After the (in my opinion) ludicrously exciting trailer for GTAV I figured I’d jump on the open-world/sandbox bandwagon and talk about my favourite open worlds, and the games they’re in.This won’t be any sort of definitive list in anyway, and won’t be a critically acclaimed run-down. Just my personal favourites and why. Here they are in no particular order.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl
Snorks. I hate Snorks.
Starting off with a debatable one. I think that S.T.A.L.K.E.R does fall into the open-world category, albeit with a strong linear element especially in the first outing. Being able to roam around the pretty big levels, fighting bandits, doing side-missions or just hunting for items to sell on S.T.A.L.K.E.R gave you a fair bit of freedom.
GSC Game World, a small Ukrainian developer, created a living, breathing world with dynamic weather, wildlife and NPC’s all gorgeously rendered by their proprietary X-Ray engine. Set in the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant you explored wastes, forests, swamps and Pripyat itself. The world is bleak, dark, unforgiving and it sucks you in and won’t let go. It’s atmospheric, it’s tense, it’s terrifying all creating a brilliantly immersive experience.
The gameplay is, for me, as gripping as the environment. GSC added a few layers of complexity to an otherwise simple shooter. You have as much inventory space as you could ever need, you’re only limited by the amount of weight you can carry. And everything has a weight. Medkits, ammo, food so finding the perfect balance between the big guns and ammo and the necessary healing items means you have to really be aware of what you need. And you’ll need healing items because everything is out to kill you. Other S.T.A.L.K.E.Rs, the military who police the zone, animals, bandits and the zone itself.
The game wasn’t without it’s flaws. The engine was unstable at times and would frequently dump to desktop but the biggest bugbear was the incredible eyesight of the npc’s. They could, and would, shoot you from an obscene distance, often when you were behind cover.
Despite that, I loved it and still venture back to the zone from time to time. It’s flaws are massively outweighed by it’s incredible atmosphere, it’s detail and depth make it one of my favourites. The sequels are definitely worth checking out too.
Just Cause 2
Just another day at the office for Rico Rodriguez
Silly. Pure, unadulterated silly. In the absolute best possible way. Just Cause 2 is a spy-thriller parody and it really revels in it. The plot is daft, the villain a mixture of Kim Jong Il and a big bag of sugar, the hero a suave latino stuntman and the gameplay is as over-the-top, energetic and as awesome as it is ridiculous.
The tropical island of Panau is the setting and there is a plethora of settlements to explore, military bases to destroy and collectibles. It’s gorgeous as well. The ocean sparkles, snow capped mountains stretch up into the clouds and the jungle sprawls for miles and miles.
The sole purpose of Rico’s mission is to cause chaos on the island of Panau to destabilise the regime, avert an international crisis and allow the US to exert influence over the vast oil wealth of the nation. Thankfully, that’s where any sense of seriousness ends. Your primary mode of transport is a combination of a grappling hook and parachute that you use to fling yourself around the map. The physics engine was created specifically with awesome in mind; cars flip like they were made of paper, you can open your chute inches from the ground (or merely grapple onto something) and take no damage and the grappling hook gives players limitless possibilities.
It’s pretty much the ultimate sandbox game: here’s some cool toys, here’s some crazy stuff you can do - combine them. While the world can wear a bit thin, a lot of the outposts are copied and pasted, the sheer size of the map and the amount of nutty stuff you can get up to way outweigh any flaws.
Red Dead Redemption
A knife and a hat….the bear necessities.
It was only a matter of time before a Rockstar title made the list being the kings of sandbox. Taking the setting on from the PS2 classic Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption follows former gang member John Marston as he fights to return to his family.
I think Rockstar outdid themselves with this outing; the story, the writing, the cast, the sounds, the environments, the gameplay is all brilliant. The open world is one of the best, if not the best, that Rockstar have created. From brick towns, to snowy woods, to barren plains everything looks and feels great. The random encounters that were introduced in GTA IV return and really make the world feel like a living, breathing land. That combined with the wildlife and fellow travellers make all the journeys worth taking. I don’t think I ever skipped a conversation or fast-travelled because I knew I would miss something.
