Steam
Which video game franchise do you think only has one good game?
For me, it's Just Cause 2. The rest of the series never really matched the fun and chaos of that one—it had the perfect balance of sandbox mayhem without feeling bloated.
Also, Watch Dogs 1 is still the only one I really enjoyed. The atmosphere, tone, and story just felt more grounded and serious compared to the sequels.
What about you? Any franchises where only one entry truly stood out to you?
Discussion
All Stronghold games after Crusader sucked, they should have stayed in 2D.
Will not accept 2 slander.
I enjoyed crusader and stronghold 2 I didn't like the rest of the games
Can't wait for crusader definitive edition release
Amen
Nah, Just Cause 3 is cooler.
Yeah, I much prefer 3, but I can respect 2. 4 has cool toys, but the fact you don't need to destroy anymore to progress kinda ruins it
Imagine having a game about nutty physics and overthrowing tyranny where you don't use the nutty destructive physics or destroy tyranny. I tried JC4, it was okay, but JC3 would blow it out of the water.
Man the soundtrack of that game is so freaking cool. Makes you feel like a hero when you are destroying shit up and nearing the full destruction of a settlement.
2 was great and for a while it had a multilayer mod while 3 didn't which was a point in its favor but otherwise 3 was just a straight up upgrade.
3 iirc had the radio announcer as David Tennant (the real life david tennant who was kidnapped) as well which was amazingly funny
4 was still a solid game just a little less interesting
Loved jc2mp, so many great times I had on there.
Who David tennant? I only know the one who played doctor who
My first though
Glad I’m not crazy
just cause 2 has the better map, but just cause 3 has the better weapons and gadgets
i would love if you could combine them to make the best just cause game lol
hated 3, loved 2. But it’s hard to go back to JC2 when there is no wingsuit.
Love 3, it stays on my Steamdeck.
Actually got my MIL to play it for a bit much to the shock of my wife, BIL and SIL.
I actually like all 4 games
Just Cause 2 is fun but Just Cause 3 is definitely better once you get the jet wing suit DLC.
Closest thing to an Iron Man game that exists today.
Crackdown.
First one was fantastic and the orb mechanic was fun as hell and encouraged exploring the open world as much as possible.
Second game was much like the first one but somehow noticeably worse.
There is no third game.
Uff Crackdown is great, the gameplay is really fun and collecting the orbs scratch the right bells in your head.
But there is nothing else in that game. Basics are solid but they don't know what to do with them.
I thought Microsoft overpromised and very much underdelivered with the 3rd one?
They basically promised the entire world would be destructible which yeah that was a major point i still remember then on release it only was when you were connected to their servers and I think only in multiplayer which it really did not need a multiplayer.
IF Crackdown 3 was remade to shift all the physics to local instead of server side and make good on the promise that everything is destructible and every building is enterable then it might be a good environment for it to be in. The problem is they would also want to upgrade the graphics to what is standard triple A right now which will make all the physics simulations take to much compute to still hit 1080p@60fps on high.
That is the only complaint I can remember about the game. Other than that it was just overshadowed by GTA V.
What 3rd one? There’s only 2 Crackdowns…
Zombies were simply no replacement for taking out the crime bosses in your own way. Like reducing their ability to field vehicles or weapons first. After a while, it became just 'another' zombie nest/hive/spawn. The only thing I liked about Crackdown 2 was the nostalgia of revisiting the map but now zombies - the rest of it was very mid.
GRID
First game from 2008
Maaan! GRID is in my top 10 of all time. I remember seeing the "Rewind" feature, and I was amazed.
Ye. And the disturbing replay ambient
I was playing that just yesterday. This game will always be timeless!
Postal 2
1 is mkay but forgotten in time
Nobody will dare mention 3
4 is a janky mess
I would agree if Brain Damaged didn't exist. It's a boomer shooter as opposed to immsim like 2, but it's fucking great.
