As in the title, games which are in a good series, but which by themselves are terrible.
Case and point; The Sims: Urbz

Devil May Cry 2

inb4guitarherothree

Call of Duty 3 was a real stinker. After two (three if you count the PC expansion pack) great WWII FPS games, we get a stock, half-assed attempt at the COD franchise with a stupid gimmick that only appears like two or three times.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles.

I love all things Resident Evil; I'm one of the few people that actually liked RE Outbreak and Outbreak 2, but a rail shooter? Dear God, this should never have been made.

Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows

ruined 2 of my favorite franchises.

kanada514:
Devil May Cry 2

Damn was beaten to it.
Err.. Also Final Fantasy 8 and 9. But thats just my opinion =)

Jak II.

Jak and Daxter was amazing.

Jak 3 was great.

Jak X was pretty fun.

It seems that the number 2 is cursed with games that just don't fit or are underwhelming. Case in point:
Super Mario 2
Zelda 2
Devil May Cry 2
Metal Gear Solid 2
Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Maybe it's like Star Trek movies where the odd numbered ones are crappy.

Mario's Time Machine

Not sure about MGS2. Yeah we all know Raiden was annoying, but overall, the storyline was cool, and it fueled MGS4 to an extent, which in turn redeemed Raiden.

I was more disappointed with Devil May Cry 4. Truly jumped the shark. The graphics were unarguably sublime, but Nero was a tool, the story was weaker than 1 and 3, and the transition from Nero to Dante was just unsettling, and broke up the game. Also, Nero says "Kiriye" way too much....

Spektre41:
Jak II.

Jak and Daxter was amazing.

Jak 3 was great.

Jak X was pretty fun.

Ah come on now Jak 2 wasn't bad.

the transition from Nero to Dante was just unsettling, and broke up the game.

I agree. I wonder if it was perhaps just me, but I'd finally started getting Nero mastered and they threw Dante at you to control(though the boss battle was amazing, I hold it up as one of the best battles around) and by the time I was really mastering him they gave you Nero back.

I'd say Final Fantasy 11, if you can count that as part of a series. If not, one of the most recent pokémon games. What're we on now, Diamond and Pearl?

L33tsauce_Marty:

Spektre41:
Jak II.

Jak and Daxter was amazing.

Jak 3 was great.

Jak X was pretty fun.

Ah come on now Jak 2 wasn't bad.

Yes, yes it was.

ZantetsukenQ:
Not sure about MGS2. Yeah we all know Raiden was annoying, but overall, the storyline was cool, and it fueled MGS4 to an extent, which in turn redeemed Raiden.

I was more disappointed with Devil May Cry 4. Truly jumped the shark. The graphics were unarguably sublime, but Nero was a tool, the story was weaker than 1 and 3, and the transition from Nero to Dante was just unsettling, and broke up the game. Also, Nero says "Kiriye" way too much....

Devil May Cry jumped the shark with 2 and landed in it's mouth. The story has ALWAYS been abysmal, but we forgave the first one because the combat was innovative and entertaining. The Second one was just boneheadedly retarded and 3 decided to ratchet up the hard like Team Ninja made it, and 4...was a cutscene with linking gameplay elements.

TsunamiWombat:

ZantetsukenQ:
Not sure about MGS2. Yeah we all know Raiden was annoying, but overall, the storyline was cool, and it fueled MGS4 to an extent, which in turn redeemed Raiden.

I was more disappointed with Devil May Cry 4. Truly jumped the shark. The graphics were unarguably sublime, but Nero was a tool, the story was weaker than 1 and 3, and the transition from Nero to Dante was just unsettling, and broke up the game. Also, Nero says "Kiriye" way too much....

Devil May Cry jumped the shark with 2 and landed in it's mouth. The story has ALWAYS been abysmal, but we forgave the first one because the combat was innovative and entertaining. The Second one was just boneheadedly retarded and 3 decided to ratchet up the hard like Team Ninja made it, and 4...was a cutscene with linking gameplay elements.

I actually liked DMC4.

This could be a long, looooong thread.

I'll name three to keep it short.

