Jose from Bit Cultures writes: "It’s strange when we look back at a series, a franchise that we’re so used to, yet we fail to notice the massive leaps one entry took to revolutionize the entirety of the series. This list is for those games, the titles that looked at its predecessor and blew it, and our expectations, completely out of the water. Some of these games even managed to revolutionize a genre on top of their own franchise, which is just a testament to how important some of these sequels actually were."
This is how the Resident Evil 4 remake was reinvented again for VR.
And Capcom, being Capcom, chooses to keep the VR versions limited to certain headsets in a niche that is already small.
I'd give my left nipple for an official RE2R VR mode. Praydogs was good but the real deal would be incredible.
Shame they don't seem to have any interest going back to these releases. RE7VR even already exists just tweak it and pop it on PSVR2. Nnngggg.
Salman From Tech4Gamers writes "Once a big deal in gaming, stealth gaming, all about sneaking around, planning, and staying cool under pressure, seems to have faded away."
"The decline of the stealth genre can be traced back to several factors. One big problem is that many games today sacrifice stealth for more action-packed scenes.
Even titles labelled as “stealth” often turn into loud shootouts soon after starting. The emphasis has shifted from sneaky strategies to just charging in and shooting, with stealth almost forgotten."
And that's what disappointed me the most about MGS4. While still a good game, it largely abandoned it's stealth roots that made the series so compelling. Since, I've gotten my stealth fix from the likes of TLOU, Hitman, and less popular tiles like Shadow Tactics.
Interesting, I would however add that I think part of the decline in interest in many recent stealth games, Assassin’s Creed as a prime example, has been that instead of the stealth play being the fun, it’s been RPG’d as a character choice akin to playing as a mage or a thief with all the same drawbacks and things which turns many players away (upgrade grinding, obscure overly complex skill and equipment upgrade trees). One thing about MGS, Splinter Cell, early Hitman and early Assassin's Creed etc was that they were games you picked up and played with the game the feature, not supplemental to homework hidden in the pause menu.
The novelty has worn off for 'pure' stealth games. They are too tedious. I personally like a good mix.
If you're replaying MGS1 in any of its available forms, you'll want to know how to unlock all the best items in the game!
Street Fighter II
While many games on this list I agree with, I will start the discussion of a few I think should have been on the list.
Final Fantasy VII:
While it is no where near my favorite entry, it did so much to change the series and the developers have not looked back with their main entries. It brought the series into the 3D world and introduced the awe inspiring summon animations. It also was the first entry Nomura directed and while he has done both good and bad for the series, he brought it into the spotlight and increased the audience for the series. And expanded the idea of mini games in the series with chocobo racing, snow boarding and casino games with the Gold Saucer.
Mass Effect 2:
I liked the first one immensely., but there is no doubt that the series grew in popularity with it's second entry. It took the Bioware Formula and perfected it. What it lost in it's RPG elements, it made up in it's action and personal relations with your companions.
Uncharted 2:
The first Uncharted was awesome in it's beautiful graphics, charismatic characters and film like qualities. Uncharted 2 though, help the series ascend into a AAA game series as it gave purpose to the characters and increased the grandeur and epicness of Nathan Drake's adventures. It also tightened up the combat and somehow had even more beautiful graphics.
Good list and unlike some websites, I didn't have to click through 10 pages just to read it
Resident Evil 4 threw the franchise into the gutter. It was like the first step off the edge of a cliff... the freefall was enjoyable, but the sudden stop at the bottom really hurt. Capcom should have listened to Mikami and let him make Resident Evil 3 the way he'd wanted to. If that'd happened, it would have had the Devil May Cry gameplay style and a protagonist like Alice from the films. In hindsight, this would have been better in the long run for the franchise than RE4's changes were.