I totally agree, but now sign my petition
Are you gonna sign my damn petition
Postal 3 was so bad that they made an achievement in Postal 2 for pissing on a copy of Postal 3. Then ten years after Postal 2 came out, they gave it another direct sequel in the form of DLC. DLC which opens by saying that Postal 3 was just a nightmare the Postal Dude had while in a coma.
cant find it now, but there was a Postal bundle on GOG not too long ago that had 1, 2 & 4 and jokingly said that the 3rd doesnt exist
2 is a buggy, janky trainwreck, that's what makes it fun. Don't shit on Postal 4 for being faithful to the Postal lineage.
postal brain damaged is cool
Project CARS. PC1 was just eclipsed in every way by PC2, and Project Cars 3 just threw everything out in favor of Slightly Mad just making Need for Speed Shift 3.
Perfect Dark. Zero sucked and the new reboot that was just cancelled apparently had nothing accomplished despite being announced like 4 years ago, but the original is truly a masterpiece in the fps genre
Dragon age
Dragon age origins was the epitome of dark fantasy
This was my answer
I'm sorry, JC3 clowns on 2 in so many ways it's not funny.
It might have more streamlined gameplay but attention to detail and atmosphere is severly lacking following jc2.
For example in jc3, no running, no underwater exploration, no pc multiplayer mod built in (back in the day that shit was legendary, you had to be there), explosions and ragdoll physics were degraded, story sucked in jc3 and felt like a marvel esq production.
You gotta remember too, jc3 came out in 2014 (or 15 i forget) and jc2 came out in 2008 to compete with mercenaries 2 (which pretty much killed the franchise cause jc2 was just better in every way) A game in 2014 had less detail than a game in 2008 and looked more cartoony than its counterpart. Jc2 struggled on console but was just playable enough to make it an unforgettable experience. Jc3 all you hear is about a wingsuit
In JC3 my fun's limitless with the drop system. Loadout swap? Drops. Tanks or mechs? Drops. All for FREE.
JC2, my fun's limited to how much cash there is in a save game. Once i'm below the cash threshold to summon the fun toys? That save's useless.
Tbh every JC2 player I know uses zxz black market and infinite money. Without it... yeah. Not that fun anymore. JC2 for me was fun because of the multiplayer. JC3 multiplayer is just too unstable to enjoy for me and my friends
Terraria.
It’s the only Terraria.
Just like Kerbal Space Program
Just cause 3 slaps wtf
Crysis. The sequels were so friggin bad, CoD wannabes.
Watch dogs, 2 is clearly the best.
Some people do love Watch Dogs 2, but it can be viewed as a lot less mature and was a very big departure from the 1st, and people miss pierce. I thought 2 was fine and 1 is a top 5 game for me.
honestly what i mostly loved about 2 was the upgraded tech. if i could use the drone, the rover and all the other hacking stuff in watch dogs 1. that would be the best
Man, you must have played only mediocre video games your entire life if Watch Dogs 1 is a top 5 game
As much as many people disagree w me, the Ubisoft open world formula is one that tickles my fancy. So I like the gameplay, but not only that, I put story and characters as a big reason as to why I love certain games, my favourite game is ff7r and I'd rate Watch Dogs better than all these games: Fallout NV, FF-X, Nier Automata, RoR2, all BO games, all halo games, alien isolation, HL2 + EPs, Dishonoured + 2, Prey, Portal + 2. This is just what I can think off the top of my head that I think are on average rated higher than Watch Dogs but I think aren't as good.
not gonna lie, crazy that you think freakin watch dogs is better than games like dishonored, portal and RoR2, I respect it even tho I disagree with your take
I'd rate Watch Dogs better than all these games: Fallout NV, FF-X, Nier Automata, RoR2, all BO games, all halo games, alien isolation, HL2 + EPs, Dishonoured + 2, Prey, Portal + 2
Man, I don't think I've ever seen anyone say Watch Dogs is better than most of the games listed here. To each their own, of course.
Well this depends on which game you played first. If you played watch dogs 1 as a kid and then had watch dogs 2 come out later(like I did), then WD 2 was goofy, childlike, and not serious enough. I mean the main character is super nice and funny and goofy but then turns around and murders people or bludgeons them into submission with a meteor hammer. In contrast, the first game is serious, dark, and gritty, which means the protagonist, his actions, and the events of the game all match and the whole thing is really nice and cohesive. The only people I’ve heard praise watch dogs 2 as “the best” either never played watch dogs 1 or didn’t discover it until after WD2 had set their precedent for the series. Sucks because WD2 has none of the vibe and atmosphere that made watch dogs really popular in the first place
Watch Dogs 1 is one of my favorite games and probably will always be there. The setting in 2 doesn't work nearly as well as WD1. That being said, the hacking mechanics in 2 are the best in the series. If they did a WD4 with WD1's setting, and WD2's hacking, I wouldn't leave the house for a week.
