Open World / Sandbox games seem to be becoming ever more prevalent and seem to be getting larger and more varied. Hell if San Andreas can do what it did, you can be damned sure modern consoles aren't going to be left wanting.
But what games do you think really do the genre justice and what games did the open world seem like pointless afterthought?
Can the games really get much bigger before we get 'e-zuasted'? And what topography is seriously under represented by these huge landscapes?
What games have you lost hours of your life to, to the point where going back years later feels like a genuine trip back home and what have you been glad to see the back of?
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GTA: San Andreas:
Previous iterations of the GTA series may have given us cities and eras to explore, but it wasn't until San Andreas squeezed every last drop out of it's consoles that we realised just how ambitious Rockstar were. From getting out of jail to flying a Harrier Jumpjet. San Andreas was the game that kept on giving... Mission after awesome mission or just being allowed to drive around the brilliantly rendered state, the game was truly huge and a promise of things to come when he next gen. dropped...
Anyone who didn't jump off the mountain didn't play this game.
The Getaway:
This is one of many games that rode the coat tails of the GTA juggernaut but did something unique in that it gave us London to use as a play area. This included the main areas everyone knows, but the real joy lie in exploring it's back-streets and dark alleys. All the little nooks and crannies that make London an uneasy place for the lost tourist.
Some of the player mechanics were on the ropey side, just trying to walk your protagonist was like steering a monkey on a dodgem, and driving at speed in the capital proved just as dangerous as it would in real life. But the driving was pretty good at the time and each car felt like an individual vehicle rather than re-skinned models for sports or... non...sports... (I suck at cars...)
The voice work was great, all 'fack vis' and 'cant vat' and the violence was visceral with a great sense of impact. Could be damned tricky at times but a great experience regardless. The less said about the sequel, however, the better.
I dant go sarf this time a nat, lav...
There have been various rumblings of a re-boot over the years and it would be great to see it make a comeback, but with various cities being made for games this gen. The impetus may have been lost and this will remain an interesting experiment that paved the way in what it did, but never really had the chance to prove it's value as a series.
Oblivion / Fallout 3
Both of these games offer similar experiences in different ways. While a lot of the mechanics are the same, some of it works better in one title than it does in the other. These games should be played as FPS for total immersion, but the combat can be a little clunky. Indeed, for a game that uses melee as the main fight system, the fighting in Oblivion is far from smooth and works a lot better in Fallout, a game that is primarily geared towards shooting.
Walking out of that sewer was an experience akin with entering Donnington for the first time.
However, to moan about the combat is to miss the point of these titles, and that is exploring. Bethesda have given us huge areas to explore in Washington and Cyrodil, respectively, and the expansion in the DLC have provided us with worlds that make San Andreas look like a Pac-Man level.
New Vegas, from Obsidian, was a bit hit and miss, I could never really relax while playing it due to all the horror stories of lost saves and game breaking glitches, and the play area seemed far too fussy and convoluted compared to F3's easily navigable map. And, despite spending all the time I did with F3, right up until NV's release, I was absolutely gutted that NV didn't draw me in like it's bigger brother. Not through any unwillingness on my part, but because Bethesda gave us a broken game that still hasn't been properly patched, and so ruins that all important sense of immersion.
Here's hoping Skyrim doesn't suffer the same fate... (it won't!)
Inon Zurs music made for a foreboding and gut-wrenching experience.
Just Cause 2
This one is massive.... scratch that.... !!!MASSIVE!!!. If you zoom in on your area of the map (South West for me) and then zoom out it's a daunting prospect, and don't be fooled, Avalanche Studios understand it's not just the size, it's what you do with it that counts, so it's jammed with side quests and missions and opportunities for stunts and crazy assed gameplay that would make Michael Bay a martyr to his Priapism for a decade. And it looks utterly stunning. Flying across the map in one of the many choppers rewards you with lush greens and brilliant blues as well as open cities and mountains. Some of the design choices seem a bit remiss (only buy one weapon at a time... really..?) and some have said that it's a one trick pony... but these people are idiots who could be locked in a room with a cardboard tube... and it would never occur to them to pretend to be Megatron.
Who needs bank knacking exotic vacations when developers are doing it for you?
My one wish in life is that Avalanche Studios get the call for Dead Island 2... Just imagine the possibilities...
Just a few choices that have stuck with me over the years, I've missed a few out; while I loved, loved, loved Borderlands, it's map left a lot to be desired and was there to stop your characters falling into space and while Far Cry 2 looked utterly stunning... you soon realised that the game was a lesson in frustration.
Surely the greatest image in gaming promotion ever!
Dead Island seems to have split opinion like an axe to the face, those that love it really love it and then there are those that cannot see past it's failings, but hell, an open world zombie game... with one of the greatest rap songs since Boom! Shake the Room! What's not to love?!?!?!
