Bethesda and Sega do it best due to how stylish their worlds are.
Elder Scrolls is known for huge countries, chock full of many, many sidequests. Which might be to its detriment due to it having to automate certain things. The cracks begin to show when the repetition begins, but that can't be helped in worlds with hundreds of dungeons and characters and quests. Not many minigames like in GTA, but I think that'll change with Skyrim's pseudo sim systems.
Yakuza's open world is a bit more restrictive, what with having a smaller real estate and more RPG trappings than GTA, but damn if Kamurocho (and Osaka, and Okinawa) doesn't exude seamless, effortless personality and style, while being DENSE with stylish things to do. I'm 38 hours into Yakuza 2 and I'm not even finished yet. I can't quit Mahjong.
Rockstar's style has a place in this world, but I like Bethesda and Sega best. They have their irks, but for my money, they get it right precisely where it counts in an open world: in the visual style. Elder Scrolls feels like epic fantasy, storied and old. Yakuza feels like a mob tale in a seedy town full of oddballs. The last time Rockstar truly made atmosphere and style its ***** was with Red Dead Redemption, the time before it was Vice City. Which is why I find myself so disappointed with LA Noire.
LA Noire doesn't exude that noir atmosphere I so longed for. It feels like all they did was make a 1940's LA and give it GTA4's lighting. Boring. Where's the exaggeration in the artstyle? The pulp? When I think of noir I think of epic sunsets and twilights, imposing cities teeming with life that are characters in their own right, dark nights in sleazy avenues, unconventional methods from unconventional people, femme fatales waiting to put a bullet in your head in spite of having fallen helplessly in love with you, brooding pasts, trenchcoats watching the city go by them as they plot and plot...LA Noire hasn't been much of that so far. Just having old music and old buildings isn't enough. Exaggeration is where the style really comes from.
At least for me.
On Destructoid's podcast Max Scoville mentioned how it's good that it wasn't just "GTA in the 40's with Jazz..." But honestly I'm really wishing that's what I was playing right now.
Xaio30 said:
Bethesda rules the RPG Sandbox.
Rockstar rules the mayhem Sandbox.
You cannot really compare the two.
This is true...but I might be liking Avalanche Studios better than Rockstar in that department too. Just Cause 2. I mean...come on.