Yes bro.
bro play the first one
Gameplay wise yes, but story ? It's second worst, cringe as hell and performances is a mess.
I like all of them, so its nice to see someone actually like 2
Thanks for reminding me of games to buy.
Dragon Age
Nah Just Cause 3 and Watch Dogs 2 are actually pretty good.
As a Just Cause fan, what?
2 has more missions, better side content, more unique landmarks, and a much better map that does a better job of selling it being an actual country & is actually properly finished.
3 frontloads all of its good content until you reach the part in the story where you're allowed north, when you discover that the entire top half of the map is completely empty aside from a couple of clone tool'd military bases and mining installations.
The only thing 3 really has going for it is the mechanic sandbox, the game that sandbox exists in is so empty in comparison to 2.
JC3 replaced JC2 for me. I never went back to 2. The wingsuit, blowing up bridges, derailing trains, blowing up gas stations, that beastly tank you drive at some point, the beautiful scenery, motion fluidity, etc. JC3 is a gem.
Burnout 3 takedown
In my opinion, Burnout Paradise was amazing.
Its so hard to pick because the soundtracks in both those games were amazing
Warhammer 40k dawn of war the first and expansions are some of the greatest rts ever made although 2 isn't bad it wasn't really an rts in an rts game franchise and 3 i didn't even bother trying because I heard nothing but bad things
Damn 2 was by far my favorite, though I like 1. I try to forget 3 exists tbh.
Yeah 2 was really good but it wasn't really an rts like 1kinda like yakuza changed not bad but different
It’s been downhill after Dark Crusade.
dragon age origins, could not get into the later ones
FEAR. I think we can all agree there. As soon as they started the console bullshit in 2 I lost interest.
Really? I'd say Just Cause 3 has way more chaos and fun with the wingsuit being added.
Though JC4 did suck severe ass
Diablo. Diablo 1 was a great start but Diablo 2 is timeless. 3 and 4 are such downgrades gameplay and story wise it’s wild. Blizzard really messed up.
Hot take incoming.
Titanfall 2.
I was hyped for 1, and when I got it, it was…meh? Seemed bog standard like CoD clone with big mechs that were time-gated, and the solo missions were quick and done.
As a result I skipped TF2 until literally everyone piece of word-of-mouth said how awesome single player was (I have kids, I can’t stay up gaming till midnight).
That game’s solo player experience blew my mind. Yes, a bit too much “shooter on rails” in some sections, but it did a far better job of blending the gameplay types so you had to be quick to switch between them and be aware of surroundings. 10/10, wish I could play that level again for the first time. There’s moment in gaming where you’re like “holy shit”, and that was one of them.
As someone that has 700 hours on jc2 on steam, youre wrong, 3 was a great time as well, not quite as many hours in that but it was not a bad game by any means
Just cause 2 were the best. And I would pick dragon age 1
dragon age is such a bizzare franchise. part 1 one of my favorites of all time and was hugely lauded at the time. every entry after seems to just be chasing that high
inquisition was well received but not looked on fondly in retrospect.
i just want another isometric rpg, not the action mess the series has become
also the tone and themes fell of a cliff
Ikr!! All DA games were shit compared to the first and Inquisition was good but as another IP. I lost all hope after the last game tbh
Dragon age Origins is the only good game in the franchise
What? That's an incredibly hot take - Just Cause 2 was fun and ahead of its time but 3 was also great too. 4 could've been better if they gave us stuff to destroy and a chaos system too.
I wouldn't say the others were bad, but The Last of Us (the first, original release) had a massive impact that all of the others did not and probably never could have matched. The actual gameplay itself isn't that spectacular to be honest - it was all about the environment and atmosphere.
Again, they aren't bad games, but all of the re-releases were just cash grabs. Last of Us 2 story wasn't nearly as good - it has more elements and complexity, but that doesn't make it a GOAT.
