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Open-world games have become a common place for most modern video game settings. More and more developers are ditching linearity in favor of an open-world experience.
Franchises, who used to be known for their linear level design, ditched that in favor of an open-world like the Metal Gear franchise with the Metal Gear Solid V and the infamous Metal Gear Survive.
For most players, an open-world corresponds to action-adventure games or role-playing games, but the genre encompasses a wide range of sub-genres of games under its umbrella. Open-world titles can be action-adventure, role-playing games, looter-shooters, even driving simulators, or a mix of all these.
Since the early 3D open-world of Grand Theft Auto 3, players have always had a fascination with driving and cruising through these vast open sandboxes.
Though there have been a number of games that let players do just that with meticulously designed driving mechanincs, there have also been a few bad apples with atrocious driving in their open-worlds.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the writer's opinion.
5 open-world games where players prefer driving around
1) Grand Theft Auto 5
Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto is the progenitor of 3D open-world games with robust driving mechanics built-in. Grand Theft Auto 3 was the first 3D title to show that a game can have a functional driving system, without driving being the focus of the game. Yes, driving in GTA 3 was wonky and handling certain vehicles at times was frustrating, but it was revolutionary at the time it was released.
GTA 5 saw the proper evolution of the idea, with driving mechanics that rival some of the best arcade racing games out there. The game doubled down on the arcadey-ness of the driving physics and immensly improved the handling model for the vehicles on offer at the same time.
GTA 5 is quite possibly has one of the best driving experiences in a game that is not classified as a racing title. With snappy controls, intuitive handling models and a fun selection of vehicles to drive, it is the best open-world game to drive around in.
2) Watch Dogs 2
Watch Dogs 2 was superior in every aspect from its predecessor, be it in telling a cohesive and relatable story or the gameplay system. The game felt like a return to form for Ubisoft, with an open world that did not feel contrived or monotonous.
With various additions and improvements, came an improved and robust driving system in Watch Dogs 2. The driving in the first game, among many other things, was very much criticised for having no notable depth.
Watch Dogs 2 improved upon the driving mechanics of its predecessor with a handling model that was a massive step up. The game also featured a number of vehicles that were fun to drive around the fictional San Francisco Bay. It also allowed players to remotely control any of the vehicles, to simulate the 'hacktivism' motif of the franchise.
3) Sleeping Dogs
Developed by United Front Games, Sleeping Dogs was a very good recreation of an Asian crime drama, set in a tightly-packed and immensly detailed Hong Kong.
The game was originally planned to be a sequel to the True Crime series, but with a lengthy development period and numerous changes to the original concept, it evolved into a separate entity.
The game can be boiled down to being a GTA-like open-world game, but set in China with more emphasis on hand-to-hand combat than shooting. The game's map, although it isn't as huge as other open-world games of the ilk, is rich in detail and a joy to explore with a good selection of automobiles.
The driving is fine tuned to feel complimentary to the fast paced gameplay of Sleeping Dogs. The arcade-like feel of driving in this game is practically unmatched by any other open-world title.
4) Mafia: Definitive Edition
Even in today's open-world games saturated market, there is not a single game that can match up to the noir-themed open-worlds of the Mafia games. Hangar 13 did fumble a bit with their third entry in the series, but were quick to pull themselves back with a phenomenal remake of the original game.
The Mafia: Definittive Edition, in-keeping with the series, has excellent driving mechanics implemented into its open-world game design. Car models are lovingly recreated in keeping with the 1930s time period, with a handling model that feels truly authentic and natural with how the cars speed up or take turns.
The game is a love letter to fans of the noir genre, with a beautiful recreation of 1930s Illinois and gameplay systems creating an unparalleled open-world experience.
5) Batman: Arkham Knight
Developer Rocksteady Studios' Batman Arkham series is considered by fans to be the caped crusader's best outing in the video game media to this day. The first two games in the series are video game storytelling masterpieces and that says a lot for a superhero game.
For the most part, Batman Arkham City was a true Batman experience. However, fans wanted more. With Arkham City having been a fully realised open-world game for fans to glide around and apprehend thugs in, they wanted Batman's signature automobile, the Batmobile, to be fully playable for the next entry in the franchise.
Rocksteady listened to fan requests, and lo and behold, players could finally drive around in the Batmobile, in the final game of the Arkham trilogy, Batman Arkham Knight.
Batmobile in Arkham Knight is a really fun tool that is creatively implemented into Batman's arsenal of gadgets. Driving around the streets of Gotham in Batmobile and quickly ejecting out of it to continue to glide around the map never gets old. the driving physics at play here is simplistic and very arcadey to make it easy to control.
The Batmobile also has a battle mode that turns it into a tank, which is used to take down various hostile military vehicles (which are unmanned, obviously) roaming the open world of Gotham.
The game did receive a bit of criticism due to its over-reliance on Batmobile for many of the game's main and side quests. Regardless, it is always an undeniably fun time to cruise around the in the Batmobile in this open-world game, and live out the Batman fantasy.
