Tom's Hardware Giveaway - Just Cause 3!

[LLegoLLaS]

As maybe 70% here, GTA World was the trend-setter for me.But i have recently discovered Fallout.We all like GTA as it consists as a mirror of modern world, mocking our "globalization'' errors and stuff.

 

[FiLiNuX]

I AM A RECOVERING FIRST PERSON VIEW BIGOT!!
So I am going to have to say The Witcher 3 is my new favorite open world/explore game. Why? Even before the DOOM Demo came out on a single floppy disk I was already in love with the first person view and I wouldn't even try games that didn't support it. My son talked me into giving the Witcher 3 a HONEST try and within a hour I was hooked. It did a AMAZING job of providing the immersion that I previously only found with first person view. If anyone else is in the same boat I was in PLEASE give The Witcher series a shot, you might just end up loving it.

 

[Matt-Sir]

Skyrim - This is an obvious answer from anyone that likes to play open world games. The freedom to wander through the vast open fields and snowy mountains, makes this game one of the best to play after a long day at work! It's easy to break away from all the quests and just roam the lands, and I always felt there were more places to find.

Far Cry 3 - Absolutely amazing game for all those times when you just want to run into a camp and kill everything in sight! Another gorgeous game with plenty to offer and plenty to explore.

GTA V - Because what's more fun than driving around with a bunch of friends and causing havoc? GTA has always been a favourite for me, although the map is limited, you just can't beat driving around with friends, having a laugh, and killing each other in the process.

Test Drive Unlimited - Hands down, the most fun I've ever had in an open world game. Sure, all the others are great, but you can't beat having a group of friends ( 8+ ), all in sports cars and bikes, taking over the roads. The ability to create an island long race that takes 40+ minutes to finish! The simpler times gameplay was more important than graphics. I remember spending days, even weeks, driving with one friend in particular, just trying to unlock all the roads and find all the dealerships. So much fun

So, that's my short list of the few games and I memories of that jump out at me. My all time favourite has to be Test Drive Unlimited, simply because of the online play. Games for me are always more fun when they can be shared with others.

 

[RetroGamePlayers]

I would say my first and still one of my Favorite pseudo open world games is Interstate 76, both the single player and multiplayer. I loved playing that game and rocking out to the rad and funky soundtrack.

Another great game for me was Oblivion.

And finally Mercenaries 2.

 

[Paladin Yogi]

Fallout...It's so good that it gives me that 50's nostalgic feeling, even though I never grew up in those times.

 

[PracticalWho]

Currently it's been Subnautica. I've been addicted to it since the latest steam sale. I cant wait for them to update the world and make it even more detailed.

 

[computers_are_freaky]

Just cause 2, I loved it because the real fun was getting to the missions, not the missions themselves. I would sometimes "waste" more than half an hour stealing my favourite car and driving across the map, just to do a race or start a mission with. It was just so much fun!!!

 

[MohammadWadi]

Far Cry 3

The woods are the best open-world game environment to explore, better than cities! the look of trees and grass, also the animals and their reactions it's really a good feeling to walk through such world, i used to skydive from the highest hill and just had it with looking at the massive land, what a great game enjoyed playing, also the caves, relics scavenging and underwater when you meet the shark and everything goes WOW! what a game and i hope for another game to have such world to enjoy.

 

[alidan]

as of right now, fallout 4, i wanted a fps rpg for a long time, and finally one came out... it performs like crap and will be the last bethesda game i get till they actually build a new engine, not modify the crap out of gamebryo, but im enjoying the fps element.

once mods come out with actual tools, ill modify the crap out of the game and likely have even more fun...

looking at doing an ultimate survival playthrough (3x damage done and taken, removing the bullet sponge aspect of the game i so hate, while making it harder for me to live if i dont pay attention.)

before fallout 3, farcry 3 would probably take number 1, far cry 4 while good, took things i dont like away from me... i want to modify every aspect of my gun, not an extremely limited part of the gun and force me to buy signature guns to get setups i want.

 

[Disruptor4]

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor for me. It may not be as open as some other games, especially Just Cause 3 and even GTA V, but I just found that as soon as I got the hang of the mechanics, the game play and story sucked me in so much that it made me want to keep playing and not put it down! Getting upgrades and learning new combat skills etc added to it.
The game itself allowed me to go out and take on leaders and nemesis' and some of them were so difficult I had to plan a coup against them with other leaders! Sadly the replay ability is a bit lost on the game, but I enjoyed my time in land of Mordor.

 

[farhadd]

GTA games have so many fine details programmed into them. You can almost just sit down and "people watch" and see interesting things play out in front of you.