In contrast to the tone of Just Cause 2, Red Dead Redemption is gritty, dark and brutal at times. Thankfully, the writing team at Rockstar manage to inject a lot of life, wit and humour into the world and into the characters that prevent your from caring about the characters and their struggles. The fiction is rich, the world is vast and varied and the population is expertly crafted to really breathe life into the whole experience. This isn’t just a great open-world game, it’s a fantastic game all round.
Red Dead Redemption has a great soundtrack too and includes one of the single best uses of a piece of music in a game. For anyone that hasn’t played Red Dead Redemption don’t watch the video go and pick it up. For anyone who has, watch it, then play it again. It’s a helluva game.
Fallout 3
Headsplosions- an occupational hazard
Ahh, Fallout 3 and it’s Capital Wasteland. My first taste of a post-apocalyptic open world RPG time sponge and it’s by far my favourite, despite it’s many, many flaws. Lets get them out the way first.
It’s buggy. Very buggy. I’ve played this both on PC and PS3 and the amount of characters stuck in walls, weird glitches and just crashes that I’ve experienced is uncountable. Secondly; the NPC’s. Apparently the Capital Wasteland is bang in the middle of the Uncanny Valley because the vast majority of NPC’s are dead-eyed, unblinking wooden people with the same expressions as a desk. Thankfully, none of that matters because this is another game that will hook you in and not let go.
It’s impossible to calculate just how much time I’ve spent traversing the wasteland and it’s surroundings (courtesy of the DLC). I first played Fallout 3 when I was recovering from surgery, a months worth of bed-rest turned into a months worth of exploring ruined buildings and centuries old vaults, fighting off Super Mutants and ghouls, battling bandits and the remnants of the US government and running terrified from Deathclaws.
Fallout 3 sucks you in from the very first minute of the game. You emerge, blinking, into the light of an operating room as a newborn into the arms of your father. You choose your name, your gender and appearance straight away, before being taken through a mixture of tutorial and story through your infant and teenage years. You choose your core attributes from a baby book about what makes you S.P.E.C.I.A.L (the name of the level system used in Fallout) and choose your specialisations by sitting the G.O.A.T; the aptitude test taken by all vault residents to determine their careers. It’s a really engaging, elegant way to learn the mechanics and get a feel for the basics of the story.
The Capital Wasteland, despite the wooden nature of the NPC’s, is full of interesting characters. Wandering salesmen, a ruthless businessman and his mysterious assistant, a mad scientist/researcher, a man who worships an atomic bomb and a crooked barman. All in the first settlement you come across in the wasteland. And the majority of the map is just that; a wasteland. But there is enough variation and some really great places to discover. Wandering through the wasteland is atmospheric in itself. Turn off the music and it’s just you and the wind whistling past. But don’t get too lost in your thoughts because all of a sudden BOOM. Deathclaw. You’re dead now.
In spite of the flaws, Fallout 3 is really, genuinely immersive. If you haven’t yet, pick up this game on PC. There are so many mods, tweaks and improvements out there that really add to the experience of the Capital Wasteland without detracting from it’s original form.
Batman Arkham City
Nanananananananananana BATMAN.
Who doesn’t want to be Batman? Me. I don’t. His life seems hard work. I will, however, happily pretend to be Batman through the medium of video games especially if I get to swoop through Arkham City again.
One of the Batman games was going to appear on this list and Arkham City is by far my favourite of the two. Not because there is anything wrong with Arkham Asylum, just that Rocksteady really improved on the original formula. There isn’t much more to say about Arkham City than that but I’ll give it a go.
The gameplay is excellent still; the combat system from the original returned with some tweaks and additions that improved an already superb system, you’re given some extra gadgets that you unlock throughout the game. Batman is joined by both Catwoman and Robin during the story and he faces some of the most iconic villains from Batman lore. The Joker, brilliantly brought to life by Mark Hammill, is the main villain with a stellar supporting cast including The Riddler, The Penguin and a few more. All involved in different, memorable key points in the excellent story.
