Why I Don't Like Open World Games

A year ago, I watched my friends foam at the mouth as they murdered thousands of innocent, hard-working, married pedestrians on the streets of "Grand Theft Auto Anything Goes Who Cares It's Just A Video Game City 5: About 3 Games Too Many". Conversation eventually led to the declaration by one of my friends that no person ever has been disappointed to hear that a game was to be made "open-world". I secretly disagreed with him but couldn't figure out why. Turns out the only thing that would render me sedimentary enough to sit down and develop my thoughts on the topic would be eating two colossal pieces of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory back-to-back, then sitting down to finally catch up on the internet's newest series "Selena Gomez Has More Nude Pictures: About 3 Galleries Too Many".

I don't like open world games because I think they are hardly ever done right. Open world games only ever do 1 thing in a variety of different ways: provide the illusion of choice- essentially a lie that the game is giving you "choices" when really, it is not. Let's examine each variation of the deception separately:

The first variation of the illusion of choice gives players the following two options:
A) Complete missions necessary to beat the story
B) Complete missions NOT necessary to beat the story

So let's begin. You are given a game with an open world. Right off the bat this means one of two things: You will be given permission to do things you are not required to OR it is a bad game.
You are free to abandon what the game demands you to do, granting you permission to do almost whatever you want. Let's assume though that what you want is to complete the story. Open-worldedness is a liberating freedom, but how much this freedom contributes to the game has yet to be determined (as far as this article goes). Think about this: Let's say that the developers of a game take their time to write out a story with great characters, twists, growth, and plot BUT they give you side missions that are completely optional. Why? Why give players the option to NOT play content that you spent valuable time creating? This is the same as having them tell you that you only need to play 60% (or whatever percent of the game is required) of the missions to experience 100% of the game. VALIDATION YOU ASK FOR: If you complete Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time but you don't get the Biggoron's Sword (an optional mission), can anyone tell you fairly that you HAVEN'T played OoT? No. Giving players optional missions is the same thing as me telling you that I have written an incredible book and it's fine if you skip 40% of the pages, as long as you get to the end. Having optional missions, even creating parts of the world that don't NEED to be seen, is the developer's way of admitting that they know not every player will want to play everything on the disc, instead of insisting that every player should. I wouldn't be very convinced by Nintendo that some Super Mario game is worth playing if they gave me the option to not play half of it. The way I look at it, open worlds are the developers admitting that at least some of the game is not worth playing. And also, if you have an open world game WITHOUT optional missions, then why have an open world at all?

The second variation of the illusion of choice is giving the player the next duo of options:
A) Explore the World
B) Don't Explore the World

Now this is a good one that basically boils down to a simple question - Do you HAVE to explore the world in order to beat the game? We have to discuss incentive for a second - Question 2: WHY would I want to explore a world? Well there are a lot of reasons! Let's start with a good one - In order to find optional weapons. Optional weapons or items are usually things that make the game either easier or funny. They, however, seldom make the game more fun. Think about this: If a weapon existed in the game that made the game generally more fun, why would the developers make that weapon optional? Wouldn't developers want something that makes the game more fun to be experienced by everyone playing it? But I digress (not really). Optional weapons are things that make the game either easier or funny but do you need them? Can you complete the game without them? If you CAN complete the game without them, then it would seem that developers wasted time designing items that some people will never see, and (**this is important**) if you CAN'T, or it would be extremely difficult to, complete the game without them, then they aren't optional! The whole idea behind the illusion of "choice" is that you really never have one, and if you never have any real choice, then what the fuck is the point of an open-world?