 

[JECanelos]

Batman: Arkham City was an awesome game... It was a definite successor to Arkham Assylum, with a ton of new features... I still haven't played Arkham Knight, so I can't compare to it... but Arkham City is definitely my favorite open world

 

[craigermike]

I really liked Far Cry 3. I would walk through the brush exploring the different landscapes and ambushing animals and occasionally the rouge squad of bad guys that pass by. Lots of freedom to explore and get creative.

 

[arges86]

Farcry (any of them)
They look amazing, and there are hidden wonders everywhere.

Red Dead Redemption...
Amazing story, amazingly large world to play in, and allot of fun

 

[Polaski]

Far Cry Blood Dragon - Just the name sounds badass. I like the neon colors, the sound, and the dragons!!

Fallout 3 - You can build the character the way you want, but even if you try, the decisions will always affect you, they do; bad karma.

Darksiders - You play as War and the badass weapons!! They are great!

 

[Morbidvizions]

I personally love exploring Ark Survival Evolved. Besides the constant "on your toes" vibe because of all the wild dino's, there are some pretty gnarly spots to explore. Of course i only play -if the server is modded now just because of all the awesome mods that are out there. Castle in the sky is awesome for quick building in a tight corner of the map or some wicked tranq guns/darts for some brutal beasts that dont like to go down easy. Plus when you add all the different maps from the steam workshop, you can explore for days just looking for that perfect mansion build spot! I really loved just cause 1 but havent had the cash to grab part 2 quite yet. Hopefully I'll get the chance here soon. The witcher 3 is definitely in the "gotta try" list as well but I'm a little worried that i might get stuck on it like i have on ark hahaha.

 

[bvmcdaniel]

What is my favorite game that features open-world exploration and why? "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" because of its enjoyable puzzle-solving, captivating story, outstanding graphics, and breathtaking environments.

 

[thormejh]

Im really liking fallout 4 because its really easy to get into and have a lot of fun rather than have to try incredibly hard to get through the game. At the same time though you can turn the difficulty up and it gets extremely hard.

Skyrim has always been fun with the literally endless possibilities of the game and mods combined.

Finally i like the witcher 3 because its a little bit harder than other games to master but has wonderful graphics and storyline.

 

[Mario Lemieux]

Witcher 3 was my best one so far. It's so well crafted and there are details everywhere. The day/night circle, the peasant schedules, etc. I also really like GTA5 campaign. I just walk around, take taxis and just look out the window (all in 1st person).

 

[Rottenevening]

Sleeping Dogs. It was the first open world game i'd picked up in a few years for the PC and the graphic fidelity at the time impressed me greatly. The cinematic combat and action scenes were a pleasant surprise as well. Tooling around Hong Kong still holds up, but man driving on the left can take some time to get used to.

 

[Eduardo Trujillo]

My favorites games are the Batman Arkham City/Knight, Skyrim, Fallout 4, GTA V and Mad Max. I love open world games for the simple fact that you can roam freely , single player games offer massive content outside of the main storyline and that is what keeps people playing them. I played JC2 and the multiplayer mod and it was really good, hopefully I get to try JC3.

 

[sky5hr0ud]

The GTA series cause you can do whatever you feel like such as flying around in a borrowed jet and the game has a great sense of humor.

 

[DragonLich]

The Assassin's Creed franchise is by far my favorite gaming franchise in my history of gaming, having started in the days of Jak and Daxter, Sly and Ratchet and Clank. Steam doesn't have my true hours logged as most of my gaming time is on PS3 and Xbox 360. The game has the best lore in gaming, our own history! I have been immersed in every setting from the Crusades in the Middle East in Assassin's Creed 1, to the time of the pirates in the Caribbean in Black Flag. The concept of the Animus, a machine which lets you access your ancestors genetic memories and relive them, is just breathtaking. Imagine yourself reliving the American Revolution or building of the Pyramids. Assassin's Creed Unity is the most recent in this franchise of gaming, and definitely the one that has me most interested. Unity takes place in Revolutionary France in the late 1770's. The only thing I know about the story is the main character, Arno Dorian, and how his father was killed. Being able to take part of the Storming of the Bastille, the execution of Louis XVI, the rise of Napoleon; it just overwhelms me. You are placed in 1:1 scale of Paris, which is completely available for you to explore and admire. Many new features have been added that I am excited to try out, and the new multiplayer experience enthralls me.

 

[AssumingUnicorn]

Red Faction 2! One of the first open world blow-everything-up somewhat exploration game I've played! It's sorta open world since I can walk around and do missions whenever I want, but the blowing stuff up part is what made the game a lot more fun!

 

[delware]

For me it's Metal Gear Solid 5 The Phantom Pain, a beautiful and interesting world, still not lacking the good game play.

And then there's always Star Citizen.