What's the most impressive "open world" in a game?

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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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For me nothing comes close to GTA5. Look at this map. It is insane what Rockstar pulled off. Compare this even to the size and scale of next-gen only Infamous: Second Son and when you take into consideration the hardware differences, it is much more impressive what GTA5 manages to achieve. The size, level of detail, physics, water, everything about it just puts this game head and shoulders above anything else open-world game designers have been able to create regardless of platform.

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That's more than enough. Nobody seems to be able to discuss this without attacking each other.

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Lil Frier

Platinum Member
Oct 3, 2013
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I have to admit, the open world of GTA V is the one aspect of that game I can't call crap. For all the things I dislike about that game and franchise, they sure do give you a hell of a lot to do in a massive world.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
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The world in GTA5 is big but it's too big for it's own good with miles of desert and mountains serving only to make you drive around them. The city is tightly clustered with everything too close together. IMO, it's not that great when looked at in this way. A lot of the locations had nothing to do. You pass by but there is nothing of interest otherwise.

I much preferred Fallout 3's open world. The great unknown, random buildings holding secrets, the burnt out Washington DC landscape with the museums and such run down and shells of their former glory, the little towns struggling to make it, the people looking for help, or conversely to find new ways to take advantage of the weak.
 

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
The world in GTA5 is big but it's too big for it's own good with miles of desert and mountains serving only to make you drive around them. The city is tightly clustered with everything too close together. IMO, it's not that great when looked at in this way. A lot of the locations had nothing to do. You pass by but there is nothing of interest otherwise.

I much preferred Fallout 3's open world. The great unknown, random buildings holding secrets, the burnt out Washington DC landscape with the museums and such run down and shells of their former glory, the little towns struggling to make it, the people looking for help, or conversely to find new ways to take advantage of the weak.

I loved finding long overrun empty strong holds where people made a last stand etc, and various logs and writing on the walls, position of objects, etc told the story of what happened. So fun to explore in that game.

And you'd have no idea the place was even there other than randomly stumbling upon a sewer entrance or going out of your way to see where a flood drain ended, etc.
 
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Bill Brasky

Diamond Member
May 18, 2006
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The world in GTA5 is big but it's too big for it's own good with miles of desert and mountains serving only to make you drive around them. The city is tightly clustered with everything too close together. IMO, it's not that great when looked at in this way. A lot of the locations had nothing to do. You pass by but there is nothing of interest otherwise.

I agree that game content available in a world is more important that having huge amounts of real estate. Having a huge city with a bunch of drive-by stuff isn't that interesting.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
The world in GTA5 is big but it's too big for it's own good with miles of desert and mountains serving only to make you drive around them. The city is tightly clustered with everything too close together. IMO, it's not that great when looked at in this way. A lot of the locations had nothing to do. You pass by but there is nothing of interest otherwise.

I much preferred Fallout 3's open world. The great unknown, random buildings holding secrets, the burnt out Washington DC landscape with the museums and such run down and shells of their former glory, the little towns struggling to make it, the people looking for help, or conversely to find new ways to take advantage of the weak.

It did have a good world but basically every "dungeon" felt and looked the same to me. Didn't feel like it had a lot of variety either.
 

futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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Fallout 3 is a great game and I love it's world but I'm actually talking more about the technicals behind the engine. Which is more impressive? Well I think there is no question that GTA5 is rendering a lot more than the Fallout 3 engine, has much more advanced physics and animation that tie everything together and also the world is much bigger, varied, densely constructed and "realistic" in it's level of detail as you move through it. Fallout 3 is a much more static engine with very little dynamic physics, interactions, animations etc...
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Then your title is misleading. You said "impressive open-world" not "impressive engine"
 

HeXen

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2009
7,832
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Skyrim.
GTA 5's map is mostly pointless. Is it impressive? From the sky view looking at a picture maybe but the map is mostly a shell. wow look at the farm fields, desert...oooh, there's a tall building I can't enter, how amazing. Skyrim also looks impressive and just as so but there is far more interaction within it.

Overall it's impressive of a game on the hardware it's running. The water is really well done and most everything looks pretty on a post card and the main mission is pretty fun at least for a while but there is more to a map than recreating a shell of a fictional or real world.
I see traffic,pedestrians and urban sprawl in life all the time, so it's going to take some impressive gameplay to make something so common seem so awe inspiring.
What I don't get to see often in life tends to be less mundane looking.
 
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futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
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Skyrim has no physics and animation tying everything together. You go into a dungeon you enter a new map etc... The water has no physics everything is a postcard in that game whereas in GTA5 everything is held together by a robust physics engine and there are no seperate maps and loading screens.
 

HeXen

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2009
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Yeah I get it, you really like GTA 5. Why you're not playing it now instead of forcing your opinion down my throat I'll never know but if you wanted a debate then why does your thread title ask a question where the only answer is individual opinion?

I find Skyrim's open world more impressive than GTA 5...deal.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Either way you slice it GTA5 is much more "impressive"

no...and I just said why. Anyone can make a huge game world and put artificial barriers in the way that you have to drive around or fly over with zero points of interest.

Saying Skyrim's map is more impressive is being intellectually dishonest with yourself.

I call BS...there are FAR FAR more points of interest in skyrim. The map isn't all lifeless unlike GTA5.

So there's a billion buildings in the city, and you can't enter. There are huge mountains with NOTHING there. There are vast desert landscapes with some sand dunes. If you call that impressive and are really that enamored by it...then it's no wonder people say gaming has been dumbed down.
 
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shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,080
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Morrowind for the stuff.
Skyrim for the Beauty.

Daggerfall is huge but mostly empty.

Oh, and so long as people keep adding to it, Kerbal Space Program is the biggest.
 

futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
6,470
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91
no...and I just said why. Anyone can make a huge game world and put artificial barriers in the way that you have to drive around or fly over with zero points of interest.



I call BS...there are FAR FAR more points of interest in skyrim. The map isn't all lifeless unlike GTA5.

So there's a billion buildings in the city, and you can't enter. There are huge mountains with NOTHING there. There are vast desert landscapes with some sand dunes. If you call that impressive and are really that enamored by it...then it's no wonder people say gaming has been dumbed down.

Skyrim has a bunch of geometry you cant even access or climb over. In GTA5 you can touch everything. You can even explore the sea floor!
 

Wingznut

Elite Member
Dec 28, 1999
16,968
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Looks like there's only one correct answer to the original question. All others will be argued into the dirt.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
From a technical aspect..what they pulled off on last gen consoles, I see your point, but a large area of "nothing" isn't that impressive overall. Now...if they were to make it so every building was something you could do (without loading a different area)...then that would be impressive
 

futurefields

Diamond Member
Jun 2, 2012
6,470
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Now...if they were to make it so every building was something you could do (without loading a different area)...then that would be impressive

No game has that though, so you are saying no game is impressive I guess. I actually think their other game Red Dead Redemption came closest to having a huge open world that almost every building can be entered without loading screens.
 

sze5003

Lifer
Aug 18, 2012
14,285
665
126
Gta v is good but like others said it's vast land with not much and the missions don't even touch all of it. There are no current open world games that let you do everything. Red dead redemption is what I remember also being pretty open world. In terms of things to do, assassins creed black flag has a lot of extra curricular activities to do. But mission wise the game follows the same template...follow this guy don't get spotted, now kill him then run away. Climb the waypoint to open the map, same as the last games.
 

Lil Frier

Platinum Member
Oct 3, 2013
2,720
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IDK why you people keep arguing with this guy...all he does is shout more and more loudly, until you can no longer be heard.
 
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