Sequels are "In" for the Video Game World

There are a slew of amazing new video game releases set for this year and 2010, creating a small trend that says sequels are "in" for the video game world. And with video game franchises often improving on the original games that made them famous, it's easy to look forward to what these new installments have in store.

1. Assassin's Creed II (Ubisoft - Nov 17th, 2009 - PS3, PC, XBox 360): The first installment of this series boasted a rather unique (even though at times confusing) storyline, and garnered a plethora of missions and battles to take place in. The environment of this game is not only innovative and highly interactive, but visually stunning. So what's in store for the second game? A new way of travel, for starters. Ezio, the playable main character of this game, will be able to navigate canals by swimming, and even operate small boats, as noted at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009. Among the new vehicles, there are also scheduled to be a slew of new weapons, and of course various ways to utilize them.

2. Dead Rising 2 (Capcom - 2010 - PS3, PC, Xbox 360): While the first Dead Rising was critically acclaimed for its addictive gameplay environment and unique way of bringing a "survivor horror" genre to life, personally, I'm hoping the game developers take a chance to improve on the gameplay of this franchise even more, with the release of the sequel. Among promises of a more "interesting" protagonist (according to Keiji Inafune, head of Research & Development at Capcom), the game also promises to utilize more zombies, more ways to kill them, and even more variety of playable missions.

3. Fable 3 (Microsoft): Microsoft is doing is best to keep hush hush about a very fabled new installment for this video game franchise. Fable 3 has, however, been accidentally leaked twice: first by a Twitter written by British TV personality Jonathan RossJonathan Ross -- Ross later apologized for the tweet -- and secondly, in the NY Times Weddings section. Yes, a wedding section leaked the possible news of this video game, when one couple featured was Amy Gilbert and Joshua Atkins. Amy was noted as studying for her Ph.D. in molecular biology while Joshua was described as the lead designer of “Fable 3.” We can only hope that there are either more of these quirky "slips" in the future, or that Microsoft stops answering "no comment" and starts to get the ball rolling on features of the new game.

4. Final Fantasy XIII & XIV (Square Enix - TBA - PS3, Xbox 360): Final Fantasy is epic in the RPG gaming world, so it's not a surprise that yet another installment of the popular video game series is on its way. Final Fantasy is to video games as Rent is to Broadway; as the "Rocky" franchise is to action-sports genre films. So FF XIII is going to of course improve upon those features that make this franchise ideal. The next installment will keep its strategic, command-based combat style; however, unlike Final Fantasy XII, the newest installment's battles will take place in a different dimension, transporting characters into a sort of battle arena. And for those of you who want even more of this video game, Final Fantasy XIV is set to be a MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) for Windows PC and PS3.

5. God of War III (Sony Computer Entertainment - Mar 2010 - PS3): As stated earlier, most of the time when game developers work on a sequel, they're able to improve some of the little things that could change with the original. Well, that wasn't really the case for God of War II, which was possibly released prematurely for Playstation 2, just on the verge of Playstation 3's arrival. That might have been smart for sales (after all, the PS3 was amazingly overpriced when it first came out, and not everyone was excited about shelling out half a thousand dollars for a game system.) but it wasn't the best for the game franchise. God of War II was not nearly as innovative as the first God of War, and could have possibly just been a fix for those itching for another installment of the game. The original is still one of the best action-adventure games created -- not only did it have a completely compelling and detailed storyline that really brought its main character to life, but it also featured a highly intelligent combat system that helped it win "Game of the Year" -- so God of War III will surely please fans of this action-adventure Greek mythology based game.

6. Max Payne 3 (Rockstar Games - Late 2009 - PS3, PC, Xbox 360): Can't say I didn't see this one coming, and with perfect timing. "Max Payne" the film was released on DVD and Blu Ray in January 2009, and the latest installment of the video game was announced in March. The game is great, though the fans aren't dumb: they realize that this one may not live up to its predecessors standards. But there's no harm in hoping.

7. Metal Gear Solid: Rising (Konami - TBA - PS3, PC, Xbox 360): This one started out as just a rumor when it was announced that Konami's website may be hinting to a MGS 5, when it featured a countdown on it's homepage with the number 5 in the background. Officially announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009, Konami will be creating a fifth installment of one of it's most successful video games. Metal Gear Solid: Rising is supposedly going to follow the story of Raiden, and since Raiden has become one BAMF between his debut in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and the last time we saw him in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the character should promise to be an interesting new point of view for this espionage action game. And with Konami replacing their previous tagline, "Tactical Espionage Action", to the new "Lightning Bolt Action", we can only guess what other surprises are in store.

There are other video game sequels in store for the remainder of this year and 2010, (Call of Duty 7 being one of them), and it's possible that these developers are latching on to the previous successes of their favorite video games, and ensuring appropriate sales from those fans who can't get enough of these games. And with the economy rolling along the way that it is, the "sequel formula" sounds like a win-win situation, for both fans and developers alike.