Dragon Age. All downhill after Origins
Far Cry. The best one is whichever was the first one you played
I like the first Just Cause, so simple
Just cause series was so fun, and I also appreciate how terrible the acting was. The acting was so bad that it made me laugh every time. Just fun and funny, great combo.
Bloodborne
What’s wrong with JC3?
Black Ops
For me it's Dead Space, I only liked the 2nd, the 1st is good but reached the pinnacle with the 2 👍
Call of Juarez with Gunslinger
Ah damn Call Of Juarez is a good one. Though I like Bound in Blood and Gunslinger both for different reasons. The first one is also a good game if a bit dated.
Crysis. The first one was a little revolution, particularly in terms of graphics. But also in terms of gameplay, with the ultra-fun use of armor and the openness of the maps (impressive for its time, without being an unpleasant open world).
Crysis 2 and 3 were correct, but nothing more. They didn't manage to be as graphically stunning as the first, and the gameplay was standardized: no more opening up, just cod like, but with armor.
Saints Row the 3rd. All saints row before and after were not good.
Now hang on I have an absurd amount of hours logged on 2 from back in the day. I also think 3 is good, but 2 is as well dang it
Starfox 64. More of a mediocre game than a good one, but opinions are pretty divided on anything that isn't that one.
Spec ops the line
theres no way you don't think just cause 3 isn't better
Far Cry 1 - yeah im here to fight
I don't disagree, but I prefer 2 and 4 slightly more. Awesome game, though, the mutants scared the shit out of me as a kid and I only recently just beat it for the first time because of them. The rest of the series sucks ass
Agree. I would say far cry 3 is also good, but other instances are repetitive copies.
Borderlands. 2 was amazing but that’s about it.
1 is good. Atmosphere, music, gunplay are great.
The ending, however…
The atmosphere is so much better than the rest of the Borderlands games.
I liked them all, 3 despite having a bad story/characters it had the absolute best gameplay in the series. The first has its charm but it hasn't aged that well when it comes to gameplay
I feel like each of the borderlands titles were “good” games besides maybe Tina’s title. Couldn’t finish that one. I like the pre sequel the most personally. 2 is widely considered the best combination of story and gameplay though.
Dragon Age
Dragon age for sure.
Gears of War is pretty good, but Gears of War 2 is the best game and all the rest are steadily worse.
Deus Ex. The first game was an unforgettable experience with an incredible atmosphere. Invisible War was just a bad game. Human Revolution was originally either a remake or a reboot, like the new Modern Warfare games, but it's too corridor-like and linear for DX series. Mankind Divided isn't even a full game, just half of it.
Homefront tchê revolution
Far Cry Primal
can't really click with most of mainline Far Cry
That’s really interesting, I consider primal to be the black sheep lol.
No hate though!
Primal was so cool to play with nvidia 3D Vision.. everything was alive
Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon exist.
Saints Row 2, The Godfather (first game)
Saints row 1 is still solid. 3 and 4 are also fun, albeit completely different from 2.
I also agree with SR2.
The driving physics in Just Cause 2 beats any other game in the series
Splinter Cell
Just Cause 2 is awesome, but Just Cause 3 is so much better. I also had fun with Just Cause 4 but you need different expectations with that one. I also got 100% in JC3 but never felt the need to do the same in JC4.
But there is no way JC2 is the 'only' good game in the series.
I might get hate, but the game was okay. It felt like a solid 7 for me, but man if you try to complete this is a drag and torture. I don't recommend this to anybody trying to complete it. Just play it for what it is, dip in and out. I wanna go back to the series, but the other games scare me they they are just as tedious to complete 100%.
Medieval Total War 2.
For the entire total was series.
Heroes of Might and Magic III
Dragon Age.
Unpopular opinion but : The Witcher. Half-Life.
Nah bro u crazy. Just cause 3 was the best. Single handedly cuz of how much better the game looked.
JC3 with DLC is video gaming at its finest imo.
Team Fortress 2
I disagree with others, JC2 is def the peak. You played jc2mp?
Just cause 2 is good, just cause 4 is good as a sandbox but only once you complete it Watchdogs 1 and 2 are both good imo but 1 is better
Alien insolation (rianse please 😭)
jc3 is honestly better imo
JC3 is way better. Also Jc4 is fun to but it falls flat because of how good 3 was.
