Top 10 Video Game Spin Offs

Not everyone agrees that "less is more", and the people of PopCap Games are only a handful of 'em. Based on their popular tower-defense games, "Garden Warfare" is essentially "Plants vs. Zombies", meets "Modern Warfare", meets third-person perspective. Taking the franchise to quite a literal new level, "Garden Warfare" plays exactly as it sounds, complete with its own arsenal of ranged weaponry, grenades, battle maps, combat gimmicks, the whole nine yards. Complete with beautifully detailed 3D graphics, any cynic that once believed the premise to these games to be too simple or childish has likely taken it back after several hours with this explosive spin-off.

Here he is, everyone's favorite wisecracking, obnoxious, nincompoop of an ottsel. Set between the two year gap of the franchise's initial console titles, this platformer puts players in control of the titular rodent, now hired as an exterminator after being separated from Jak. Being every bit as fun and action-packed as its predecessors, the game also featured several mini-games, with Daxter in the role of some of cinema's most iconic characters. Receiving universal acclaim for its pacing, creative environments, and impressive design for a handheld title, "Daxter" stands as one of the PSP's 10 best-selling games, hence his deserved seat on this list.

Here it is, the RE games that put the survival-horror ... err back in survival-horror. With beautifully depicted tones of desperation and dread, these games beautifully restore the strategy, evasion, and exploration elements that landed the franchise its iconic status in gaming. The most notable elements were the games' return to emphasizing ammo and health conservation, taking away all the trigger-happy and Michael Bayish gameplay styles that landed much flak for its recent predecessors. Darker, scarier, and truer to the spirit of its franchise, these were the Resident Evil games we all knew and love and have been waiting for.

Meshing new elements with a more explosive gameplay style, Capcom's "Mega Man X" brought Dr. Light's creation to a whole new light. Now capable of dashing across the ground, jumping across walls, as well as boost his speed mid-air, Mega Man's X counterpart was faster, more aggressive, and all-around much more exciting. Also new to the series was the added amount of customization, allowing players to enhance X's armor and arm cannon through locating in-game capsules and in-between boss fights. Combine all this with far more gorgeous graphics, new playable characters, and mastered controls and you've got a spin-off franchise for the digital history books.

Developed by newcomers to the franchise PlatinumGames, this title took longtime fans of the franchise by surprise and storm with its new direction. Set four years after the events of "Guns of the Patriots", "Rising" puts players back in control of Raiden, now a PMC cyborg out stop a rivaling faction bent on preserving world conflicts for financial gains. Implementing a drastic change in gameplay, "Rising" slighty tones down the stealth and strategic elements of preceding Metal Gears (Though they are still present) and ups the ante via PlatinumGames’ signature adrenaline-rushing, action-oriented hack-and-slash combat. The end result was a unique and gorgeously designed spin-off done right, Fans embraced the new spinoff, and there would have been a sequel ... had it not been for the falling out between Konami and Kojima.

Centered on the eponymous Gorilla and his little nephew Diddy, "Donkey Kong Country" was established on one fun and simple premise, make the gorillas collect bananas. Stemming from the original Donkey Kong, which also brought us another high-hopping gaming icon (alluding to Mario), these side-scrolling platformers evolved into its own gaming giant, spawning numerous sequels and encouraging new spin-offs featuring Nintendo's beloved ape. With all its titles being met with critical acclaim, Donkey Kong Country is proof that child-friendly madness can be every bit as enjoyable as the testosterone-driven insanity entries we've seen so far on this list.

Take final fantasy characters, and put them on a chess board and you have a relatively good idea of how this works. Equipped with the same deep narrative, beautifully-designed world, and customization mechanics that its predecessors have been praised for, this game is still very everything "Final Fantasy", while still being in a league of it’s own when it comes to Turn Based Strategy. If you missed the first iteration on the PS1 don’t fret, as with several HD re-masterings as well as a spin-off series of handheld titles, trying to get 1 of every class is easier than ever.

Birthed from the popular string of creation and construction-management games, EA's Maxis made a daring experiment with the conception of these sandbox life-simulators. In the end, their venture took a turn for the best, with the first title in the series selling well over a hundred times EA's projection, leading to expansion packs and official sequels going beyond its PC comfort-zone. Selling over 175 million units, it now stands as one of the world's best-selling video game franchises, surpassing even big-name veteran contenders like "Final Fantasy", "Legend of Zelda", and even "Sonic The Hedgehog".

Transitioning one's beloved gaming franchise from an RTS to an MMORPG may seem like a daunting and dubious move, but that didn't stop Blizzard Entertainment from trying. Set in the same world as its strategy games, WOW unleashed the inner warriors, elves, and trolls, double-entendre pun intended, within all as they set out on their quests for power and fortune in Azeroth. Spawning six expansion packs in its decade-long lifespan, it currently on the throne for the world's most-subscribed to MMORPG, with an estimated one-hundred million accounts backing its sovereignty.

Before we spin-off to our #1 pick, let's take a look at a few honorable mentions:

“Ninja Gaiden: Dragonsword” (2008)
“Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks” (2005)
“Tekken Tag Tournament” (1999-)
“Pokemon Snap!” (2000)

Despite having over a dozen spin-off franchises featuring the iconic characters from Mario, including the frighteningly fun "Luigi's Mansion" and the equally renowned and friendship-breaking "Mario Party", our gold medal victor was still no contest. Launched with "Super Mario Kart" in 1992 with innovative features introduced in each succeeding title, these games have heavily influenced the direction of competitors, spawning would-be contenders like "Crash Team" and "Diddy Kong" racing. Now consisting of home console games, portable titles, and even arcade renditions, it is undoubtedly the quintessential racing game beloved by all, hence crossing the finish line at first place for our favorite video game spin-off.

Do you agree with our list? Which Video Game Spin-offs do you think are the best? For more ever-growing top 10's published every day, be sure to subscribe WatchMojo.com!