In the first of what could well turn out to be a regular series, we invite an opinionated reader to stare at their gaming bellies, pick out the fluff and tell us what they find. Kicking us off we've got regular reader Craig Bailey giving us his thoughts on game sequels...

Sequels - what's wrong with them?

If you ask anyone if a sequel is better than its predecessor then 99.9 per cent of the time you'll probably hear a "yes". So why then, does everyone complain about numerous sequels appearing on consoles?

I can't actually think of a game which hasn't been bettered by its sequel, that is, of course if it has one! However rubbish a game is, its sequel is always an improvement. I challenge anyone to find a prequel of a game which they prefer, truthfully, to its sequel.

If you ask a PlayStation owner what his favourite beat 'em up is he/she will almost definitely say Tekken 3. If you ask him/her which is better out of Resi Evil and Resi Evil 2 they will almost definitely say RE 2. A sequel is a way for developers to put right what they thought was wrong with the first game and ultimately make a better game for you, the gaming public.

One thing I can't understand is I'm sure that the people who complain about sequels will probably go out and buy the game like everyone else does! And I'm sure that sequels will probably be the biggest-selling games on the PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast, with titles like Gran Turismo 3 and the numerous Tekken and Virtua Fighter games keeping the gaming industry alive.

If you don't believe me look at the fastest selling PC game: Championship Manager 3!

Craig Bailey