8 Amazing Video Game Sequels Not Made By The Original Developers

5. Bioshock 2

Bioshock 2 gets way too much flack.

While yes, it might not have the tightness of the original's seminal storytelling, or even the ability to feel as fresh considering it takes place in a now-familiar environment, it's still a damn good game, and improves on some elements of Irrational Games' first outing.

With development taken over by 2K Marin, the focus was on expanding a part of the original that fell short: Combat.

Unlike the linear corridors of that title, Bioshock 2 opens things up, introducing better, weightier gunplay, larger combat spaces and making action more freeform. Here, you had open areas to explore, which lent itself to considered combat, as you had a chance to choose how you'd tackle encounters beforehand, rather than simply reacting to things the game threw at you.

The plot, while not as sharp, is darker and more apocalyptic than the original, not even taking into account the spectacular DLC that tells one of the best stories in the entire franchise.

Once you remove the expectations of it being as surprising as the first, you're left with an amazing sequel that you might have slept on, purely because it wasn't made by the original creators.

[JB]