The second incentive to explore a world is to find Side-quests. These are popular in RPGs and I can already hear my friends yelling at me, justifying the inclusion of side-quests in RPGs. Often, in RPGs, you need to complete optional side-quests in order to gain experience to level-up your character so that you can more easily defeat certain bosses. But that's the thing- if you NEED to complete optional side-quests in order to make progress, then they aren't optional! You are once again being tricked into thinking that you have a choice, when really, you don't. The residents of open-worlds are always the providers of optional side-quests, but if you MUST complete the side-quests in order to increase the strength of your character in order to progress, then all the open-world does is trick you into thinking that you've accepted a task you didn't have to, when really, you did, and the only real option you have is to accept the mission, or use an avatar that cannot ever win ever. All I ask is that the game doesn't lie to me! Don't tell me I have a choice not to do a certain side-quest if I am going to undoubtedly regret it later! Game devs could alternatively distribute appropriate amounts of EXP during the main story so that side-quests become redundant and obsolesced, or just include the side-quests as part of the main story, eliminating the "option" entirely. Now I can certainly think of linear games with optional side-quests, Sonic Unleashed and Lost Kingdoms II come to mind, but the optional missions in those games are once again hardly optional, and now that I think about it, I don't remember the game ever telling me that they were. There is something to be noted about the difference between additional levels that help you progress and side-quests that compensate for what the main story could not provide.

Finally, we have to discuss The Legend of Zelda. Do I mean to suggest the Legend of Zelda should be linear, and relieved of its open world? Well...let's think about this. The game Dark Siders II was essentially an angry, M-rated LoZ game. Exactly the same way Legend of Zelda is, it has a nonlinear (open) world, but a linear story, so all you ever did in the impressively enormous open world was move from point A to B to C to D, etc. until you beat the game. There was about as much incentive to explore as there was in a Legend of Zelda game (not much), so I ask the following: If you're spending an entire game moving in a straight line through an open world, then WHAT THE FUCK IS THE POINT OF THE OPEN WORLD?? Having an open world is certainly more impressive to look at and experience, but it's all for nothing if it doesn't add anything to the game. As a side-note, this issue is actually addressed 100% perfectly by a game called The Last Story on the Wii. I'll talk about it some other time.

It would seem that I've spent this entire article writing objectively, assuming that everyone plays games for the same reason I do, but remember, this article is about why I, James, don't like open-world games. Now there are some that I like, even love. Pokemon works because the game functions around the idea of exploring a world, and the game just literally wouldn't work without it. Zelda: Twilight Princess is another that just works well, mostly because despite it being an open world, it is small and doesn't overwhelm the player. I am brutally aware that giving the player an option, even if it is a sham, creates a more personal connection between the player and his/her avatar, resulting in a greater sense of immersion, which is the very state that powers the video game industry itself. Open world games can be fun just because they create a greater sense of control, but it should be noted that the only aspect of a game controlled by the player in an open-world game is the pacing of progress, NOT what is required of them. A Sonic the Hedgehog game (not open world) can only be played by either making progress or losing. Open world games are unique in that they can be played without making progress or losing. They allow the player to complete the missions (over which they, once again, have no control) whenever they want. But honestly, I think you get it. Open-world games don't do it for me, except for Spider-Man 2, which is essentially the only reason why I bothered to use the words "mostly, often, and seldom" in this article, as opposed to "always, never, and never", which would have forced me to title this article "An Abundance of Words That Make Me Sound Ignorant: About 3 Adjectives Too Many".

Recap

Okay guys like I said in my last post, we are officially half way through my list of top ten favorite Gamecube games. I must admit, there is a problem with how I am going about this list. The fact that I recently just purchased a bunch of Gamecube games that are new to me in addition to the games I plan on obtaining in the near future is very much making me reconsider my list. Perhaps I will post a revised list later in the year, once I have completed each of my new games entirely. Just to establish some relatability, here are the games that I just got recently and the games I will try to pick up by the end of the summer:
Mary Kate and Ashley 16 Licensed to Drive                                              -Plan on Getting-
Starfox Adventures                                                                                   Super Monkey Ball 2
Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker                                                                   Metroid Prime
Legend of Zelda: Collector's Disc                                                           Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
Tales of Symphonia                                                                                            Pikmin 2
Luigi's Mansion

So far I've spent my posts discussing extensively the pros of each of the titles on my list, but I haven't touched the cons. There are reasons why I like certain games more than others, but I've neglected to reveal those reasons until now. This will be brief, but interesting. We will start at number 10:

1080: Avalanche - The game wasn't short, because there was actually a lot to do once you really
started looking at all of the unlockables. All different boards and such were unlocked by playing game modes that are typically overlooked in video games (time trial), but really, a lot of the unlockables don't affect gameplay enough for you to have a real desire to get them. There are definitely some cool prizes in the game, but by the time you get them, there is pretty much nothing left for you to do in the game. For this reason, despite how fun the game is, you do eventually lose motivation to really go the extra mile as far as 100percenting the game. Moreover, this game is WAY more fun when you race your friends, but no one plays this game...so good luck...

