Best Sandbox / Freeroam Game

Just Cause 2 and Prototype

Just Cause 2 is a good one.

Just Cause 2 and Prototype

guildclaws

Garry's Mod

Minecraft

[QUOTE="deltaop007"]how come forgot GTA guys?...the best free-roam game in ages... :) for me it ll be none other than the fantastic GTA IV and GTA SA....Farkeman

Rubbish.

Howcome nobody mentiones Fallout 3? It's the best game I've played in years. It has so many side missions you have to play it at least twice if you want to see them all. But the best thing about it is the unique style and the atmosphere (athmosphere?). I can't really explain it, you have to see it for yourself.telep_man

Howcome nobody mentiones Fallout 3? It's the best game I've played in years. It has so many side missions you have to play it at least twice if you want to see them all. But the best thing about it is the unique style and the atmosphere (athmosphere?). I can't really explain it, you have to see it for yourself.telep_man

Probably GTASA or maybe Garrys mod if you can count that as free roam ;)

To me a sandbox game is a game that takes place in a large open environment that allows you to play around and have fun outside of missions.

My favorite would probably be Red Faction: Guerrilla because it really embraces the concept; its a ton of fun to just run around and destroy things.

Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 2 are honorable mentions.

To me a sandbox game is a game that takes place in a large open environment that allows you to play around and have fun outside of missions.

My favorite would probably be Red Faction: Guerrilla because it really embraces the concept; its a ton of fun to just run around and destroy things.

Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 2 are honorable mentions.

with_teeth26

stalker , sandbox ? lolFarkeman

Depends on your preferences for setting and gameplay.

Guild Wars, WoW, Oblivion, Test Drive: Unlimited, Simcity, The Sims, the X Series, and Freelancer are all fun games :)

Garrys mod

Garry's Mod

Minecraft

tequilasunriser

That would be considered free roam. The OP asked for sandbox. Ya know, I first posted actual sandbox games (Garry's mod and Minecraft), but as fate would have it with typical GS users, people confuse sandbox with free roam and started rattling off games that were anything but sandbox. I figured if Fallout 3 got a mention it was only fair to mention STALKER, which, in my opinion, is the better of the two.

tequilasunriser

There is a ton of overlap between free roam and sandbox games. I was a bit vague in my definition, but by "play around and have fun" i meant actually do things that are somewhat productive, not like in GTA IV where you just run around and shoot people (which gets old after 10 minutes), but actually interact with things in the environment outside of missions that point have a purpose (destroying buildings to obtain salvage and lower government control in Red Faction; destroying buildings/causing chaos to unlock mission in Just Cause 2).

there are more linear games like Crysis that are also considered sandbox games, but they aren't as effective as Just Cause 2 or Red Faction at delivering pure sandbox gameplay.

Free-roam simply implies that you can roam around the environment outside of missions but doesn't imply interactivity (like with Mafia 2). It is highly possible and fairly common for games to be both free-roam and sandbox.

and BTW i agree, Stalker kicks Fallout 3's ass.

Grand theft auto 4

stalker, and fallout 3

also minecraft

The Saboteur has some fine moments...

1. RDR easily without competition

2. GTAIV

3. Red Faction

4. Just Cause 2

[QUOTE="with_teeth26"]

To me a sandbox game is a game that takes place in a large open environment that allows you to play around and have fun outside of missions.

My favorite would probably be Red Faction: Guerrilla because it really embraces the concept; its a ton of fun to just run around and destroy things.

Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 2 are honorable mentions.

tequilasunriser

stalker , sandbox ? lolFarkeman

Oh, quite agreed old chap. Heaven knows the "typical GS user" is an uneducated barbarian. I swear, they'll let in anybody these days. Hmmm, yes quite. Ah, be a dear and hold on a moment, would you? Charles! Oh, Charles! Run along and fetch me my shawl. Yes, the white fur. And be quick about it this time? I swear, it's so hard to find good help these days, what with all these GS users running amuck. Now, where were we?

Morrowind;

Gothic.

Just Cause 2 takes the sandbox pretty far. It's definitely an outstanding game to play around in, and mods add to the fun of things.K4ss3r

Damn... Jessica looks hot in that sig...

JUst Cause 2 is nothing short of amazing, fun, beautiful, and fun, fun fun

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowmind, it pisses all over Oblivion and all the other games mentioned here in replay value, mods, content, you name it... if only it had advanced AI.

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowmind, it pisses all over Oblivion and all the other games mentioned here in replay value, mods, content, you name it... if only it had advanced AI.

tibLeX123

Warning, fanboy alert.

Stalker, as I said before, is a cheap imitation of free roam gameplay.WildBilliam

STALKER genuinely simulates its game world, animals migrate, factions fight, STALKERs die and stay dead; your impact on the game world isn't entirely superficial, and it fits with how cut-throat the survival theme of the exclusion zone is in this adaptation of Roadside Picnic's fiction. The problem in SoC was the integration of meaningful open world exploration into the games progression structure and player impact into the game world; mods sought to fix that greatly and CoP expanded greatly on integrating it into the actual level architecture and progression structure.

On that note I found it far more engrossing than Fallout 3's game world - which really felt like an elaborate set and amazingly detailed quest hub to explore between quests - it was far too noticeable how the random encounter system worked; its restrictive central plot didn't help at all either. That being said Fallout NV was an improvement, alas neither never felt nearly as alive as the Zone to me in STALKER CoP.

Also STALKERs story depth is actually fantastic it's damn good; a lot of that is due to richness of Roadside Picnic and (the film) Stalker's themes. Problem is it is woefully told, text boxes and bookend cut scenes aren't great, however the games world building is absolutely outstanding. I can't say the same about FO3, it's central plot was an absolute abomination - almost everything about it, and NV while being fantastic in its own right had one of the worst introductions to grace any RPG alas, even compared to STALKERs own - that being said the way the plot unfolds is excellent, a real throwback to older RPG sensibilities - massive kudos to Obsidian imho.

Gothic3, GTA:SA, Morrowind and Just Cause2

[QUOTE="tibLeX123"]

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowmind, it pisses all over Oblivion and all the other games mentioned here in replay value, mods, content, you name it... if only it had advanced AI.

NeilCardiff

Warning, fanboy alert.

Its his personal opinion.. why bring up the word fanboy?
I liked Morrowind and Daggerfall alot more then Oblivion, that does not make me a fanboy.

Does Enjoying Fallout1/2 and New Vegas more then Fallout3 make me a fanboy? Come on now.

The dudes opinion is that Morrowind is much better then Oblivion, I gotta agree with him on that one, but I relize all others dont.