What a bad take. JC1 was good for its time. JC2 was great. JC3 was the best one. Don't care much about JC4.
I can't even go back to playing a Just Cause game without the wingsuit.
3 is objectively the best Just Cause unless you're a nostalgia merchant
These are volcanic hot takes, OP
Just Cause 2 multiplayer was peak gaming
Tried jc4 on ps4 years ago. It was a broken ugly mess. How’d they downgrade the graphics from 3?
Just cause 3 is really good, though. 4 sucks
Saint row 3 was the best. Heavily influenced by adult swim at the time. Its also when it the series stops trying to be gta with over the top moves and weapons.
Crysis 1.
My opinion is coloured bc JC4 was my first, but I loved that game. JC3 is also incredibly fun, though I haven't picked up 2 yet
Minecraft
Isn't it like widely considered by every single just cause fan that just cause 3 is the best one
I’d say Medal of Honor. Rising Sun on PlayStation 2 was great, after that the rest just felt flat…tasteless…
HoMM. 3 blows anything out of the water. The others are sub par but still decent. Not good though
Good shout, OP! Saw this post and decided to pick it up on Steam. Cheers!
Saints Row. The Third is good on its own but when compared to 2, not at all.
NB4 sleeping dogs
splitgate the new one is dogshit
Red Alert 2.
Factorio :)
Do NOT slander JC3, its in my top 5 games of all time
Tbh far cry
Sorry everyone who likes the spinoffs over the decade, but there is only Minecraft.
Infamous, though there were only 3 games, only one was good imo.
The first game starts off the great story of the Infamous series in a decent way, a sort of mutant dystopia world ruled by a plague, but I absolutely hated the game, I felt the story was mediocre (from the little that i played it), and one of the core aspects of the Infamous series was the combat, but Infamous 1 sucked at it, and I never fully finished the story bc I couldn't fight correctly, the combat felt kinda dated, and difficult, it felt more gaged towards ranged combat and instead of letting you do whatever you want, and the powers all felt kinda weak imo.
Infamous 2 was one of my favorite games ever, it took the Infamous series to another level, it fixed the combat by giving you fluidity between ranged and melee, it let you play however you wanted, and made you feel badass no matter what you did, not to mention that it had (imo) and much better story/continuation of Infamous 1s story, and a very good ending, or endings i should say
I can do nothing but recommend Infamous 2.
Infamous second son was so disappointing, it's not even funny, it switched the badass, bald headed main character of Infamous 1 and 2 for a child that wears a beanie and skinny jeans. (You literally start the game off by climbing rocks with bird shit on them)
I felt zero connection for Infamous second son, the characters, powers, story, everything felt so... dumb, it tried to make a unique character (and a kind of "diverse" one at that if yk what i mean) but failed, it tried to make him have cool powers but failed (smoke insteadof electrical powers like the other games), and the karma system made little sense to me, as i again didn't feel like anything mattered.
I thunk it harkened back to the Infamous 1 type of game, but still, Infamous 2 had better everything, and they absolutely sold on Infamous second son, they reverted it back to Infamous 1s bs of an obsession with ranged combat, and didn't give you a cool weapon like they did in Infamous 2.
The series is kinda dead now, but I'll never stop loving Infamous 2, makes me wanna get a ps3 just to revel in its greatness again.
I cannot agree with you on both series.
Just cause 1 was simple, and laid a great groundwork. Just cause 3 improved on a lot of gameplay elements of 2, only where it didnt really improve over was world design. And 4 is still crazy fun
But Watch dogs, I just cannot agree on you. 1 was very mediocre if you ask me. It had some promising things, but it just felt restrictive. Watch dogs 2 however, improved it on all fronts, Allowed for more freedom in the hacks you used. And improved greatly on the world design
JC3 is awesome
Dead Island and Far Cry
Earth Defense Force
The only good Far Cry is 5
Even tho I really love the 5th one, I think the story is even greater in the 3rd one
Is just cause 2 better than 3? I have both of them but only have played 3 awhile ago
This is how I feel about the Wario Land games. The only one I thought was really good was the first one on Game Boy. The others were still good but it was no contest. Virtual Boy Wario Land came real close and feels like a truer sequel to Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 than Wario Land 2 did.
