Top 10 Games of 2008 Needing Sequels

Lists, huh? We all love them. They help us fit our lives into neat, comfortable boxes. God forbid I should hit you with a series of titles devoid of any specific structure or numerical hierarchy. The World would surely stop turning, the sky would switch places with the sea, and Nintendo would unveil their idealistic vision for a strictly hardcore-gaming future. Well, I plan to save the world from such disarray, with my list of top 10 games demanding a sequel or continuation.

Note: I’ve included games on this list which are, in fact, sequels in themselves. So, to be absolutely correct, this is a compilation of games I feel demand sequels AND games which should, by all rights, see continuations in their respective franchises.

10 – Little Big Planet

I know that “LBP” was engineered by Media Molecule as a constantly renewable platform, so there’s no real expectation for a sequel to arrive at any point in the near future. However, given the already insurmountable breadth of innovations introduced with the arrival of this game, one can only dream of the technological potential that “Little Big Planet 2″ could bring. Perhaps this is a sequel best reserved for the arrival of the Playstation 4, when Sony’s Cell 2 processor syncs with our brainwaves and lets us create levels by quite literally just thinking them up.

9 – Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

This wasn’t a bad game, by any means. “TFU” was harshly criticized against the likes of “Knights of the Old Republic”; a some what nonsensical comparison, really, almost akin to judging “Streets of Rage” against “Chrono Trigger.” “Unleashed” was a fun experience in mostly the right places, but for all the abilities it gave the player, it never made you feel truly like a bad ass. Somehow pulling a Star Destroyer out of the sky just didn’t feel as epic as it should have, and throwing Stormtroopers against the walls started to become routine by the third stage. If LucasArts could somehow work on a way to make the force within Starkiller more environmentally dramatic, and a bit more varied, then this would be a title for the ages.

8 – Need for Speed: Undercover

I remember when these games were good. Seriously, there have been points in the past where the “NFS” franchise has randomly coughed up legitimately fun and playable titles. “Need for Speed: Underground,” for instance, remains one of my favorite racers; it provided a linear line-up of tracks and an addictive credits system that kept me wanting to tweak my shamefully eccentric Acura RSX until it looked like something an anime comic angrily threw up. “Need for Speed” is now a victim of its’ own hype and success, ignorantly deflecting attention from the core gameplay, which has remained mostly unchanged for some time now, and placing the spotlight on how many celebrity faces it can cram into its F.M.V. sequences. There’s rumors the franchise might be placed in the hands of Criterion, the guys behind “Burnout: Paradise,” and that might prove to be the foot in the ass that EA are looking for.

7 – Dead Space

If you’ve played the game the whole way through, and sat in horror as you watched its’ conclusion, then the reasoning writes itself – you can move onto number 6. If, however, you’ve not yet played Dead Space, then you’re a bad person, and you need to make things right as soon as possible.

6 – Civilization Revolution

This aptly titled game evolved the ideas and mechanics of the console strategy game, and gave the player an experience so addictive that jobs and social events became mere distractions from real, important issues. Such as Queen Elizabeth’s constant attempts to invade your capital city, and India’s unruly acceleration towards a cultural victory.  If Firaxis could add a few more conditions to the grounds for victory, and some diverse micromanagement elements when it comes to your cities and their functions within your land, then “Civ Rev 2″ will be a definitive strategy game on any platform, let alone console.

5 – Valkyria Chronicles

A genuinely creative and innovative JRPG on a next-gen console? Watchu talkin’ bout, Sega! Well, apparently whatever they were talking about they meant, as “Valkyria Chronicles” arrived on PS3 introducing a great spin on turn-based roleplaying. The result was a game that played out like a HD version of “Advance Wars,” with all the art-style of “Street Fighter IV.” Adding more variety to the units playable, and extra interactivity to the environments would be a big step forward for a potential sequel.

