What do you want in a Sandbox game?

[etherlance]

Frankly I want more sand in my sandbox games
i play these games all the time and every time i buy a new one im let down time and again

 

[ldbmikey86]

What GTA: San Andreas had and then whatever it missed (content/freedom-wise).
Comedic radio stations/good story a given.
Which, was hardly anything. More character customization would be nice too. The haircuts, clothes, and ink were nice, but more's always a plus. Same goes for car customization in the shops. Like what the San Fierro specialty shop did, but for more than just the 4 exclusive cars. And easter eggs. Tons of them. Add in the bit that Saboteur had too, with its pseudo-stealth, wall-climbing (in a human way, mind you; not like Altair's robot-ass), and Mercenaries' payload being able to play whatever side, call them into your vehicle, and use their military-specific airstrikes/support options.
That would be perfection in my eyes and hands.

 

[jtr477]

I would really love for one to to actually include a damn sandbox.

But that won't happen.

Doesn't Grand Theft Auto IV have sandboxes?

Hell if i know, gtaIV is a game that can suck on my balls.

I mean an actual game about a sandbox wouldn't be so bad.

But about the genre, i think a sandbox has to be all about fun (you know, like every game.), and freedom. However i think sandboxes were overhyped since gta:SA came out. I mean vice city, saints row 2, prototype, infamous, spiderman 2 (yes, i think it's better then gta:VI, why? Because i decide on playing the actual game, and gta:VI is total shit.), the saboteur, assassin's creed 1&2 were all sandboxes that were fun to play, allthough each with their own individual flaws.

I don't list oblivion because an actual rpg cannot be compared to sandbox imho.

 

[iLikeHippos]

Being able to do stupid stuff incase boredom strikes you.
130 emotes and more to do, such as letting your trousers drop down to the floor, and a stream of water going out of the other end of the camera that's not visuable. (i.e pee)

Or rub your arse to a wall like there's no tomorrow.

THAT'S what I want in my sandbox.

 

[halfeclipse]

A simple, and FUN way of getting around really is the main thing. In a sandbox game your going to spend a lot of time traveling, and if doing that is boring, the game will be boring. Crackdown and Assassin's Creed are both deeply flawed games but free running in Assassin's Creed and jumping from roof top to roof top in Crackdown did a hell of a lot to make the games stay fun even with their problems.

 

[SullyE]

1. Superpowers. I need to enjoy, among other things, traversing the city (yay Spidey 2 and Prototype!)

2. RPG Mechanics. I want to grow my abilities--to do more than I could at first.

3. A unique art style. I'd love an art deco style.

4. Sidequests. I'm not talking boring, repetitive stuff like in Assassin's Creed (haven't played the second, so can't comment there) or Saboteur or anything else, I'm talking, like, between 30 and 50 unique quests.

5. Destructibility. I want to smash stuff. If I get into a fight with a giant naked ken doll that has a glowing iridescent sphere for a head that shoots laser beams out of it, I want to be able to punch him through skyscrapers, or maybe use a suspension bridge to tie him up!

6. Giant enemies. I think pretty much every 3D game could benefit from giant enemies. If you have superpowers and invulnerability, you sort of get bored, right? Well, not if you're fighting afro-wearing lizards the size of the Empire State Building!

7. Enjoyable NPCs. The biggest weakness of every sandbox game I've ever played is that I didn't care about any of the NPCs. That said, the only games that come to mind where I did care about the NPCs were Halo, Modern Warfare, No One Lives Forever, System Shock, Marathon... okay, so the list can get pretty big. If there are NPCs in the game, I want them to be awesome. A talking, bipedal tiger/pooka would be awesome.

8. Procedurally generated buildings. I'd love a city where the buildings are all randomly generated so I can go inside them and they're not all the same. If my character wants to go get a milkshake, he can. If he wants to go into a skyscraper and hide because he can't use his superpowers, and then this giant monsters is sticking its arm in and trying to grab him and he's like "OH SHIT!" it should be able to do that too.

9. Gender selectability. I want to play as different genders on different playthroughs.

10. Wacky bosses. I've already mentioned two. A living jello monster and a communist robot would be awesome too. All giant, of course. And lots of normal-sized thugs wearing domino masks, but using procedural generation to all look different. And maybe a fight on a living zeppelin. And a flying saucer.

Basically, I guess I just want something like The Power of Shazam! The game. I could fight ghosts and travel to the future and all sorts of stuff, and zap bad guys with lightning! Don't take my absurdity for a lack of seriousness; I would LOVE to play a game that has as much fun as I did this post.

 

[Lust]

1)customized (gender and race choice)-(fallout 3)
2)would love to play as a normal person going postal, or, someone with superhuman powers causing chaos.....IN THE SAME GAME!!!
3)make the world worth exploring (enough with empty and bland)
4)morality has to have more than the black and white extremes (won't point any fingers)
5)I'd like enemies to actually pose some sort of a challenge (sometimes)
6)epic story

I guess what I'm trying to get across is, I want a sandbox game that keeps me playing 100 to 200 hours after the main story ends. Though I do like a really long main story. A part of me yearns for a game that makes me say, damn that was awesome, maybe I'll play it this way next time. Though there are many games that do this well. I feel that someone should try something new. The word FUN keeps crawling back up my butt and out my pours. Replayability is also the key to my soul. I've played many games where I am either the goody 2 shoes of hope, or the savage being who's only reason for living is to inhale, make people implode, and then exhale, only to find that there's nothing to do except daydream. It gets a little irritating. Maybe I should just play an MMO. But there's the issue of money and I rather like sandbox and RPG's just fine. So, in the mean time, I guess I just have bear with what I have.

 

[viking97]

i want the world to be big, a nice way to get around, defensless things to kill/destroy, some opposing ai the that pose a threat to kill, and plenty of extra things to do.

 

[Buffoon]

I'd actually really love a new, more sandbox-like version of SimCity. Something that is utterly comprehensive in terms of constructing a city, but not bogged down with the financial side of it, nothing that's there simply as a challenge. I'd like the freedom.

 

[Trifixion]

Many of the things I'd want have already been mentioned, so I'll just say a couple.

The ability to establish a business which will actually DO business. I.E. you've been exploring dungeons for all this time and have collected a bazillion tons of halfway decent weapons, armor, and various magic items you really don't need any more...instead of selling them off at some random shopkeep's place for half (if not less) what they're worth, why not open your own place and sell them off to customers at their actual value?

Somewhat related...once you have gotten to a certain level of prominence in the game, to have "newbie adventurers" come to YOU to get quests which you could very easily do yourself...but it's more amusing for you to send them out.

I believe Baldur's Gate 2 did something like this at some point and it was hilariously funny. "I bid you a 'Farewell' suitably unfettered by civilization." Neverwinter Nights 2 did something like this as well with the silly adventuring party who kept coming to you for jobs.

 

[Srdjan]

Unlimited freedom...