The map itself is finely balanced. Not so small that you feel confined but not so large that you’re at a loose end. Arkham City is a penal colony adjacent to Gotham comprised of the grimmest, most decrepit slums fenced in and filled with criminals. And Batman.
After a brief introduction and establishing of the plot you’re given near enough free reign to swing, glide and sneak your way throughout Arkham City. There are side missions and collectibles aplenty, a plethora of thugs to drop in on as well as the story missions to get stuck in to. Best of all? You’re freaking Batman!
Far Cry 3
Jet skis - the least practical but most awesome mode of transport known to man
From the slums of darkest Gotham to the sun drenched, blood soaked sands of Far Cry 3′s tropical island. Far Cry 3 is what would happen if Just Cause 2 calmed down a bit, but on it’s serious face and starred a rich preppy teen instead of a wise-cracking latino spy. The first thing of note about Far Cry 3 is that it is gorgeous. Some of the vista’s are breathtakingly so, the rivers look good enough to dive right in (apart from the crocodiles) and the jungles are dense, thick and wonderfully leafy. I’ve written before about the gameplay and I’ll again profess my admiration for the team behind it for managing to balance great stealth with solid action and making you feel like a badass the entire time.
There isn’t nothing quite like the satisfaction gained from taking one of the outposts without being spotted. But that isn’t always entirely down to the player. I was approaching an outpost quietly. I’d neutralised a few guards without raising the alarm, I had my attack planned. I took aim with my bow, I waited. I saw my target and OHMYGODIT’SABEAR! A few shotgun rounds later, the bear was dead and I was hastily retreating into the jungle with wet trousers and a lot of angry pirates. I was annoyed at first, but then smiled and thought “That was awesome”.
Aside from the taking of outposts Far Cry 3 gives you a whole open world to explore at your leisure, and encourages you to do so. You’re rewarded with weapons for exploring new areas and opening them up by activating radio towers, leading to new outposts, side missions, hunting grounds and little oddities dotted around the expertly crafted coastlines. It’s another open world with so much in it, and it still has plenty of potential. Whilst Blood Dragon was a fun, stupid few hours with that toolbox I hope that Ubi give us another reason to return to the jungle.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Jus’ chillin’ wit’ some homies. Sorry. I can’t do cool. I’ll stop.
It wouldn’t be an open world list without a GTA, would it? GTA III was the first real breakthrough for the third-person sandbox game, Vice City took the potential and ran straight onto the beach with it but San Andreas trumped it all. Not just a city, or a couple of islands but a whole state with three distinct, vibrant cities, rolling countryside, mountains, deserts and forests. A true open world. What would a world the size of San Andreas be without things to do? San Andreas had more than most people could dream of in 2004 That’s right, San Andreas is almost ten years old and it still sets the bar for open world games. Seeing the trailer for GTA V made me really think about San Andreas. A lot of the features that were touted in the trailer; clothes, bikes, owning property, car customisation and the different environments, cities, beaches and countryside, have already been realised in San Andreas.
The core story of the game makes use of a huge number of important moments in recent American history, particularly around gang warfare and police/race relations in 1980′s/1990′s California demonstrating Rockstar’s real talent for satire and spoof.
Despite the heavy nature of the core story, in culmination that generation of the GTA approach to open world tradition there are so, so many off-the-wall characters, side missions, customisation options, hilarious conversations, brilliant radio stations, over-the-top vehicles and more. San Andreas added an extra layer of depth to GTA, not just with the customisation and scope of the game, but with the inclusion of RPG style stats, weight, strength, weapon skill etc, another feature that Rockstar look to have gone back to for GTA V.
Whilst I said at the beginning that these games were in no particular order; that was a slight white lie. All of the others are not in any specific place but Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is my number one open world game. For now. I’ll get back to you after I’ve played GTA V.
Who needs a fancy new trailer for GTA V anyway? Not me. Here’s the trailer for the best GTA yet.
But just in case you do need that trailer? Here it is.