4 – Burnout Paradise

Who could have guessed that of all the games released this year, it would be “Burnout Paradise” that had the legs to carry it for well over 10 months? Criterion, surprisingly, have been one of the most progressive suppliers of DLC this year, going so far as to code motorcycles into the game as a downloadable pack – free of charge, no less. The true test for the developers will be tackling a whole new rendition of the “Burnout” series, and finding a way to create a game that isn’t instantly nullified by the robustness of its predecessor’s add-ons. I believe Criterion are one studio that can rise to this challenge, and their next racing game will surpass our petrol-lust.

3 – The World Ends With You

The one thing that surprised me more than how much I loved this game, was how many people didn’t know of its existence. This was a compelling take on the RPG formula, providing real-time battle scenarios where the player could control two characters at the same time (literally) using the stylus and directional pad. As confusing as this may sound, I personally was frequently surprised by the way I would adapt to simultaneously punching in directional combos whilst striking the enemy with a slash of the stylus. Set against the back drop of contemporary Shibuya, the setting and its characters were as energetic and vibrant as the gameplay. Considering “TWEWY” was a release by Square Enix, it was remarkably forward-thinking and willing to take risks; a trait not commonly associated with the developer in our more recent generations of gaming. If this is indeed Square’s Frankenstein monster; an experiment compiled from bright ideas the talent at Square were too scared to implement in a “Final Fantasy” or “Kingdom Hearts” title, then I could only see that Frankenstein getting stronger with an upgrade.

2 – Persona 4

The Shin Megami Tensei games belong to a decidedly hardcore set of JRPG enthusiasts, if only on a count of their scale. “Persona 4″ is, conceptually, every bit as groundbreaking as any “next generation” game currently available, and yet it belongs to the Playstation 2, a last generation console, proving that big ideas don’t need advanced chipsets and 1080p capabilities to be effective. The game some how mixes a deep social simulator with a demon-hunting action-RPG, and makes both those aspects seem not only relevant, but important to one another. If Atlus were to take a shot at moving the “Persona” series to current gen consoles, then technologically their only limits would be themselves. They could potentially craft an active, real-time World. One which is truly alive, and not just based on a decision to select yes or no from a dialogue tree. One which could see your decisions effecting the social attitudes of the people you’re interacting with, which would then effect the attitudes of the people around them; a definitive, entirely human social landscape based on delicate strings of cause and effect.

1 – Mirror’s Edge

Surprised? I doubt it. Conceptually, “Mirror’s Edge” is the future of platforming; it’s some sort of neo-”Super Mario Bros.” for the IKEA generation. And conceptually, it’s the game of the year. Unfortunately, in execution, DICE’s efforts produced none of the above. But rather than write the game off, the World seems to have agreed that “Mirror’s Edge” was merely a $60 beta test. Gamers and journalists have been remarkably forgiving and understanding in their evaluations, if only because they see the power they hold over turning this game from a failure into an exercise in community influence. “Mirror’s Edge” gets its fundamentals right: scaling rooftops and performing life-affirming jumps onto thin pipes from 50-stories off the ground feels like it should, but those damn combat sequences just don’t work. Inevitably, placing a gun in the hands of a gamer who has no will or encouragement to use it just ends up confusing more than it does entertaining. DICE need to make an important decision as they sit down to discuss the sequel: do they make armed combat a relevant, fully-functioning aspect of the game, or do they strip it away completely, instead focusing on more creative aspects of evasion. Whichever path they choose, with the amount of feedback the gaming world has given for “Mirror’s Edge,” ignorance is the only way DICE could fail us on the follow-up.

Related Posts:

• November 20, 2008 -- Mirror’s Edge Review: Problematic or Genius?
• May 6, 2008 -- PlayStation Day: Mirrors’ Edge
• April 9, 2009 -- Valkyria Chronicles Anime: Episode 1
• December 24, 2008 -- Top 10 Reasons The Video Game Industry Is In Trouble
• December 23, 2008 -- Top 10 Most Disappointing Games of 2008