How come most game series have THAT game entry to which fans are always mixed about?

How come most game series have THAT game entry to which fans are always mixed about?

Hitman Absolution
Dark Souls 2
Theif 4
Fallout 4
Doom 3
Serious Sam 2

Any more examples come to mind? What causes it? How can we stop this?

mgsv

Wolfenstein 2009.

fallout new vegas

Max Payne 3 is stellar.

Postal 3

it's one of "it's a good game but a bad X game"

LittleBigPlanet 3

Burnout Paradise is spectacular but there's always contrarian bellends who think 3 was better because muh crash mode

Midnight Club LA, again contrarian bellends who thought 3 was better for no particular reason

Gran Turismo 6, great game but people bitch about muh standard cars

This. My fav Max Payne for sure.

Then 4 came out and made everyone think NV is GOAT

Because Devs try to do something different and it usually sucks. I'm a huge hitman fan and absolution was way to linear. Also I don't really care that much about story and hitman I just look at a picture of the guy I'm supposed to kill, then I go kill him. Although the story in the older games isn't terrible.

Zero Time Dilemma
MGS4 and MGSV
Ace Attorney 4

Everyone thought NV is GOAT even before Fallout 4 was announced.

>Midnight Club LA

3 actually was better. They dumbed down nearly everything for LA and gave it utterly atrocious rubber band AI.

Halo 4

Dragon age 2

Are people mixed about Thief 4? I thought it was universally considered trash

>mixed
Absolution is fucking shit. Everyone in Hitman threads says it's bad.

What was dumbed down?
>map is larger and more detailed with more shortcuts and jumps
>more customisation, full on vinyl editor rather than mc3 presets. Wide body kits, interior customisation, even the way the doors open and close
>cockpit view with detailed interiors
>new race types such as freeway races, red light races etc
>online multiplayer, which was really good. Free roam with races being played inside that lobby, no separate instance and load times
>rate my ride

>muh rubberband AI the game is too hard!!! !
Its a fucking racing game. Get good at racing.

I think you're being way too nostalgic for MC3.

Because each game is based on it's own merits even if it is part of a long running series.

Throwing together a game with reused assests or recycled story and slapping a sequel number on it for a quick buck ain't getting a free pass because muh series.

If you seriously don't think rubber band AI is a valid complaint, you're a fucking moron. There's no reason AI should be able to catch up to you when your car is many times faster and more maneuverable than theirs.

>it's one of "it's a good game but a bad X game"

if that's what OP is talking about then RE5 and 6