Tired of the same old games? Here are the top 7 sequels shown at this year’s E3, and why it may be worth revisiting them instead of just wishing their creators would move on.

In years like this one, game consoles are in the third or fourth year of their lifespans, which takes off some of the pressure. E3 (or the Electronic Entertainment Expo for the uninitiated) can be less of a fight over which platform is the most viable and cutting edge and deserving of your loyalty, and more about the abundance of quality games across the board. By now developers know the ins and outs of each system, and are starting to do some of their most accomplished work. The message from all fronts seems to be, “Stay excited, the best is yet to come”.

Unfortunately, as some have pointed out — Michael Abbott over at The Brainy Gamer was the first I saw and makes an indisputable point — “the best” too often means “more of the same, just bigger and with more polished graphic technology”. Few truly breakthrough game ideas are being announced and applauded; instead, live demonstrations of the next chapter in a host of familiar franchises are dropping the most jaws and stealing the show.

All is not lost, however. Instead of whining about the lack of creativity, remember that video games are essentially software, and software is by its nature iterative. Just as patches and updates make our web browsers, iphone apps or operating systems better over time, game designers need time to work out their ideas and present them in their optimal form. More often than not, a new game is only the best they could do to bring a concept to life given limited time and resources. Sometimes they score a home run on their first attempt, but often they don’t hit their stride until a few games in, using the lessons from one project to improve the next. It’s safe to say Super Mario 3 is a better game than the first NES adventure. Halo 3’s multi-player combat perfected what was only hinted at with their launch title. And no one would argue that the makers of Grand Theft Auto should have stopped at number two to create something wholly original instead of revolutionizing the landscape with GTA III.

Not to say that anyone should want all sequels, all the time. New game ideas often make for some of the best games in a given year (Portal or Mirror’s Edge for example). That, and endless iteration can end with way too much of a good thing (I think we can all agree the Tony Hawk series probably peaked fairly early into its decade-long run). Ideally, creators would take their learnings and apply them to fresh concepts instead of just re-visiting the same ones again and again; and some developers definitely take that approach, which we’ll get to at the end.

The point, however, is that some of the very best games also come as follow-ups to ideas born early in a series, and then fully realized in later versions. So for reassurance that all is not pure and shameless regurgitation, let’s first look at the top seven (well, eight, sort of) straight sequels shown at this year’s E3, and why it may be worth revisiting them instead of just wishing their creators would move on to the next project.

[Thanks to GameTrailers.com for all the video clips. Where possible, actual game footage was chosen instead of just CG trailers to better demonstrate the relevant points, though the trailers are goddamn exciting too and also worth looking up.]

Honorable Mention: Left 4 Dead 2
Fall 2009

The first Left 4 Dead was an almost perfect 4-player zombie-shooting masterpiece. The one gripe: there wasn’t enough of it. With only 4 ‘movies’, i.e. missions, to play through, everyone immediately just wanted more. Valve are happy to comply by following up a year later with this sequel, promising more undead mayhem, only now with things like Axes, Chainsaws, and bullets that set things on fire. Yes, please.

Nothing revolutionary, and perhaps a bit tacky to make us buy a whole new game so soon instead of just releasing more levels for download. However, it’s a safe bet that everyone who loved the first one will happily rush out to buy another volume. It was too much damn fun to waste time complaining.

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7 - God of War III
Early 2010

Probably the most exciting sequel in which the least will change from its predecessors. Sure, there will be a few new gnarly weapons or Greek-god-themed magical powers, but you’re still going to be an angry, angry dude butchering a whole lot of evil minions between fights against pissed off mythological beings of epic size.

The reason this sequel may be the climax of the series, though, is because the PS3 allows them to do what they’ve wanted to be doing all along. Somehow back on PS2, they managed to make a brutal action game on a grand scale despite technological limits. With much more fidelity to work with, the brutal fights are going to be really brutal, and the scale is going to be really grand. The feeling of tearing foes limb from limb is going to be a lot more gut-wrenching when you can see blood splatter and entrails spill in high definition. If done right, it should make for the definitive God of War game.

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6 - Mass Effect 2
Fall 2009

Perhaps this is personal bias (one of our first gaming articles on Under Culture was about the merits of the first game), but Mass Effect promised a lot and delivered on most of it admirably. The role-playing was excellent, with the best conversation system on consoles to date, and the universe was the perfect blend of classic sci-fi influences and new fiction. However, small problems held it back. The storytelling was a bit too stiff, the action a bit too loose, and the number of planets to visit maybe too large, with many feeling like filler terrain not really worth exploring.

If early reports of a tighter combat system and more cinematic presentation during dialogue scenes both turn out to be true, the sequel could persuade naysayers who couldn’t get past the problems of the first game. And for those who already thought Mass Effect was outstanding sci-fi, the sequel could be more satisfying by several degrees by simply cutting out some of the fat and making the whole experience more seamless and exciting.

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5 - Metroid: Other M
TBA 2010

I won’t try to be objective here: I’m not generally interested in the Wii much at all. Though Super Mario Galaxy looked like a lot of fun, the sequel to that game really does look like more of the same, with little attempt to push the boundaries in any way (”But now Yoshi’s back!”, you say, to which I shake my head). Otherwise, it’s been easy to mostly shrug off as a platform except when visiting family or friends and playing a few party games.