Mario Kart: Double Dash - I understand that number 9 might be a little low for this game, but really,
I feel pretty good about this. Despite how fun this game is, actually playing single player is a little but of a drag, but 100% necessary. Unlocking every character and track is kind of boring because it involves you playing the same track 4+ times (once on every difficulty). This game is fun for the MULTIPLAYER. But the multiplayer is only fun once you have your friend take one for the team, and unlock everything via single player.

 

Spiderman 2 - This game is awesome, but it is repetitive. Although swinging around and fighting people is SO fun, it really is all you do. It shares the same problem with the Prince of Persia titles in my opinion: they are fun, but too much of a good thing is never good. It simply looses it's flavor after a little while of chewing

Super Mario Sunshine - Definitely another awesome game, but ultimately, it is not Super Mario 64.
The game is also inconsistent in that some levels are really easy, and other levels are TV-smashingly difficult. It can be a little short and some levels can be a little not-as-fun as they could be. There really are no major faults with this game, but the little things add up. I mean, it's still my 7th favorite Gamecube game, so don't think I am trying to hate on this game; it is really good, but not number 1.

Lost Kingdoms 2 - Ehh this one is tough. Sometimes you face a game with no big problems, no major flaws, but simply is just not your favorite game ever. Honestly, this game needs a little bit of a better soundtrack. There are certainly moments when the soundtrack hits you in the best of ways, but usually it is pretty bland. I never go on an epic quest without some epic tunes, but apparently Activision does not agree with me. The graphics were also pretty laughable and even though the actual story was good, the characters didn't draw me into it. The gameplay was really REALLY fun and refreshing, but I think the story could have been emphasized more by some good voice acting and cut scenes. It is something I never thought I cared about until just now...

Soul Calibur 2- This fighting game is perfect. But that is just it- it's a fighting game. The gameplay is
repetitive at times simply because fighting games don't rely on story and characters and cut scenes to help you through the games. If you get bored during an adventure game, you can usually last a couple more hours or so by paying attention to the music or graphics or something, but fighting games are typically 100% fighting, 0% everything else. So if you get bored of fighting, then you change your game, because there is just nothing else to them.

So I hope that cleared some shit up for y'all. Please tell me if I've inspired any of you to bust out your old Gamecubes because I'd be honored to hear about it. Also, feel free to ask me about any game at all. I will review any game I have played and I love talking about games so if you ever wanna talk, find a way to let me know. Stay tuned, because I plan on posting a list of ALL of my 56 Gamecube games soon.

Top Ten Favorite Gamecube Games Countdown: Number 8

Yup. It's finally here. Looks like I've been caught stalling and I must apologize to that. I'm going to make the pre-ambling shorter this time because I am very excited about this next game, so allow me to just swing right into it.

8) Spiderman 2   

....what?

Okay so Spiderman is like, my favorite super hero ever. I think his powers are balanced and his style is cool. Excuse me? Balanced powers and a stylish attitude? Remind you of any (every)  other perfect video game protagonist??
Anyway Spiderman 2 was a fantastic game and there are really several reasons for why it is an awesome title, but really only a couple of reasons why it made my top ten list, the most important reason being replay value.

I LOVE a long game. I love love love a game that keeps me entertained for hours and hours without me getting bored or stuck. No walkthroughs, no yelling at the TV, no bullshit. It wasn't an easy game, but it wasn't too difficult. It was long, but not frustrating. It was just fun. The game kept me playing for hours at a time just swinging around New York City without even doing anything really important or relevant to the game's storyline. THIS is really the appeal of the game, but I definitely have some explaining to do before I try to convince you of how fun NOT doing missions is. And before I start, please forget the gamepoop that was the first Spiderman video game. Just forget about it.