Battlefield: Vietnam (lame filler for BF2)
Call of Duty 3 (and imo, 2 wasn't that great either)
Anything beyond Need For Speed 3 was crap, if you ask me. NFSU2 was decent, afterwards it went downhill again.. NFS: Carbon.. horrible! I can only imagine what NFS: Undercover will be like. I'll go back to the good old Test Drive series for my racing fix. I heard they're making Test Drive Unlimited 2!

Final Fantasy X-2, that game should never have even been thought of! I love all final fantasies, just x-2 was shite!

Mercenaries 2. I am wrothful right now. I would've been happy with a port of the original with a new map. What the hell is this shit though. . .

Splinter Cell: Double Agent.

Spektre41:

L33tsauce_Marty:

Spektre41:
Jak II.

Jak and Daxter was amazing.

Jak 3 was great.

Jak X was pretty fun.

Ah come on now Jak 2 wasn't bad.

Yes, yes it was.

I thought Jak 2 was the best of the series. It took the biggest leaps in terms of changing things up. Jak 3 felt really easy and the story just felt like they didn't know what they were doing. Jak X just wanted to be Mario Kart excepted unbalanced and Jak 1 was...well, Jak 1.

Also, Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Perfect Dark Zero, Final Fantasy X-2, Mercenaries 2, and Megaman X6.

Rooster Cogburn:
Splinter Cell: Double Agent.

The single player was pretty bad, the only thing different was the "trust system" which you never had to worry about if you don't absolutely botch a main objective. The JBA HQ missions were simply awful. What, you walk slowly around the enemy base to... collect data on the bad guys? Why? The only saving grace for that game was the multiplayer... too bad nobody ever plays it.

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. Yes, yes, it was a good game, just not up to standards with the rest of the Elder Scrolls. What happened to my levelling system? Why can I beat the main quest a level 3 character?

Amnestic:

the transition from Nero to Dante was just unsettling, and broke up the game.

I agree. I wonder if it was perhaps just me, but I'd finally started getting Nero mastered and they threw Dante at you to control(though the boss battle was amazing, I hold it up as one of the best battles around) and by the time I was really mastering him they gave you Nero back.

Totally got used to combo-ing with the Devil arm, which is a great addition to the DMC series, but it feels wasted on Nero. Sure, if you go through the game again and again it isn't such a big issue, but my displeasure in comparison to DMC 3 and especially DMC1 yielded no real desire to replay.

Doom 3

I thought FFVIII blew.

Edit: Oh and Oblivion, I've only played Morrowind and Oblivion. (Morrowind was a very good game though imo.)

Librarian Mike:
It seems that the number 2 is cursed with games that just don't fit or are underwhelming. Case in point:
Super Mario 2
Zelda 2
Devil May Cry 2
Metal Gear Solid 2
Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest

Maybe it's like Star Trek movies where the odd numbered ones are crappy.

Hey, Zelda 2 is GOOD. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's just not Zelda.

Metroid 2 though, I don't like at all.

Decemius:

Spektre41:

L33tsauce_Marty:

Spektre41:
Jak II.

Jak and Daxter was amazing.

Jak 3 was great.

Jak X was pretty fun.

Ah come on now Jak 2 wasn't bad.

Yes, yes it was.

I thought Jak 2 was the best of the series. It took the biggest leaps in terms of changing things up. Jak 3 felt really easy and the story just felt like they didn't know what they were doing. Jak X just wanted to be Mario Kart excepted unbalanced and Jak 1 was...well, Jak 1.

Also, Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Perfect Dark Zero, Final Fantasy X-2, Mercenaries 2, and Megaman X6.

The transition from Jak and Daxter to Jak 2 was like turning gold into lead.

Awful gun controls, terrible writing, abysmal vehicle sections, and a city that was too big for it's own good.

I'd probably say Munch's oddysee from the Oddworld series. I understood their desire to go from 2D to 3D but that just doesn't work for those games. But I wouldn't really call it terrible, just worse than the others.

I would just like to take a moment to represent my fellow Legacy of Kain fans by saying that while every-other game in the series was great in one way or another, Blood Omen 2 was absolutely terrible (and riddled with glitches).