Here's hoping the respective sequels fix these issues... it's looking pretty positive.
But what games do you think really do the genre justice and what games did the open world seem like pointless afterthought?
Can the games really get much bigger before we get 'e-zuasted'? And what topography is seriously under represented by these huge landscapes?
What games have you lost hours of your life to, to the point where going back years later feels like a genuine trip back home and what have you been glad to see the back of?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
GTA: San Andreas:
Previous iterations of the GTA series may have given us cities and eras to explore, but it wasn't until San Andreas squeezed every last drop out of it's consoles that we realised just how ambitious Rockstar were. From getting out of jail to flying a Harrier Jumpjet. San Andreas was the game that kept on giving... Mission after awesome mission or just being allowed to drive around the brilliantly rendered state, the game was truly huge and a promise of things to come when he next gen. dropped...
Anyone who didn't jump off the mountain didn't play this game.
The Getaway:
This is one of many games that rode the coat tails of the GTA juggernaut but did something unique in that it gave us London to use as a play area. This included the main areas everyone knows, but the real joy lie in exploring it's back-streets and dark alleys. All the little nooks and crannies that make London an uneasy place for the lost tourist.
Some of the player mechanics were on the ropey side, just trying to walk your protagonist was like steering a monkey on a dodgem, and driving at speed in the capital proved just as dangerous as it would in real life. But the driving was pretty good at the time and each car felt like an individual vehicle rather than re-skinned models for sports or... non...sports... (I suck at cars...)
The voice work was great, all 'fack vis' and 'cant vat' and the violence was visceral with a great sense of impact. Could be damned tricky at times but a great experience regardless. The less said about the sequel, however, the better.
I dant go sarf this time a nat, lav...
There have been various rumblings of a re-boot over the years and it would be great to see it make a comeback, but with various cities being made for games this gen. The impetus may have been lost and this will remain an interesting experiment that paved the way in what it did, but never really had the chance to prove it's value as a series.
Oblivion / Fallout 3
Both of these games offer similar experiences in different ways. While a lot of the mechanics are the same, some of it works better in one title than it does in the other. These games should be played as FPS for total immersion, but the combat can be a little clunky. Indeed, for a game that uses melee as the main fight system, the fighting in Oblivion is far from smooth and works a lot better in Fallout, a game that is primarily geared towards shooting.
Walking out of that sewer was an experience akin with entering Donnington for the first time.
However, to moan about the combat is to miss the point of these titles, and that is exploring. Bethesda have given us huge areas to explore in Washington and Cyrodil, respectively, and the expansion in the DLC have provided us with worlds that make San Andreas look like a Pac-Man level.
New Vegas, from Obsidian, was a bit hit and miss, I could never really relax while playing it due to all the horror stories of lost saves and game breaking glitches, and the play area seemed far too fussy and convoluted compared to F3's easily navigable map. And, despite spending all the time I did with F3, right up until NV's release, I was absolutely gutted that NV didn't draw me in like it's bigger brother. Not through any unwillingness on my part, but because Bethesda gave us a broken game that still hasn't been properly patched, and so ruins that all important sense of immersion.
Here's hoping Skyrim doesn't suffer the same fate... (it won't!)
Inon Zurs music made for a foreboding and gut-wrenching experience.
Just Cause 2
This one is massive.... scratch that.... !!!MASSIVE!!!. If you zoom in on your area of the map (South West for me) and then zoom out it's a daunting prospect, and don't be fooled, Avalanche Studios understand it's not just the size, it's what you do with it that counts, so it's jammed with side quests and missions and opportunities for stunts and crazy assed gameplay that would make Michael Bay a martyr to his Priapism for a decade. And it looks utterly stunning. Flying across the map in one of the many choppers rewards you with lush greens and brilliant blues as well as open cities and mountains. Some of the design choices seem a bit remiss (only buy one weapon at a time... really..?) and some have said that it's a one trick pony... but these people are idiots who could be locked in a room with a cardboard tube... and it would never occur to them to pretend to be Megatron.
Who needs bank knacking exotic vacations when developers are doing it for you?
My one wish in life is that Avalanche Studios get the call for Dead Island 2... Just imagine the possibilities...
Just a few choices that have stuck with me over the years, I've missed a few out; while I loved, loved, loved Borderlands, it's map left a lot to be desired and was there to stop your characters falling into space and while Far Cry 2 looked utterly stunning... you soon realised that the game was a lesson in frustration.
Surely the greatest image in gaming promotion ever!
Dead Island seems to have split opinion like an axe to the face, those that love it really love it and then there are those that cannot see past it's failings, but hell, an open world zombie game... with one of the greatest rap songs since Boom! Shake the Room! What's not to love?!?!?!
Here's hoping the respective sequels fix these issues... it's looking pretty positive.