JC2 was my absolute shit!!! Felt so fucking cool to play on PS3, I tried JC3 but couldn’t get into it at all unfortunately
The surge.
Only fans
I saw someone once say there's two Watchdogs fandoms. Both of the games, while good, are entirely separate in tone.
I liked Just Cause 1 back in the day too.
I'd probably say Crysis to be honest. I had my fun with 2 and 3 as well, but they just didn't capture the vibe of semi-open approach of Crysis 1. I had so much fun with Crysis 1, the other were just... alright-ish.
😌
Parasite Eve. 1 is amazing and a classic. 2 is a mediocre Resident Evil clone that misses what made Resident Evil actually good. There is no third game ☠️
Dragon Age. Origins is great, the others are meh or worse.
Subnautica. I don't know if 2 games are considered as franchise tho.
That is a hot take goddamn, 2 is good but 3 was where it was at
Gothic 1 Flat out 2 Xcom burneau (burn me)
Just Cause 2 online was hella fun, was the first game I passed a hundred hours on on steam. The chaos of being able to spawn most vehicles, driving over the ice lake with rediculous speeds. Awesome game for sure.
Loved watch dogs 1, never got into the sequals. Might actually play through 1 again some time.
It’s a shame JC2 runs so well with controller on PC but doesn’t work on steam deck, perfect kind of game for the deck
Overlord
Just Cause 3 is good too, OP. It's a shame that JC4 just never actually worked out for me, it'd always crash because of online-only stuff and I never knew how to solve that issue.
JC3 was amazing, then i got to mainland and it just felt sooo empty.
I had the exact same issue with the game. I was expecting different environments and cities like in Just Cause 2.
Nop. You reach the mainland, and it's just more of the same environment with a small city and some snow at the top of the island.
It was clearly an unfinished game. Everything before the main island is so detailed, and it's largely a complete game on its own, so I don't feel too cheated. But the largest island is just empty, with a shoddy story excuse that attempts to explain it. It screams cut content.
JC3 feels like a game this is just a few minor changes away from greatness - but Can't quite figure out exactly what it is. I needs some elements of Wildlands and Mercenaries 2.
4 Was definitely a phone in chasing to much of the trendy stuff without polish. I had hoped they fixed it in 5 but those dreams are as dead as the development.
I still have hopes for EA to pull something out of left field and bring back Mercenaries one day.
I played jc2 in my ahoy maties era. Now my library is full and went full jc4 back in the day. You guys are making me curious jc3 is that good?
It's the best one.
By far the best
The actual playing of 2 is much much better, 3 just has more stuff
2 is incredibly clunky once you've used the wingsuit in 3. I spent hundreds of hours in 2 and absolutely loved it, but once i had played 3 i could never go back. It's such a massive step up to the fluidity of movement and feeling of freedom to have that wingsuit as part of the movement tools. Not to mention the graphical upgrade, 2 is visibly dated and suffers from pretty awful LOD scaling and pop-in, whereas 3, while starting to age, is still tolerable and even quite nice in parts. The deep blue ocean, brick red tileroofs and large yellow swaths of sunflower fields still catch your eye.
I had more fun with jc2.
Not even close. It’s BY FAR the best
Jc2 was more fun when I was growing up, but I bet my wingsuit that jc3 aged better.
JC3 is by far the best in the series. JC2 was amazing for its time but anyone who thinks its better than 3 is blinded by nostalgia
3 is good but one thing that ruined it for me was the fact that youre near invincible, It removes a lot of the peril and thrill.
On 2, id set the difficulty up to max, then be forced to be creative since I could die in a few hits: Swoop in, drop sticky bombs, duck behind cover as the bullets rained in, grapple onto a helicopter then get out of there quick as the sticky bombs detonated. It made the player feel like a badass.
3 on the other hand had no difficulty settings so you were stuck on what felt like very easy. Sure there were lots of badass things you Could do but why do any of that when you could just walk in the front door, get shot in the face a million times and not feel it, then slowly hit all the targers with a standard weapon.
Mix 2 with the glide suit, some of the weapons etc from 3. And you will have the best game ever