E3 rages onward, and like any gaming expo, one of the main orders of the day is the sequel. Some people hate sequels, and rightfully so. A sequel done poorly is just a rehashing of the original game with new stuff added that either ruins what was fun about the original or just feels boring. Take Unreal Tournament for example. The 99′ edition was bitchin’. Every release after that, less so. They announced UT3 today and no one gives a shit because nothing feels fresh and all the old classic stuff that people loved has been squeezed out.

A good sequel finds balance between keeping old beloved features and fine tuning them, and adding necessary new features to the game experience interesting. Halo is a perfect example. Its 2^nd and 3^rd iterations were basically just perfecting a close to perfect engine, and now in Halo 3 we’ve got what is by far the most balanced and feature chocked edition ever, and they finished the story without laming out. Good sequels happen, and when they do I love em’. Here are three that caught my eye (click the names to check out their trailers).

Street Fighter IV

Yes, the game has been made 1,000 times. Yes, fighters are a niche gametype that a lot of people don’t enjoy. But I don’t care. The classic SF series has finally jumped from 2D to 3D, and instead of copying games like Tekken and the re-visualized Mortal Kombats, they’ve chosen to do it in style. 3D characters on a 2D plane, keeping the classic finesse based fighting just that, classic. New characters include a Luchador and a female secret agent, but the focus is on bringing characters we loved from the 2D series to new life in 3D. I can only hope there is a secret Akuma unlockable. PUT YOUR QUARTER UP IF YOU WANT NEXT. (Producer Interview)

Resident Evil 5

I hate survival horror games. I admit, I was wow’d by the first Resident Evil when it came out. And when that dog came through the windows I pooped everywhere, no doubt. But since that, I just couldn’t get into them. I felt like one of the reasons they were so scary was because they had shitty camera angles and controls that would simultaneously blind you and make you unable to aim your gun. I’d find myself tense not because I thought there might be a monster, but because I knew even if there was, I’d never be able to hit him. Until Resident Evil 4. RE4 is the king daddy of survival horror and props goto Capcom, who finally had the nuts to give the player controls that actually allowed them to be scared by the game and not their inability to swivel an invisible camera. RE5 looks no different. Same control scheme, same focus on equal parts effective combat and scaring your pants off, and interesting new setting that ties in with the rest of the series storyline. Oh, and it looks good too. And you can finally curb stomp zombie’s faces. (Gameplay Walkthrough)

Far Cry 2

Out of the games on this list, Far Cry 2 is the biggest departure from its original. For those who never played it, the first FC was basically a showcase for a brand new (and for the time, stunning) game engine. Beyond that it was a linear shooter (with some funny moments, always appreciated) with your typical fare. Mercenary saves girl, discovers plot of evil scientist on jungle island, shoots rockets to fix problems, etc. FC2 has turned that on it’s ear. Firstly, it’s non-linear. Like, for example, GTA4, FC2 will let players wander an enormous world (which they claim requires no loading at all) and take missions as they wish. Secondly, it’s story actually sounds interesting. You’re a mercenary (ok that’s not that fresh) who’s been hired to kill an Arms Dealer who’s been selling to both sides of an African civil war. Moral ambiguity and a modern, topical setting. Third, the game has real time fire propagation, which means you can set shit on fire and it burns for real, and fire spreads. Bad-fucking-ass. Combined those things with realistic weapons engine where things require maintenance and can jam, a bevy of vehicles at your disposal (including a hang glider), and a realistic night and day system that allows for tactical night-time assaults makes Far Cry 2, in my opinion, the hottest sequel on the show floor at E3. (Producer Interview from E3)

(Images via Flickr)