I’m sure that a lot of you out there share the skepticism I have towards sequels. No matter how good a game is, most of the time, game developers tend to give us truly puke-worthy sequels. However, there are a few game franchises out there that have almost never disappointed us, giving us expansion after expansion, sequel after sequel of gaming goodness. Here are some of those franchises, and I hope that they live on forever, giving us the great games we hunger for:
Grand Theft Auto series
Love it or hate it, but you can’t ignore the fact that this series has revolutionized the gaming industry as we know it and has taken the term free roaming to a whole new level. Even though the first GTA game made its debut in 1998 in 2D, it was still an enjoyable experience and offered gamers the freedom to play the game as they pleased; be it the game’s plot or just running around town indulging in some wanton mayhem. Over the years the game made the transition to 3D and boasted of improved graphics, but the core gameplay remained the same and that was this series’ biggest strength (and it’s also the same thing that led to tons of lawsuits). Even though this series offers tons of controversial content, it’s still one of the most enjoyable and innovative games out there and with the jump to next gen, I have a feeling things will only get better.
Love it or hate it, but you can’t ignore the fact that this series has revolutionized the gaming industry as we know it and has taken the term free roaming to a whole new level. Even though the first GTA game made its debut in 1998 in 2D, it was still an enjoyable experience and offered gamers the freedom to play the game as they pleased; be it the game’s plot or just running around town indulging in some wanton mayhem. Over the years the game made the transition to 3D and boasted of improved graphics, but the core gameplay remained the same and that was this series’ biggest strength (and it’s also the same thing that led to tons of lawsuits). Even though this series offers tons of controversial content, it’s still one of the most enjoyable and innovative games out there and with the jump to next gen, I have a feeling things will only get better.
Burnout Series
Fast, furious, addictive and hyper-kinetic are some of the words that best describe this hyper violent arcade racer from Criterion games. Even though the first two games in this series weren’t all that successful (compared to the last two that is), Burnout Takedown is where the game really picked up steam with some killer speeds and insanely chaotic gameplay. Racing through crowded streets at break neck speeds while frantically trying to avoid traffic or just causing a massive crash were some of the things that made this series such a blast to play; and the fact that it can be picked up by anyone (thanks to some ultra-simplistic controls) was the icing on this chaotic cake. With Burnout Revenge, Criterion allowed gamers to check traffic adding a whole new dimension to the game and now with Burnout hitting next generation consoles this year, I’m sure the developer has something big up it’s sleeve. Oh and just so you know Criterion are also developing Burnout Dominator (Burnout 4.5 if you will) for the PS2 as well as the PSP.
Thief
Thief: The Dark Project is amongst my favorite games of all time. The game boasted of an awesome storyline, brilliant gameplay mechanics and a first-person shooter experience that was better than anything at the time. The thrill of sneaking around on rooftops in the medieval era would excite even the most jaded FPS haters. It was the first time that any game had AI that responded to sights and sounds, making the experience very immersive. Two years later (in 2000) Thief II: The Metal Age released, which many gamers felt was better than the original (still loved the original more). A few levels in the sequel had the fog effect (which was pretty revolutionary at the time) very well executed which made the game all the more immersive. In 2004 Thief: Deadly Shadows released, which gave gamers an option to play the game in third person. I’m not a big fan of Deadly Shadows, but I must say, that the game was far better than most other stealth games out there and I hope and pray we do see a Thief game on next gen consoles one day.
Warcraft
Blizzard Interactive’s Warcraft franchise started off in 1994 and that's when gamers were introduced to the never-ending war being waged between the Orcs and the Humans. Soon, the lore of Warcraft and of its fictional world of Azeroth grew with the game’s sequels, adding more depth to the franchise. The game’s storyline evolved from a simple plot, to an epic saga, breathing new life into the world so masterfully conjured by Blizzard. There were even books written (most of which were really awesome) to cover parts of the vast lore and back-stories that couldn’t possibly be covered in-game. And with Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, The Frozen Throne, Warcraft secured its place as one of the most successful franchises of all time. If all that wasn’t enough they gave us one of the most involving MMORPG experiences of all times with World of Warcraft and after more than a decade of Warcraft the franchise still seems like it has a long way to go. 
Diablo
The first Diablo game was responsible for converting many pure action gamers into hardcore RPGers. This hack-n-slash dungeon crawler appealed to the masses mainly because it was simple to pickup and its robust and deep class system allowed users to pick a play-style that would suit them. To top it all, the game had some hypnotic cut-scenes which really made its story (which was kick-ass too, by the way) seem a lot more alive. All in all, Diablo was the complete package and definitely one of the best RPG experiences of all time. And as you all know, developer Blizzard is known for delivering awesome sequels and they didn’t disappoint us with Diablo II (2000) which was even better than the original. The game was better on all fronts – it had better visuals, a lot more content, a lot more classes to choose from, and a lot more depth. And to add to already vast content, they gave us the first expansion in the series, Lord of Destruction, which worked its charm on RPGers just like its predecessors did. Blizzard has dropped hints of releasing another game in the series somewhere after 2008 and the day the game releases it will be sacred to all RPGers out there.
