2012 - A Year of Sequels Trivia Quiz

Answer: Guild Wars 2

With substantial hype in its five-year development time, expectations were high for 'Guild Wars 2' (PC), a game many believed would be able to give some serious competition to 'World of Warcraft'. Well, it was worth the wait. 'Guild Wars 2' released in August 2012 to rave reviews and so much traffic that ArenaNet, the studio behind the game, actually had to deactivate sales from their website to ensure the servers weren't overloaded. With a non-traditional approach to questing and an extensive, picturesque world to explore, 'Guild Wars 2' offered players a triple-A MMO title without a subscription fee.

Answer: Borderlands 2

'Borderlands' had a unique approach to the first-person shooter, with a cel-shaded aesthetic and a procedurally-generated weapon system that made no two games the same. Its popularity and acclaim pretty much guaranteed a sequel, and Gearbox did not disappoint with their follow-up, 'Borderlands 2' (PC, Xbox 360, PS3), which released in September 2012. Players took on the role of a vault hunter with a unique set of abilities, who set out to stop the charismatic yet tyrannical Handsome Jack from controlling the world of Pandora.

Answer: Torchlight II

'Torchlight II' (PC) featured four playable classes (the Outlander, Berserker, Engineer and Embermage), one of which was chosen by the player and taken on a quest across the land to destroy the source of corruption that was very much the centrepiece of the first game. Where the first game was a single-player only experience, 'Torchlight II' added a fully-fledged multiplayer system, allowing players to team up with their friends via LAN or internet, or even with complete strangers who are on their own quest.

Answer: Darksiders II

While 'Darksiders' focused on War and the aftermath of the Apocalypse which ravaged Earth and plunged Heaven and Hell into bitter conflict (for which War was blamed), 'Darksiders II' (PC, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U) followed Death, another of the Four Horseman and brother of War.

Despite the game being a sequel, its story ran in parallel to the events of the first game, as Death sought to find his brother and exonerate him. With Death's characteristic scythes and a looting system not unlike that of the 'Borderlands' series, 'Darksiders II' was a modest success.

Answer: The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

The PC version of 'The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings' was one of the most visually impressive video games of recent years, so when talk of an Xbox 360 port arose, there was some debate over whether it would match up to its PC counterpart. Luckily, it translated very well.

In the game, Geralt of Rivia, one of the last remaining witchers (genetically altered humans capable of wielding great power and fighting terrible creatures), was mistakenly blamed for the assassination of King Foltest of Temeria when he was discovered at the site of the assassination after the real killer made his escape.

The game followed Geralt and his allies as they searched the land for the assassin. 'The Witcher' series of video games was based on a collection of books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski

Answer: Prototype 2

The first game followed Alex Mercer in the wake of the Blacklight virus as it spread across Manhattan. In 'Prototype 2' (PC, Xbox 360, PS3), players controlled James Heller, a soldier who discovered that his wife and daughter were dead as a result of the Blacklight virus, and Heller sets out to exact revenge upon Mercer for releasing the virus.

However, Mercer gets to him first and infects him, giving him extraordinary superpowers and the ability to shapeshift. While the popularity of the first game led to the sequel, it didn't perform as well as expected, and sadly Radical Entertainment, the studio behind 'Prototype 2', suffered some layoffs in a restructure by parent company Activision.

Answer: New Super Mario Bros. 2

Mario returned in 2012 for another handheld platforming game, namely 'New Super Mario Bros. 2' (3DS) which tasked players with collecting as many coins as possible throughout the game's various levels. New items and powerups allowed Mario to turn blocks and enemies into coins, and gain coins repeatedly as long as he was moving, among other things.

The game drew some criticism due to its 'lack of innovation', but despite this, it became the first Nintendo game to feature paid DLC, adding additional courses and more ways to obtain coins.

Answer: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

With the sheer popularity of the 'Call of Duty' series, it was clear that 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 2' (PC, Xbox 360, PS3) would become one of the year's biggest sellers. Indeed, it managed to outperform the previous 'Call of Duty' game, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3' in the first 24 hours of release, a feat which the latter managed over 'Call of Duty: Black Ops' in 2011.

While previous titles in the series had historical or present-day settings, 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 2' marked the first time in the series that events were set in the future (based on the game's release).

In addition, developer Treyarch introduced a branching storyline that affected the ultimate outcome of the game, allowing players to view several alternative endings.

Answer: Pokemon

As is traditional in the 'Pokemon' series, new entries are named after colours or similar items ('Red'/'Blue'/'Yellow' and 'Ruby'/'Sapphire'/'Emerald', for instance). However, 2012 marked a first for the series, with 'Black 2' and 'White 2' (DS) being direct sequels to previous titles 'Black' and 'White'. Once again placing players in the land of Unova, 'Black 2' and 'White 2' offered new towns and cities to explore, more Pokemon to discover and catch, and new activities to participate in.

Answer: The Darkness II

Based upon a comic series by Marc Silvestri, David Wohl and Garth Ennis, 'The Darkness II' followed on from the first game, in which Jackie Estacado was imbued with the powers of the Darkness, and given malevolent supernatural abilities, like tendrils which can snap up enemies from a distance.

The game very much revolves around Jackie's grief over his girlfriend's death in the first game, and, though he was unsuccessful in rescuing her the first time, he attempts to do so again with varying degrees of success, depending on the player's choices.