Top 5 sandbox games on the market?

Trying to be objective here rating on build quality, fun factor, technology everything in between. Not just what my favorite ones are..

1. GTA V

2. Elder Scrolls

3. Red Dead Redemption

4. FAllout

5. Assassin's Creed

Now my my two cents and soapbox. I actually like assassin's creed best. They actually mix some puzzle solving into their games but the quality and how they do it is just meh... A lot of these games in general just throw a lot at you and are more trying to appeal to so many people kind of miss the point imo... Maybe the most overhyped genre out there imo because so much can be done better imo in such a huge open world but only a few publishers are really pushing the technology to its limits.. They are games and meant to be fun but they also miss the mark in doing so sometimes and this genre has become more and more streamlined, force fed and shovelware imo... Not sure these games are becoming more fun or interesting or just more of the same and more streamlined and becoming all the same pretty much. At least the elder scrolls and fallout still have rpg elements and questing and stuff like that. So open ended though. I actually prefer more of an action adventure with something more to the missions then just drive here and shoot this guy or drive there and do this . My main gripe with sandbox games nowadays is how it is all presented. People don't understand a challenge nowadays imo and how that can be fun. Adventure games back int he day even games like police quest you had to figure certain things out that would unlock other areas. Some of these games are presented this way but others aren't. I still think an open world detective game where you can unlock areas as you progress the story would work better with more depth to it. I also think developers try to be overly edgy or whatever they are and they don't really accomplish that at all. They try too hard to be something they aren't.

Sandbox in what sense?

Like pure sandbox? or an open world game? or a game with open design? Because I think there is some range there, especially with rpgs thrown into the mix.

open world =/= sandbox.

can't argue with the top 4 but the AC series isn't very good. I'd have to substitute it out. probably add SO if you consider it a sandbox, if not maybe SRIV, much better then any AC game or Arkham city. Depends really on what you consider a sandbox. most games now blur the lines on genres. Most games could easily fit into 2-3 categories

SAINTS ROW 4.

Just Cause 2(and soon 3)

None of those are sandboxes. But yes, GTA V is currently the best open-world game.

Can someone please explain the difference between open world and sandbox?

I always thought they were the same... I certainly thought Fallout/ Elder Scrolls/ Just cause were all sandbox games.

Or does sandbox just refer to Sim games or world creation games? (like minecraft)

There's no real fixed definition. Sandbox refers more to the ability to create your own stuff, or content. Open world usually means the ability to go anywhere in the world from the start.

But in games like TES and GTA, both definitions seem to work so it's tricky to nail it down.

So, i have no idea myself.

Has for the best open world gme, i don't know. Between TES, Black Flag, Red Dead Redemption, Far Cry and Crysis, all have their pros and cons.

Me too. I thought so-called open-world games shouldn't have boundaries whether it's a physical obstacle or the threat of being killed/timing out. They're just giant sandboxes.

The only real open-open world game I know is Flight Simulator X. Hell. You can circle the Earth if you want. Fly east. You'll eventually arrive back coming from the west.

GTA V

Saint's Row The Third.

Just Cause 2

Fallout New Vegas

Skyrim

I liked the new AC Unity

Fallout 3

GTA V

Oblivion

Halo 5??????? soon to be????

Dragon's Age Inquisition

Fallout New Vegas

Those are the big two for me. I haven't played GTA V and Skyrim absolutely bored me to tears.

Assassin's Creed is more an open world for the sake of it than a game. ALL the side missions are pointless and 'kill this dude who was in a cutscene' gameplay wore really thin for me really fast. Black Flag was the best of a bad lot but I would never put it in any 'best of' list.

The best sandboxes imo are, in no specific order.

1. X3 (Space Sim)
2. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (4X/TBS)
3. Mount&Blade: Warband (Sword and Board)
4. EVE: Online (MMOG/Space Sim)
5. Dwarf Fortress (RTS)

Honorable Mention: Europa Universalis 3, didnt play enough of it. But the game showed so much depth from what little I played.

OP says sandbox, and all the games he listed are too limiting to be a true sandbox.

And doesn't include Minecraft, which is as sandbox as you can get.

GTA

JC2

FC3

SO

Skyrim

I would say Dwarf Fortress beats it out on the sandbox aspect, but it is really close (redstone ftw)... and well MineCraft is a LOT more popular.

http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/v0.31:Dwarven_physics

All GTA games and Farcry 3-4

Hmm, it really depends on what your most important criteria is.

But my top 5 would be for pure gameplay fun

1: GTA

2: Fallout

3: Just Cause 2

4: Red Dead

5: Saints Row (Even though it has one of the smallest maps of any open world game)

Let us not forget the awesome Just Cause 2, I also really loved Saints Row The Third, haven't played any of the other Saints Row games though. Red Dead Redemption has to be my favorite of Rockstar's 7th gen games.

1. The Elder Scrolls (Skyrim/Oblivion/Morrowind)
2. Freelancer
3. Grand Theft Auto 4/Mafia

Semi Open World

1. Divinity : Original Sin
2. Crysis

The term sand box and open box tend to get mixed together and separating what is actually open and what is "sandy" aka dev's give you tools to allow to change the outcome.

Sand box games are games you create your own fun, ideas, changing the outcomes, Open world based games are games that have large areas to play in,aka free roaming.

Sandbox examples would be like Minecraft, or Garry's Mod or even Little Big Planet

Open world is like Saints Row, GTA, some rpg's, some MMO's and others.

Oblivion and Fallout 3. (Skyrim disappointed me)

FC3

FC4

GTA V

Wow, a lot of you don't know what a sandbox game is (and are confusing it with open-world).

1. EVE Online
2. Minecraft
3. Terraria
4. Arma 3
5. ArcheAge

Really liked State of Decay. Don't really play many sandbox games tho.

I'll just list the most fun 2 player co-op sandbox... Crackdown.

Crackdown 2 sucked but bring on the all new mighty cloud powahed Crackdown 3 baby. :P

Seems like a lot of people dont understand what a sandbox is.

1. One game provides me with a big open world to explore, and a big checklist to complete. But the potential for emergent gameplay is very low. (Far Cry, GTA, Assassins Creed)
2. The other game provides me lets me constantly engineer new strategies, using the AI, map, and game mechanics in ways the developers never intended to, the only limitation to my possibiliites ingame are my limitations set by my lack of technical mechancis and creativity. (Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri).

Example 1 is not a sandbox, but freeroam/open world. Number 2 is a sandbox, as the emergent gameplay is strong enough to justify that claim.

That is a sandbox, not GTA (Which while not a sandbox, does freeroaming really well).

This thread has been ruined by you know who once again.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ it beats every game on that list