WALL OF TEXT EXPLAINED: What you're looking at is an episode of Countdown w/ Defunct Games published before 2006. As you can tell, something has gone horribly awry. I won't bore you with the technical details, but it has to do with the old layout being incompatible with the new. Eventually, we would like to retrofit these old episodes of Countdown, but that will require a significant amount of time. As Defunct Games has only a limited staff, we aren't sure when we'll have the chance to fix this article. If you absolutely need to know what this article said, get a hold of us on Twitter or leave a message in the comment section below. Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you will enjoy the episodes created post-2006.

#10 Samurai Shodown 3 The first Samurai Shodown, well, it was one of the most amazing experiences you could have in the arcade. The second Shodown gave Street Fighter II a run for its money. But by the time we hit the third installment, Samurai Shodown had lost all of its appeal. For some strange reason, most of the controls had been changed, the characters didn't play like they had before, and the graphics weren't improved in any way. The game also took away many of the best characters, only to introduce a lot of lackluster second-string characters. Fans were not amused, but they would have to get used to the reality that the days of Samurai Shodown 2 were gone for good. #9 Twisted Metal 3/4 The first Twisted Metal was THE launch game for the PlayStation. It was unlike anything gamers had ever seen before, combining the battle mode of Super Mario Kart and the ultra-violence of Doom. The sequel improved the graphics, introduced much bigger levels, and a lot more vehicles to rip apart. Both of these games were great reasons to own a PlayStation, and an even better reason to have friends. But then Sony handed the Twisted Metal franchise over to 989 Studios, who managed to tear away every inch of dignity it once had. The third and fourth installments of Twisted Metal were so bad, that many gamers had a hard time remembering the quality of the first two. #8 Dino Crisis 2 Let's see if this sounds familiar. The first game was one of the most exciting games of its type. It kept you on the edge of your seats, even though it was set in a relatively small area. But when Capcom released the sequel, gamers realized that the game had not improved in any way, and was now suddenly a much shorter adventure. Is it Devil May Cry 2? Nope, it's Dino Crisis 2. It spans a bigger area, it has more characters, but it's really not a very good game. The game controls exactly the same, but lasts about half as long. It also doesn't sound very good, and in some ways looks worse than the first one. And the puzzles aren't interesting in any way at all. Dino Crisis 2 is as useless as they come. #7 Mortal Kombat 3/4 I have mixed feelings about the first couple Mortal Kombat games. I appreciate the first game, but also realize that it has terrible, terrible control (especially compared to Street Fighter II, which had been available for quite awhile by the time it came out ). The second Mortal Kombat, on the other hand, is one of the best fighters I have ever played. It's filled with great graphics, sound, personality, and in-side jokes I will likely never forget. But while I'm mixed on the first two games, I have no doubt about the third and fourth installment in the series: THEY SUCK. Mortal Kombat III was a little like Killer Instinct, which is not a compliment. And the fourth Kombat? Oh my goodness, I thought War Gods was terrible. Sure, Mortal Kombat has made up for some of their sins, but still, Mortal Kombat 3 and 4 were major disappointments. #6 WipEout 3 I'm one of the biggest fans of WipEout XL, to this day I brag about its awesome music, great graphics, and interesting level designs. Even all these years it holds up remarkably well. But what I don't understand is why WipEout 3 was not pushed back a few more months, until it was complete, at least. Not even a rehash of XL, WipEout 3 was a slower playing game with almost no personality what so ever. The graphics weren't nearly as good, and the music was forgettable. It almost seemed like every aspect that made XL cool had been stripped out of WipEout 3. This was a sad day for racing fans across the world. #5 Reloaded When Loaded was first released, it seemed like a fun variation of the Smash T.V./Total Carnage theme. It was bloody as hell, and filled with fast action. It also showed off the wonderful lighting effects the PlayStation was known for (at the time). The game became a marginal success, enough to warrant a sequel. Problem is, one the this highly anticipated game hit the market gamers realized that it was a disappointment in every way. The once fast graphics, were now nothing more than choppy sprites with extremely poor animation. The game also had a tendency to slow down when the action should have been fast. It was an all around terrible experience. #4 Driver 2 Before Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City, there was a small game called Driver for the PlayStation. It was a wide-open game, that allowed you to take multiple routes, and do things how you want, just as long as you stayed in your car. If anything, Driver introduced the world to a type of game unlike anything we had ever seen before. But then Driver 2 came out, and it was a real bummer. The levels were much more linear, the graphics weren't improved, and the two player mode was a joke. There were frame rate issues all over the place, and frankly, it was a completely forgettable experience. Eventually Grand Theft Auto III would come out and show everybody the true potential of games like Driver. #3 Street Fighter III We beat up on Capcom a lot on this list. After all, we are writing this list to take our minds off of the awfulness of their Devil May Cry 2 product. But dammit, they deserve some flack, because they really have made some crummy sequels. Take Street Fighter III, for example. Perhaps it's partially because Street Fighter II set the bar too high, or that Capcom took their sweet time releasing the true sequel, but when Street Fighter III hit, it landed with a thud, and was quickly brushed to the side to never be spoken about again. Of course, Capcom wasn't willing to let it flop; they released two more versions of the game to try to fix the problem. But as they say, you can't throw money at the problem and expect to fix it. Street Fighter III was a flawed product from the get-go, and gamers weren't ready to embrace it. You win some and you lose some. But this was a major screw up for Capcom. #2 X-COM: Apocalypse The third, and final "real" chapter in the X-COM series was just dreadful. It tried to re-energize the X-COM theme, but failed in every single respect. The first X-COM is still one of my all time favorite games, and the sequel, while not as good, was still a solid title. But Apocalypse seems to forget what made the first two so much fun, and tried to add a weird SimCity-like game around it. The graphics were improved, but all the fun had been ripped out of the original game, and fans were not pleased. To this day there has still not been a proper apology for that atrocity. #1 Metal Gear: Snake's Revenge AlrightLet's have a little history lesson here. The first Metal Gear was not originally developed for the Nintendo Entertainment System, but rather the MSX. It was ported (and improved) when released on the N.E.S. and Famicom, which is where most gamers came to know of the series. The MSX would house one more Metal Gear game, the sequel, Solid Snake. It was a stealth action game, similar to the recent Metal Gear Solid series, and won praise across the world for its daring use of patience and practice. Of course, when the game was ported to the N.E.S., it didn't keep the stealth game play. Instead it was an action game, similar to the Contra series. Metal Gear: Snake's Revenge should not have even owned the name "Metal Gear" as it has nothing in common. If anything, the awful Snake's Revenge turned people away from the franchise, and may have contributed to the extremely long wait between Solid Snake and Metal Gear Solid. Question: You can bitch about lame sequels all you want, but what do you think are the most defining sequels every made? Well, that's a tough question, and one I don't take lightly. There are plenty of great sequels, but not all of them are actually defining for the game industry. I suppose a game like Street Fighter II is one that I would consider defining, after all, it changed the way an entire industry looked at one on one brawlers. Grand Theft Auto III has proven so much to not only the gaming community, but those who are on the outside looking in. It will likely be remembered for some time to come, and will surely spawn countless rip offs. Of course, Super Mario 64 knows a thing or two about rip offs. Perhaps not as defining, I think that recent versions of both Final Fantasy X and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 have shown that companies are willing to take their franchises into unknown territory, even if they may sacrifice sales. These are just a few of the sequels that have made the industry what it is today.