Same Old or Something New

As the gamers you are, do you prefer the same or similar mechanics/story from game to game? Or do you prefer something radically different or slightly changed or altered. This thread is more for sequels but it also refers to a different game from the same franchise or game companies.

Personally I like it when a game has similar mechanics but a completely new story, note I said similar mechanics, I think there should always be new mechanics Introduced in a new game.

I agree with Orph. I like when a game has a similar concept with new features and a whole new storyline. I don't like having to start out not knowing what I'm doing every time I play a new game.

Id love some changes but not totally something new, as it could ruin the series completely. I got some perfect examples for them aswell. Just like what every one else so far said actually haha

What everyone else is saying.

Unless it's a spin-off, you generally want to keep the game's basic mechanics similar while adding a new story and new mechanics etc.

Games that change too much should be completely new games, while games that change too little get boring and repetitive quickly.

I agree with the other posters with the same mechanics and an different story

I'd like to say I enjoy new things... but then the Paper Mario series destroyed that. Super Paper Mario was awful in comparison to The Thousand Year Door just because of the mechanics; battles were gone and the world was 2D. So yes... I prefer it when games generally use similar mechanics and gameplay with brand new stories. Using Paper Mario again, the original Paper Mario to the Thousand Year Door was a perfect transition.

I prefer to have the same mechanics, but I do appreciate changes from time to time. For example, the Final Fantasy series, early games adopted the ATB bar, which I became accustomed to and actually enjoyed until I think XII came along? From X onwards, there's still the sense that you have to wait to perform your action, but I think XIII stepped away from that combat system in a more obvious fashion. It was real time action, which I couldn't get used to at the beginning.

Same mechanics maybe something added to tweak the mechanics to a better form. But for the story of course I would want one with a different one or else it might be just a waste of my money.

Same mechanics but a different story. If something is great, then why change it? You have the risk of making it crap f you alter something too much. If the game worked out great before, just change the story line and possibly change characters as well. This has worked out with Pokemon, Call of Duty, Legend of Zelda, Pikmin, you name it!

Honestly, it depends on the series. If it's say, Sim City, I'd like to see a baseline of the old mechanics as the starting point for development, adding in more complex mechanics and features overtop of that baseline. I never like to see fewer mechanics in a city-builder. I like me some simple yet deep gameplay in that genre.

Other games, if they don't change the mechanics too radically between each iteration of the series, I don't mind seeing a change in mechanics.

I'll side against the majority of this thread and say that I prefer something radically new. I find most game franchises to be overly conservative, especially nowadays.

I'll have to agree with DowntownDumpling here. I love when developers take big risks with their games, even if they don't end up being entirely successful. Most of the reason I play games is so I can experience something completely new and alien, and maybe even see things in a different light, not to play the same thing in a different package.

At the very least, I can appreciate the efforts from developers to spark some creativity inside the industry. I can't say that about developers that insist on repackaging and tweaking the same core game to be safe, regardless of the actual quality of the game.