So it follows that I’ve never been much of a Metroid guy either, but wow, this one does look like a whole lot of fun, doesn’t it? Instead of trotting out another same old Nintendo property for another same old Nintendo rehash, they’ve handed the reins to masters of the action genre for a whole new take on a classic character. There are even hints of a semi-grown-up story. I might actually be sad to be missing this one.

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4 - Assassin’s Creed 2
Fall 2009

The previous Assassin’s Creed was about as divisive as they come, with some finding it dreadfully dull and repetitive, while others loved the ideas and put up with the shortcomings. Setting a game in the crusades-era Middle East was a breath of fresh air, and the free movement around the city was well-executed, even if there were legitimate gripes to be made in the mission structure.

Thankfully, lovers and haters alike have been fairly unanimous in their criticisms of the game. By adding more mission variety and choosing another totally original setting, Renaissance Italy, the new installment can go a long way toward realizing the potential they fell just short of. Not to mention the fact that it looks even more gorgeous than its already beautiful predecessor.

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3 - Modern Warfare 2
Fall 2009

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is arguably the best straight-up action shooter of this era. It essentially nails everything you need for a gripping military game: masterful storytelling, smooth controls, and spectacular set pieces that rival any blockbuster.

From all appearances — and untethered from the long-running Call of Duty moniker — Infinity Ward are striking out to take everything they excelled at even further. When you’re already at the cutting edge, you don’t have to do much but keep at it.

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2 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Fall 2009

If Uncharted is the PS3’s answer to Gears of War, it carved out a space for itself as a light-hearted, more colorful counterpart to Microsoft’s grey and brown behemoth. By keeping things T-rated and character driven, encouraging exploration instead of chainsaw mutilations, it’s a shooter that’s more pulp adventure than the grisly bloodbaths that are so in vogue, and a welcome respite from doom and gloom.

Naughty Dog’s emphasis on how the character reacts to both his environment and the supporting cast around him is where the first game really shined. With more time to figure out how to wrangle the PS3’s capabilities, the next chapter is their chance to show how their skills have sharpened by putting them to use on even better storytelling.

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1 - Splinter Cell: Conviction
Fall 2009

Metal Gear Solid has always been the marquee stealth action game. Now its main rival, the Splinter Cell series, has come back from hibernation in a big way. Going the complete opposite direction from the former’s cut-scene-heavy presentation, it pulls all the story elements as fully into the game world as possible, so as Sam Fisher, you’re never not in control. Since a successful Bourne Identity or Casino Royale super-spy game never fully materialized, we may be getting it here.

In addition, the stealth genre’s tendency to rely on hide-and-seek for suspense sometimes leads to games where a lot of time is spent waiting. But by the looks of what they’ve shown, a real effort has been made to let players feel like they are mastering their environments, not hiding in them. Even for those who have never been fans of this franchise, it’s rebirth with Conviction may be the game so many people are talking about this fall, there’s no way to sneak around it.

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Even with how promising all these games look, it’s still tough to make the argument that we’re not getting stuck in a rut. The entire list is dominated by either macho guys running around killing people, or macho guys shooting at people while ducking behind things. At least Metroid features a nominally female lead, but is that enough? Surely there are more stories out there to make games from than revenge fantasies.

What we’re going through right now may be more akin to the heyday of 80’s action films, where a certain formula is being perfected in front of our eyes before we start moving on to more lofty and ambitious goals. Forget Citizen Kane or Godfather; now may be the time where games at the very least get their Die Hard (Nathan Drake = John McClane?), or their Empire Strikes Back (was Saren Shephard’s father, somehow?). Maybe an iterative, software-based art form has to fully master the basics before its creators can collectively leap forward.

Luckily there are plenty of non-sequels coming along as well to break up the tedium (though tedium may be the wrong word, with sequels at least promising some of the most exciting popcorn-type games on the horizon). There are also a host of ’spiritual successors’ on the way that follow through on previous ideas from great game makers, who at least go to the trouble to invent new characters and settings. These games, like Fumito Ueda’s The Last Guardian, Tim Schafer’s Brutal Legend, or David Cage’s Heavy Rain — all must-plays for the discerning gamer — may end up being the freshest and most creative of the bunch. With these games, fingers crossed, we’ll get not just blockbuster excitement, but new thinking, new styles of play, new emotions.

Regardless, no one will be wanting for choices come the end of 2009, with some great things spilling over into next year. Now that we’ve advanced so far technologically, the upcoming field of action franchise follow-ups could just be a case of game makers finally being able to achieve their original visions. Once they get those ideas out of their systems in ways they’re fully satisfied with, there will be plenty of time to take the old models and start reinventing them. The rise of indie developers just now getting their start in places like PSN or Live Arcade will also breathe more life into the field. Groundbreaking progress may not be happening as quickly as we’d like, but it’s creeping in from the edges and not about to stop.

Sure, we may be stuck with a lot of sequels for now as the industry grows up. But goddamn if growing pains have ever looked this much fun.