5 open-world games that should've focused more on driving mechanics
1) Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 was a colossal disaster at launch, with numerous missing features, buggy AI, and a less-than-functional game, especially for players on last-gen consoles, i.e. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Among the plethora of features that were either half-baked or entirely absent were the driving mechanics and vehicular customization in the open-world game.
Cyberpunk 2077's marketing heavily emphasised on the almost Grand Theft Auto-like vehicular personalization and robust driving systems. Unfortunately, the driving in the game was plain bad and the customization aspect was flatout missing.
Driving in Cyberpunk was a chore, cars felt like their tires were made out of butter, lacking any sense of traction with the asphalt, and the horrendous oversteering made driving using controllers near impossible. The game also severely lacked a sense of speed when driving. Going over 100 miles an hour just didn't feel that way in Cyberpunk 2077.
Though some of these issues were fixed with subsequent patches in the months since launch, driving in Cyberpunk 2077 just doesn't feel intuitive even with the latest patch installed.
2) Just Cause 4
Avalanche Studios' Just Cause 4 at heart is a good enough open-world game, with a functional story and the series' signature explosive action. The problem with the game, however, was its shallow and repetitive mission design and obnoxious driving mechanics.
Just Cause games are like any other open-world title but with a higher emphasis on blowing things up. And just like games of similar open-world structure, the fourth iteration allows players to drive around its exotic locations in a number of different vehicles, ranging from bikes and cars, to planes and choppers and even military tanks. This remains the same across all four games in the series.
Though the variety of automobiles to drive is great in Just Cause 4, the act of driving itself is underwhelming to say the least. The handling of these vehicles, although they have improved a lot from the previous entries, leaves a lot to be desired.
Driving controls often times feel stiff and unresponsive, resulting in oversteering of vehicles and making turning around corners a pain. It's obvious that even the developers are aware of the lacklustre driving physics in the game and have thus, provided players with the ultimate traversal tools, a grappling hook and a wingsuit.
Both these tools, when used in tandem, allow Rico (the playable character) to basically keep gliding indefinitely, making vehicular traversal virtually pointless in Just Cause 4.
3) Watch Dogs
The original Watch Dogs was ambitious for an open-world game released in 2014, with its promise of combining features like hacking into a massive map of fictionalized Chicago.
The game's marketing heavily involved the protagonist of the game, Aiden, driving around the city in cars, bikes, and even boats. The real-time visuals on display of Watch Dogs in its trailers were something truly revolutionary for an open-world video game.
However, at launch, Watch Dogs turned out to be a completely different open-world game than the one Ubisoft portrayed in marketing materials. Not only did the game's visuals lack the fidelity present in the trailers, but the slick driving shown previously was completely absent as well.
Driving in Watch Dogs can be best described as unpolished and unresponsive. Cars don't handle well at all, every car in the game is programmed to understeer, and with a camera position set pretty close to the vehicle, it becomes a chore to navigate the city streets.
The bikes, in comparison, fare a little better, in part due to a wider field of view in place when riding two-wheelers.
Like Cyberpunk 2077, Watch Dogs is an open-world game that lacks any sense of speed when driving around the map. Fortunately, the developers took the feedback and immensely improved the handling and physics with the sequel, providing a substantially better open-world driving experience.
4) Saints Row 4
Saints Row 4, developed by Volition, is the final fourth and final installment in the developer's long-running action-adventure open-world game. The game, much like its predecessors, aims to give players a vast open-world to explore and interact with, alongside a pretty good narrative to keep players entertained.
Saints Row 4, just like any other action-adventure open-world game, gives players a range of vehicles to drive around the game's map. The game also allows players to customize their 'ride' with different body modifications, wheels, paint jobs and decals.
However, driving around in these vehicles is less than satisfactory in this game. Driving in Saints Row 4 can genuinely feel like an afterthought, with its awkward handling model and rigid controls. Vehicles in the game also exhibit a somewhat exaggerated fragility as they tend to get destroyed rather quickly.
This lack of substance in driving can be attributed to the superhuman capabilities given to the player's character in Saints Row 4, as it's easier to just sprint, jump and glide around the map than struggle with driving in the open-world game.
5) Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy and driving are two things that should never be heard in tandem, and yet Square Enix thought it would be a good idea to implement driving into the fifteenth main open-world game of the series.
Final Fantasy XV had players explore the world of Eos in the Quartz Regalia. At launch, the only driving players could do was relegated to just changing lanes, that's right! driving mechanics in an open-world game, limited to only moving left and right.
The game now allows players to take full control of the vehicle on the road with several post-launch updates, and also modify it to change it to either a flying car or an off-road car.
Although the off-road version, called Regalia Type-D, was a fun way to explore the rocky terrain of Eos, it wasn't perfect, as the car would often collide with the uneven terrain, making manoeuvring the car cumbersome.
The flying version, Regalia Type-F did not fare any better as the flight controls were stiff and the car could easily crash and get destroyed by colliding with anything while landing.
The poor implementation of driving in Final Fantasy XV stands as a reminder for Square Enix to refrain from adding under-cooked driving mechanics in fantasy role-playing open-world games.
