Average Openworld Sandbox or Great Linear?

[JimbobDa3rd]

I as a gamer whenever i here the word open world find myself drawn to a game even if its gotten poor reviews (i.e. Merc 2) even though it would be just as easy to purchase a linear game which has gotten great reviews (i.e. Bioshock). I was wondering if it was just me who has this compultion or is it a market niche which ive fallen into.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I'd rather have an awesome linear game. Open World isn't really a major selling point. But then again as pretty much EVERYONE around here knows... I am a Storyline Whore, and Linear Games almost universally have better stories and narratives than Sandbox/Open World games. There are rare exceptions.

 

[ImmortalItalian]

Linear.

 

[Tales of Golden Sun]

I'd rather have a linear game. Average open world games may be cool at first but after you've played your first one you'll get bored. So, buy a linear game. Or even better, buy a Linear open world game!

I also recommend any Tales game and Golden Sun

 

[squid5580]

Linear. Without direction I tend to meander and get bored rather quickly. I also find I am not overly interested in the story of most open world games. And before anyone says GTA 4 I am not into the whole mafia thing. I like my games in alternate worlds not a realistic one.

 

[Brokkr]

Linear. I like a good open world game, but only if it is truly great. Other than that, I prefer a good linear story like Bioshock.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

I'd pick the better game. I prefer open world, but if it is only mediocre while the linear game is great, there is clearly an obvious choice in the matter.

 

[Baby Tea]

I'd rather have an awesome linear game. Open World isn't really a major selling point. But then again as pretty much EVERYONE around here knows... I am a Storyline Whore, and Linear Games almost universally have better stories and narratives than Sandbox/Open World games. There are rare exceptions.

Agreed. Story is pivotal for me.
I mean, a game can be fun without having a great story.
But for a game to be truly great, I've got to love the story and characters.

 

[Fightbulb]

I'd pick the better game. I prefer open world, but if it is only mediocre while the linear game is great, there is clearly an obvious choice in the matter.

This guy has the right idea, and the question doesn't really make a lot of sense anyway.

 

[SimuLord]

Open world, linear games' main selling point (the story) has no effect on me. I crave freedom of movement and action and I'm willing to put up with a lot from a game as long as it offers me the chance to enjoy it on my terms.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Linear, easially. Open World is fine for some games, but I like Linear games just as much, if not better.

 

[thiosk]

I like civilization, as its kind of neither.

 

[notyouraveragejoe]

To be honest I'm not that big a fan of Openworld games. I loves me a linear game. It means I can enjoy it and to me Openworld gets in the way since I never feel a real need to do anything. I also feel like I'm wasting time trekking around.

 

[SimuLord]

To be honest I'm not that big a fan of Openworld games. I loves me a linear game. It means I can enjoy it and to me Openworld gets in the way since I never feel a real need to do anything. I also feel like I'm wasting time trekking around.

This is a prime example of "one man's trash is another man's treasure". Linear games grab me by the hand (if I'm fortunate) or the balls (if the game is Japanese or designed by Molyneux) and drag me through the world at the pace they want me to go. I'm a passive consumer of the entertainment even if the illusion of interactivity and control are there. I'm little more than a monkey mashing buttons to get a food pellet.

Open world sandbox, on the other hand, gives me the freedom to do or not do anything I damn well please, up to and including blatantly ignoring the game's idea of a "main quest" (really, I did Oblivion's main quest last and my character had largely leveled past the upper limit of the majority of the game's leveled loot and enemies, which max somewhere in the 20s or 30s depending on the item). I only did Morrowind's main quest up to the part where you go through the Corprusarium (for obvious reasons for anyone who's played Morrowind) then went on a killing spree becoming the only humanoid left on Vvardenfell JUST BECAUSE I COULD. With a high enough Alteration skill you can bypass any lock or trap in the game and freed of the need to participate in the economy you can just steal what you need and drop the rest. I think there was an Indian crying thanks to all the loot I left strewn around the landscape.

I like when characters do as I, not some game designer, commands. I love The Sims; any time I can get ostensibly human characters to violate every possible law of decency, good taste, and major religion I think that's an absolute blast. Mount & Blade is my Game of the Year this year precisely because my character is free to interact with anyone in any way I see fit---it delivers on the "open world" promise like no other game has in years.

You can have your linear "go from point A to point B and there are no points C, D, or E" games. I'll be over here in the sandbox letting my imagination do a better job than the writers.

 

[DirkGently]

It depends on the game. For your basic shooter, I'm quite fine with the linear "Go from A to B and kill everything that isn't human, occasionally stopping to blow something up, stop something from blowing up, or get in a tank to blow shit up" style of Gears and Halo, but I do enjoy open-worldy "Do as you please" games like Saints Row 2, Oblivion, or Fallout 3. I'm also quite fine with games that mix it, provided it's done well, like KotOR or Mass Effect (my only qualm with ME is that there all the random planets are just 'land, kill some stuff, find some stuff, leave'. The only civilized place ever worth visiting is Noveria and the Citadel. There should have been way more colonies and the like for you to visit. ).

Also, that Mount&Blade game is very interesting looking.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

Game quality over game genre, for me. I'll take a great game in a different genre than I'm used to (Fallout 3 and Mass Effect, for examples, as before them I wasn't much into RPGs) over a generic game in a favourite genre.

-- Steve

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

I love the freedom you get from open world games such as Mass Effect and Oblivion, but i can't help but be drawn to the amazing story-telling of a linear game.
Sand box games just get too repetitive after a while, then i drift away from them. Generally to a less open game where the story gets me hooked in moments.