Massive changes in sequels.

[barryween]

Jak and Daxter and Jak 2. I know this was said, but it should be reiterated, new EVERYTHING and its still a good game. Crash Bandicoot 1, 2, 3, and 4 (the PS2 one) are fairly different from the later ones (you know, the really dumb ones)

 

[G1eet]

Far Cry 2 is a far cry from the original (yes, I was up all night thinking that one up).

Not terribly so. There was still the fact that you could get spotted, and shot at, under a moonless night while crouching behind a large shrub.

 

[Andy_Panthro]

Surely Quake 2 to Quake 3 Arena? From good single player FPS to multiplayer only. Unreal did the same, I ended up buying Unreal tournament.

Ultima 7 to Ultima 8 to Ultima 9. U8 removed the party aspect, added jumping bits and other annoyances. Had better combat than 7 though. Ultima 9 took the series in the wrong direction, and it promptly died (Thanks EA!).

Prince of Persia 1+2 to PoP:Sands of Time. Huge change, 3D for a start, and various other changes. (haven't played the new ones, but I'm going to assume the changes were mostly for the better)

Monkey Island 1-3 to Monkey Island 4. 3D, poor quality in general compared to the previous games.

I'd also like to second Alone in the Dark, the first one remains one of my favourite games to this day (despite its very basic 3D elements and bad camera angles). The newer ones (a new nightmare, the reboot) just don't capture the same feel at all. Also got ruined by a bad Uwe Boll film (seemingly based on or around "a new nightmare". There is also a sequel! God help us all.)

 

[Mighty Lighty]

I know they are movies but star wars episode three to episode four

You can`t outcool the fett

 

[OniSuika]

Devil May Cry 3 to 4. DMC4 focused on Nero, who (I may be mistaken, never actually played the full game, so feel free to correct me), only seemed to use a single type of sword and gun. I much preferred DMC3s choice of weaponry. Gave you a lot more options and flexibility.

Also, Final Fantasy 6 to Final Fantasy 7. The game went a lot more mainstream, and a lot more emo. I still liked it, but nowhere near as much as 6.

Oh, and Dynasty Warriors to Dynasty Warriors 2. DW1 was a beat 'em up, DW2 onwards were hack and slash, as they are now.

...Yeah, I could name these off all day, but I'll stop now.

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

Jak and Daxter. Jak 2.

New setting, new gameplay, completely new characters. Still well done though.

Urgh, ninja'd! Anyways, in this same series, Jak X was a pretty big departure from Jak 2 and 3.

I don't know, I would say Jak X is more of a spinoff than a sequel.

 

[spindle]

RE4 And RE5. Oh wait, those are the SAME.

But I'd have to say Fallout 2 to Fallout 3.

no re4 was fun to play whereas re5 you run around with an aimbot taking away what little challenge there was.

 

[spindle]

Dawn of war 2 was such a piss off

Dawn of War 2 is a great RTS.

Yes its very different to DoW1, but it at least gets away from build base, gather resources, steamroll/turtle/rush.
Makes the game more fun and interesting.

Dawn of war 2 isn't an rts. It's a shitty rpg set in an rts game. Also replaying the same map 50 times then the game ends isn't my idea of fun.

 

[Generator]

Jak and Daxter. Jak 2.

New setting, new gameplay, completely new characters. Still well done though.

Urgh, ninja'd! Anyways, in this same series, Jak X was a pretty big departure from Jak 2 and 3.

I don't know, I would say Jak X is more of a spinoff than a sequel.

I guess that's true. And now that I think about it, it's not even that big of a departure compared to J&D to Jak 2. Jak 3 had a LOT of racing in it, so they just kind of cut everything else.

 

[Cuniculus]

Half Life 1 to 2. Major change in just about everything. Story, weapons, graphics. I like them both, but changes were still made.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Deus Ex to Deus Ex: Invisible War. They changed one of the deepest, most complete rpg/fps hybrids into this dumbed-down version with levels that consist of two rooms and a hallway, uninteresting characters and horrible gameplay choices.

 

[DAMG]

Colin McRae series to DiRT. DiRT is like a reincarnated Rallisport Challenge, a huge change gameplay wise. That'd be like Forza turning into Burnout. Maybe that's why they called it "DiRT."

...it's still fun, but I want a sim-rally game.

 

[Darth Pope]

Devil May Cry 2 to Devil May Cry 3. Capcom went from handing the reigns to a different team with out the original developers consent to handing things back to the original developers who intern developed a game better that every other in the series combined.

Sonic & Knuckles to Sonic Adventure. Four years between these games made them very different from each other.

 

[Travdelosmuertos]

No way in hell that's divine divinity 2 *shock* what happened to all the isometric charm of the original? the last thing we need is another cookie cutter rpg, also beyond divinity was the squeal to divine divinity so are you sure this isn't something completely different?

I know about beyond divinity ( it's technically a spin-off, I think).

Here's the new game, as soon as you hear the music you'll know its Divine Divinity's sequel.

http://www.divinity2.com/

EDIT - also the oversized swords are still there, and the strange armour.

Thanks for introducing me to this, 360 is lacking in the action rpg department this year!

 

[Mordwyl]

Does Team Fortress 2 count? If not:

Chrono Cross (from Chrono Trigger),
Metal Gear Solid (from Metal Gear 2),
Warcraft III (from Warcraft II),
Bionic Commando (from the NES original)...

But the biggest culprit that also jumped the shark was ... *drumroll* ... Final Fantasy X-2.

 

[Unreliable]

Fallout 2, and Fallout 3. Huge change.

Half Life 1 to 2. Major change in just about everything. Story, weapons, graphics. I like them both, but changes were still made.

I dont think it counts when there is 5+ years between the games. Of course they will be different if that many years of technologocal progress go by without a sequel.