Yeah, I can't actually vote because I don't really have a clear-cut preference here. It really depends on the game, on the story you're trying to tell and the impact of any freedom on the story.
The Legacy of Kain series was awesome because the story was tightly told, though in order to do so it got less and less free-roaming as it progressed. Here we see the whole range, and with it the pros and cons of each.
Blood Omen was an open-world labyrinth of a game, but while it had some awesome moments and an intricate story, that same story suffered quite a bit because you often didn't know where to go or what to do. Soul Reaver was still pretty open, with Raziel running around the world as he liked, advancing the story only when he moved into newer zones unblocked by beating bosses (EDIT this didn't just open doors, it let you phase through them, or swim).
But Soul Reaver 2 was something of a turning point. You could still, at any point in the game, run back to any previous point (and often had to for the story), but the world was basically a linear chain of regions, strung together by winding mountainous passes. The story was masterfully told, but the open-endedness was all but removed. Even the Pillars only had an entrance and an exit, and they're supposed to be the centre of the game world.
Finally, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance both opted for the "levels" option, something the original had striven so hard to break away from. Again, both told very good, tight stories, but both were completely linear. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I personally missed the open nature of BO and SR, but the stories were well-told and while BO2 was perhaps my least favourite of the series, it's also the one I played the most often - its story stood alone better than any other chapter in the series.
Beginning, middle, end. All the others left you needing to play the next one, and Defiance's ending left a number of loose ends.
The Legacy of Kain series was awesome because the story was tightly told, though in order to do so it got less and less free-roaming as it progressed. Here we see the whole range, and with it the pros and cons of each.
Blood Omen was an open-world labyrinth of a game, but while it had some awesome moments and an intricate story, that same story suffered quite a bit because you often didn't know where to go or what to do. Soul Reaver was still pretty open, with Raziel running around the world as he liked, advancing the story only when he moved into newer zones unblocked by beating bosses (EDIT this didn't just open doors, it let you phase through them, or swim).
But Soul Reaver 2 was something of a turning point. You could still, at any point in the game, run back to any previous point (and often had to for the story), but the world was basically a linear chain of regions, strung together by winding mountainous passes. The story was masterfully told, but the open-endedness was all but removed. Even the Pillars only had an entrance and an exit, and they're supposed to be the centre of the game world.
Finally, Blood Omen 2 and Defiance both opted for the "levels" option, something the original had striven so hard to break away from. Again, both told very good, tight stories, but both were completely linear. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I personally missed the open nature of BO and SR, but the stories were well-told and while BO2 was perhaps my least favourite of the series, it's also the one I played the most often - its story stood alone better than any other chapter in the series.
Beginning, middle, end. All the others left you needing to play the next one, and Defiance's ending left a number of loose ends.
