original, but surpass it. While graphics are almost only ever going to move in one direction, video game developers do there best to take the winning formula of a popular title, and add new characters, story depth or gameplay options.

Sometimes they get it wrong and mess with a winning formula, but every now and then they take a golden title, and make it platinum...

Halo: Combat Evolved was the Xbox's most successful launch title, proving to the world that the next generation could match PC gaming for first-person shooters. The controls were slick, the environment enticing, but the real icing on the cake was the split-screen multiplayer.

Halo 2 did what any good sequel should do. Keep the positives and polish the rest. Halo 2 offered a great story campaign which not only allowed the player to return as Master Chief, but this time Player 2 could join them locally for the ride as betrayed enemy elite, The Arbiter.

Once again, the real gem that catapulted Halo 2 ahead of it's predecessor was the multiplayer. Local and System Link multiplayer was still available, this time with more maps and better balanced weapons and vehicles. But Halo 2 also introduced online multiplayer via Xbox Live, including the first attempt at online matchmaking and playlists on console gaming.

Halo 2 was the game that told the rest of the world you didn't need a PC for online gaming.