GAMEPLAY. Spiderman 2 was open-world. What does that mean? It means that no matter what you had to do, where you had to go, who was dying in the game, who was dying on the sofa next to you, NO MATTER WHAT, you could pretty much go anywhere at anytime you want. And how would you get there? Well think about it...you're Spiderman....THAT'S RIGHT whenever you got bored, you could literally just swing around the entire city of New York jumping off walls, dangling from street signs, and even kicking the crap out of thugs trying to mug a helpless old lady. And believe me, following the missions was fun, but just swinging around was so chill. See really during the entire game, you can do anything Spiderman can do in the movie, but the skill necessary to swing around without bumping into walls every 2 seconds is never something that any tutorial hands to you on a silver platter. The means to swing around stylishly, chaining together the ability to swing, run on a wall, jump off the wall, swing off a flag pole, etc, is something you have to develop and learn how to do as you play the game. As the enemies of the game increase in difficulty, the more essential it is for you to harness the real capabilities of the in-game Spiderman. This game will force you to gradually get better at playing as the story demands it. You will have to get better at swinging and fighting as the game progresses and the better you become, the more fun it is. If you don't get better over time, you simply won't win.

Now we will discuss the pacing of the game. This is the first time I have ever discussed this topic, but it is vital to the understanding of the gameplay of Spiderman 2. So the game is split up into "chapters". With each chapter comes different objectives that you must satisfy in order to advance to the next chapter. The point of the entire game is to complete every chapter and when you do, you just have the entirety of The Big Apple as your playground. Typically, a chapter will have 3 or 4 objectives. Usually, one is "Earn 500 hero points" and one is "Meet with MaryJane". The other two are less consistent and may be something like "Go to the Daily Bugle" or "Check Your Answering Machine". For each of these missions, a pin-point marker will appear on your screen. They appear in the distance and display how far you are from the location it is representing. Once you reach the marker, the mission it represents will commence. Unless you are timed, however, you can pretty much do any mission whenever you want in any order you desire. This creates a very stress-free environment as  you can literally turn the game on, not progress in the storyline at all, and still have a lot of fun.

I mentioned "Hero Points" before. They are simple to understand, but will wind up being very important to the progression of the game with every chapter you complete. Green markers appear above the heads of pedestrians who either need help or witnessed a crime. Once you talk to someone with a marker above their head, you become responsible to handle whatever they are freaking out about. If you fail to assist properly, then you lose Hero Points, but if you succeed (not difficult) then you are awarded many more. The collecting of Hero Points is absolutely necessary in order to complete each chapter. They also function secondarily as currency in the game. One can spend Hero Points in the store in order to purchase upgrades for Spiderman such as different moves in combat, or an increased swinging speed, as if Spiderman needed to be upgraded.

Lastly we will talk about the combat. Although swinging around is just the most entertaining thing
ever, what would be the point of Spiderman's super strength if he couldn't take it to the streets? A lot of the game involves the utilization of Spiderman's fighting abilities, and in the game, that super strength is just a couple of buttons away. B is punch. B, in fact, is the only button designated to attacking. That being said, when Spiderman fights, he does a lot more than simply wail on an opponent. For example, the B button makes Spiderman punch, the Y button makes Spiderman shoot web, and the A button makes Spiderman jump. So what happens when you press B,B,A,Y,B when fighting en enemy? Well, Spiderman punches the enemy in a two-punch combo, jumps up, wraps the criminal in web, and then punches them again. In addition to standard moves that can be used at anytime, there are certain moves that involve Spiderman interacting with his surroundings. Anyone who has played the game knows what I'm talking about....that one move where you tie an enemy to a traffic light and leave him dangling by his ankle? Yeah, that move definitely contributed to this game's existence on my list, not to mention Spider Sense Mode which makes the entire world slow down allowing for you to completely gain total advantage during combat.

Spiderman 2 is definitely not an ordinary superhero game. It provides a relaxing environment where you can either swing around aimlessly for hours or complete missions battling some of Spiderman's toughest friends and foes and have a great time regardless. Upgrading Spiderman's powers and your own skills, along with numerous mini-games and wonderful voice acting from Toby McGuire, Alfred Malone, and the rest of the Spiderman 2 cast will surely motivate you to harness every bit of responsibility that comes with your great power.