ZantetsukenQ:
Not sure about MGS2. Yeah we all know Raiden was annoying, but overall, the storyline was cool, and it fueled MGS4 to an extent, which in turn redeemed Raiden.

Raiden was far from the worst thing about MGS2. The whole game was just filled with annoyances: The levels design was boring, just cramped orange corridors with no reasonable places to hide. You'd think with PS2 we'd get bigger levels than in the first game, but no, they are all smaller and not that fun. Also, if you are discovered, might aswell turn of the game, since there's no place you can run and hide, where the enemy won't find you.

You're given a bunch of cool weapons like two rifles and a grenade launcher, but damn you if you try to use any of them except the silenced pistol or sniper rifle, since every other weapon sets of the alarm and then you're dead.

Also, the story was abysmal. It was not cool in any sense of the word, it was just lame. I mean, come on, a possessed hand? You can't defend that, it's possisbly the dumbest idea ever. Solid Snake Simulation? Who cares? And the la-li-lu-le-lo, oh my god, it's like Kojima intentionally wanted to break suspension of disbelief by adding the most random, horrible plots imaginable. Any cool part about the story was just rehashed from MGS, like the ninja, mr X/deepthroat, and the torture room.

So yeah, MGS2 definitely does not live up to the standard of the rest of the series.

PersianLlama:
I thought FFVIII blew.

Amen. I didn't mind the love story so much, emo Squall and his stock character friends were annoying, but all that is eclipsed by the sheer unbridled horribleness of the combat. It's easily the worst combat I have ever seen in any turn based RPG ever. It's overly complicated (I still don't care enough to understand it) trying to strengthen your character, and ultimately pointless since every battle can be won using your GFs, which deal 10x more damage than regular attacks and makes you practically invincible while you use them. I got to the end of the third CD by using only GFs, and then I got stuck on a boss on which GFs were useless. Also, turn based combat is supposed to be relaxing, allowing you to think before you make your move, sort of like chess. ATB kind of screwed this up, but it got even worse in FF8 since you had to boost your GFs by pressing square as fast as you could for two minutes to deal more damage, and time your gunblade attack. If I wanted to test my reflexes or button mashing speed, I wouldn't be playing a freaking Final Fantasy game. Atrocious.

Paper Mario and Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year door were great but than they went into platforming with Super Paper Mario and its lost its charm.

Final Fantasy 8. Horrible storytelling and character development.

I would say Warcraft3, but really it was just matching its predecessors in crapiness.

Warcraft 3 is awesome, and so is the rest of the series.

Final Fantasy X. To this day I still seek the version of the game that the reviewers got to play. Maybe it was a version without Tidus, or where he jumped off the airship at the end and got sucked into the engine, maybe it was a No Sphere Grid version where Wakka and Kimarhi actually had some use without Trio of 9999.

Mr.Pandah:
Doom 3

I was going to say Doom 2! I like Doom 3, and its sweaty, oppressive atmosphere. It truly feels like a descent into perdition. I found Doom 2 too 'set-piecey', too contrived. Although not bad, as such.

On topic: Escape From Monkey Island.

Decemius:

Spektre41:

L33tsauce_Marty:

Spektre41:
Jak II.

Jak and Daxter was amazing.

Jak 3 was great.

Jak X was pretty fun.

Ah come on now Jak 2 wasn't bad.

Yes, yes it was.

I thought Jak 2 was the best of the series. It took the biggest leaps in terms of changing things up. Jak 3 felt really easy and the story just felt like they didn't know what they were doing. Jak X just wanted to be Mario Kart excepted unbalanced and Jak 1 was...well, Jak 1.

Also, Resident Evil Code: Veronica, Perfect Dark Zero, Final Fantasy X-2, Mercenaries 2, and Megaman X6.

Jak and Daxter was frickin' amazing! You had all the types of eco, and the nice animated paradise type of place and it was fun and good. Jak 2 made it evil and nastry- which is good in 90% of games, but not when the first was so nice. Jak 3 was ok but nothign great, and i didn't buy Jak X cos it had cars.