15 Video Game Sequels That Totally Defined Their Franchises

13. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory

When Metal Gear's stealthy take on action put every developer on the back-foot in terms of rethinking the very nature of how to approach any given mission, there was only one other franchise that managed to hang with big boy Snake and his chums. Ubisoft basically saw where Metal Gear was heading - that of crazy, over-the-top plot elements surrounding vampires and bullet-dodging ninjas - and doubled down on the serious tone the first MGS hinted at. What emerged was essentially the first perfect take on what it would be like if ninjas originated in the west, replete with scores of gadgets, effortlessly-cool moves like doing the splits to hang in corridors and an arsenal of super-slick real-world weapons to boot. The first two games were definitely brilliant, but it was with Chaos Theory's design ethic of "making the best looking game on consoles" that elevated it into entirely legendary territory. Gone were the cumbersome melee attacks if you were spotted and in were ragdoll effects if you wanted to shotgun your way out of a situation - just all-round there was just a refined fan-answering approach to making the best in the series. To this day it's the most easily recommended of the lot next to Blacklist or the first two, with graphics that even a decade on still effortlessly hold up.