Best Game Setting

[TelHybrid]

I have to say the settings on the original Sonic games, back when it was set on Mobius before they brought it to the human world.

It may have been 2D, but they all felt right and were so varied. Combine them with the soundtrack, and it was fairly immersive for its day.

 

[Sassafrass]

I'd going to pick two.
Final Fantasy X. Yes, up close it's dated but it still looks beautiful from a small distance.
The other is Viva Pinata. So many colours. It's like I've had paint thrown over my eyes and it's been made into a masterpiece.

 

[JohnnySex]

Brutal Legend. I would totally live there.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

Septerra Core, all the different layers of the game had their own unique feel to them.

Wow, somebody else than me played that game?

OT: If we disqualify all pre-established settings games were placed in (thus getting rid of KotOR, Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, blah blah blah), I would say one of these:

1) Albion - well, mostly the Iskai and their civilization.
2) Mass Effect - though it could have been so much better if more races and non-sentient species were featured.
3) Dragon Age: Origins - so what if it's just a giant sack of old tropes? The amount of detail is amazing.

You might notice that what all these share is the amount of useless background information about the gameworld - it makes the world feel alive, it makes it fun to explore!

 

[Kajt]

Vvardenfell, part of Morrowind in... Morrowind. That was an awesome setting, varied, vibrant and almost alien, all wrapped up in its own lore, history and culture with a sense of identity. Something to me, Cyrodill in Oblivion lacked. Where Oblivion was more generic, Morrowind was completely unique and felt like an actual world with its own politics, problems and strange creatures.

This. Especially the Bitter Coast, that place is just beautiful.

 

[Random Argument Man]

I'd probably set in FF8 world. It looks like a place I could live.

 

[Dr. Wily III]

Super Metroid - A Place to live? Probably not (Not to think about that it blowed up in the end.) but still great and immersive.
Chrono Trigger - Different Time Periods ftw!

 

[Space Spoons]

I've always loved Isle Delfino. It's every bit the bright, colorful island paradise that it should be. It seems like the kind of place that'd be absolutely perfect for a vacation.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Los Angeles/Santa Monica/Chinatown/etc. in Vampire: Bloodlines.

Also, the township in Shenmue. By the end of the game, you feel like the place is your hometown.

The Vortex World/Amala Labyrinth in Nocturne is also very one of a kind.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

Shadow of the Colossus was great in terms of setting, but another one I realized today is Fallout 3. There was a section where I was crossing over a hill and I looked out in front of me and saw the Washington Monument in the background with the torn up buildings in the foreground. The whole environment is astounding.

 

[Hazy]

Prince of Persia. While it wasn't immersive, it was fairly beautiful, and I enjoyed flying through caves, grass, and desert with Elika's magic.

The lack of traps was a let down, but I completely agree with my man, here.

Also: Demon's Souls. You feel like you, for all intents and purposes, are going to die when you step into this dangerous world

Destroyed beauty is the name of the game, and when you exit the dark and claustrophobic environments, it's usually above grey and war ravaged landscapes, with the sun barely shimmering through the kicked up dirt. And then you get buttfucked with fire by the Fat Minister that you foolishly didn't think to look for. Start again.

 

[SantoUno]

HAY GUYS I FOUND A SEARCH BAR
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.164415?page=1

Now we don't need to talk any more in this thread!

You know, atmosphere and setting are two different things.

OT: I really kinda like the new variety in areas that every Zelda game brings, mostly like in A Link To the Past and Ocarina of Time.

Despite popular hate, I liked Silent Hill 4's setting A LOT. Finding a hole in your bathroom and laundry room that led to some unknown world filled me with so much creeps.

And once I finally opened the chained up door in Henry's apartment...HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

KOTOR 1 and 2 also had kickass planets.

 

[Bato]

The planescape setting.
It's just awesome.

I also liked the setting of Bioshock and Borderlands, borderland's setting is much more alive than every other wasteland-esque game.

 

[Spitfire175]

Vardenfell. The best fantasy setting ever. Generic ideas and tropes were shotgunned in the face and that was probably the best idea bethesda has had. Ever.

Also, Borderlands' Pandora. Odd how such a dead ball of salt and rock can feel so alive.

 

[vorlors]

uplink really pulls you in and make you feel like you have a impact in the world

 

[Toaster Hunter]

Fallout 3. I never thought that nuclear Armageddon could be so beautiful.

 

[drisky]

I'd say Shadowrun, fantasy plus cyber punk apparently equals awesome.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Hmmm my favorite must be the Arkinnsah from the D&D Game world I made.

It was a 'Kingdom' part of the North Gelapian Continent.

Yess I made an ENTIRE world, for a D&D game.

Shuddaup.

 

[internetzealot1]

Fallout 3
Halo series
The Riddick series
Super Mario Sunshine
Zelda series, particularly Wind Waker
Metroi Prime: Corruption
Dead Space

Pick any one of these. I can't.

 

[jaammiie]

Borderlands. It looks awesome and the cell shaded graphics and creature make the world of Pandora more fun.