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E3 2004 Summary 2: Sequel City

As the assembled press watched Half-Life 2 crash (and Gabe Newell scratch his head and mutter, “Don’t ask anything about a release date”), I couldn’t help but let my mind wander over the matter of sequels.

Gabe Newell (left) and Half-Life 2 (right)

At E3 2003, Doug Lowenstien’s opening address lamented the pervasiveness of sequels. To paraphrase, “Where is the innovation?” he asked. This year he actually backtracked on those comments. "Look, it's become rather in vogue to wring our hands about the lack of innovation and the reliance on sequels and licensed content as a danger to our future. In fact, I helped launch this angst right here a year ago. But I also pointed out that we tend to be too hard on ourselves. Where is the annual breakthrough in film or music? No one complains that these industries are creatively stagnant... Let's not hold ourselves to a different standard. Innovation and creativity don't operate on strict timelines."

E3 2004 presented a lot of sequels. As a Valve employee bypassed their own encryption to get the Half-Life 2 movie running, I jotted down the number of sequels I had seen:

Viewtiful Joe 2

Prince of Persia 2

Tekken 5

Splinter Cell 3

Paper Mario 2

Metroid Prime 2

Spider-Man 2

Tony Hawk's Underground 2

Metal Gear Solid 3

Doom 3

Kingdom Hearts 2

BloodRayne 2

Silent Hill 4

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II

Backyard Wrestling 2

Halo 2

State of Emergency 2

Zoo Tycoon 2

Dungeon Siege II

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2

Otogi 2

Resident Evil 4

Burnout 3

Outrun 2

Final Fantasy XII

Viewtiful Joe 2 (left) and Metroid Prime 2 (right)

And that list was just off the top of my head. But when I look at this list now, I realize left out all the sequels that so cleverly don’t include a number to denote how many installments there have been. If these clever titles, like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, were taken into account the list would be much, much longer. You’d have to include:

Godzilla: Save the Earth

Mortal Kombat: Deception

Neo Contra

Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude

And so on…

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And what about all those sports games? Do they even count as sequels? If you count them, the number of unique games is small. The number dwindles further when you take into account remakes of old games, like Altered Beast and NARC. Does originality exist in gaming anymore? And are sequels and remakes all that bad?

I hummed a little over the last question. It’s one of those “yes and no” answers. Maybe a sequel exhibits a level of

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creative bankruptcy but what if it’s made better than the original? Take BloodRayne 2 for example. The original was straight up action that many critics cited as “repetitive.” The second chapter – although far from done – demonstrates that the developers learned a lot working on the original title. The sequel features a lot more acrobatics and a refined game engine.

Neo Contra (left) and Burnout 3 (right)

I think most of the problems with sequels crop up when the next installment actually tarnishes the luster of the original. (Many just think of Hollywood. Rarely are sequels a good idea in the realm of film.)

Walking around the show floor at E3, there weren’t many sequels that I responded to with a, “Why are they bothering?”

Another installment of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? With four-players? I’m there!

More Stars Wars goodness with Knights of the Old Republic II? My hyperdrive is connected!

Burnout 3? Lead foot at the ready!

A little cheer went up from the assembled media in the Half-Life 2 viewing room and I was stirred from my mental meanderings. The demo began.

As the demo ended, Gabe Newell started a quick video of Counter-Strike using the Half-Life 2 source. “Another remake,” I mutter with half-hearted contempt. But I’ll be playing it (and probably enjoying it) nonetheless.

- Omni

(May 17, 2004)