2010 was a year dominated by sequels and some were better than others. Some were also downright terrible, either in sales, critical reception or both. The following franchises should call it quits instead of returning for another tepid, poorly received installment.

Kane and Lynch: Eidos’ second attempt at making Kane and Lynch a decent game failed just as hard as their first attempt. Damn-near constant action couldn’t distract fans from the non-existent story and character development, and though some praised the shaky, gritty camera work, others were made nauseous. Whichever side of the fence you landed on, odds are unlikely that we’ll see another Kane and Lynch game considering how poorly the series has been received by consumers and critics alike. The game was much more popular commercially in the UK than in the US, so at the very least, hopefully Eidos will keep a third entry on that side of the Atlantic and spare Americans one more tragedy.

Lost Planet: The first Lost Planet was an imperfect game, but it seemed pretty close to success if they just tweaked it a bit. Instead of tweaking, Capcom totally turned the game on its head for the disappointing Lost Planet 2. Did you like the story in Lost Planet? Well, they got rid of the story. Did you like the setting? Well, they ditched that setting. Did you like the single-player campaign? Well, they scratched that. What is Lost Planet 2? A largely disappointing multiplayer oriented shooter that the developers through every idea they had at (akin to tossing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks). The series certainly has polish and it’s own charm, but it doesn’t seem like Capcom knows what to do with it. They should stop punishing fans with expensive disappointments until they get some direction.

Tony Hawk: So Tony Hawk: Ride was bad enough. While the Skate series pushed skateboarding games in a new, innovative direction, Activision decided to strap players onto a clunky board in order to play an underwhelming game. Instead of taking the franchise back to its roots, for the 2010 entry, Activision once again put us back on that clunky board to play the underwhelming Tony Hawk: Shred. The most telling argument against the series? The fact that no major sites even bothered to cover it, most likely because Activision didn’t send out review copies to the press. It’s sad to see a franchise I loved so much fail, but it’s time for Tony to retire.

Guitar Hero: Future generations are going to hate us for the Guitar Hero franchise when they dig through our landfills and find millions of useless plastic guitars in there. Guitar Hero scratched a unique itch a few years ago, but the game is tired and stale. The music genre has been declining for years and it’s time for Activision to stop milking this cow. The latest release, Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock passed by consumers largely unnoticed and earned a cool reception from critics who’ve had enough. The franchise has done nothing to innovate and has been playing catch up to Rock Band for years. At least Harmonix came out with a new peripheral to expand the experience with Rock Band 3. At this point, we only need one plastic instrument music franchise and Guitar Hero isn’t it.

Tiger Woods: Of course, EA will still make a golf game, but the Tiger Woods that carried this franchise for years doesn’t exist anymore. Fans weren’t buying the latest entry in the title, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2011 after his marital scandal tarnished his once impeccable image. It also doesn’t help that Mr. Woods is no longer the invincible athlete he once was - since going down with an injury, he is no longer the best athlete in the game. Perhaps it’s time for EA to consider a new cover athlete, or perhaps go the FIFA route and just abandon their expensive namesake.

There are of course other franchises that should probably go extinct but won’t. Army of Two is dangerously close to sinking if another entry can’t improve it, and the latest entry in the DJ Hero franchise has been met with nothing but silence from consumers. It’s likely we’ll see more entries in these franchises, but hopefully they’ll improve and can stay off this list next year.