Open-world titles are among some of the most prolific in the world today, and while some tend to stir a bit of controversy from a design standpoint, it cannot be denied that many exceptional games have given playersimmense, detailed worldsto explore.
However, while many open world titles are hailed as pioneersin the genre with meaningful content,some titles have remained a little more obscure and are unavailable to purchase today. These games might have had all the compelling content in the world, but they, frustratingly perhaps, can no longer be found through mainstream means.
Urban Chaos: Riot Responseis an obscure title in the already obscureUrban Chaosseries. It cycled through several developers as they all steadily dissolved until falling into the hands of Rocksteady, a fresh company at the time, who took this on as their first ever game. While, best known forthe Arkham-verse games, this title helped, back in 2005 at least, put Rocksteady and theUrban Chaosserieson the map.
The game delivers a fairly expansive open world with a lot of detail — as far as set pieces and destructive environments go. This is probably a good thing, considering the player is trying to take down a gang known as the “Burners,” who seem to be characterized by an unlimited supply of Molotov cocktails.Urban Chaos: Riot Responseoffers a solid action/drama storyline in a great, reactive open world.
Games with destructible environments like7 Days to Diehave shown the kind of potential this mechanic has in sandbox titles, allowing for a lot of freedom and interesting scenarios for the player to concoct as they fight through hordes of enemies or even against other players.Mercenaries 2: World in Flamesshowed off the kind of freedom offered by destructible environments way back in 2008.
There’s a unique faction and reputation mechanic that comes into play as the player sets up their own PMC in an attempt to get revenge after a job goes bad. On top of that, whole cities and towns can be demolished by the player’s explosive force, making for a very satisfying sandbox-styled open world.
There are a host of games that involvetrading across the stars, butFreelancerstands tall as having brought some incredible depth to this niche genre all the way back in 2003. A tight cohort of 48 star systems are available for the player to explore, getting into dogfights and picking up goods along the way. Like a lot of these games that offer the final frontier as a canvas for exploration, the player is able to take on a number of roles, be it trader, bounty hunter, or even pirate.
Freelanceris an underrated space simulation title that gave players a heap of systems to explore, even having a multiplayer system for tandem exploration. One of the many pieces of software not available on any modern storefronts today, the spirit ofFreelancerlives on in titles likeStarcom, Star Trader,andNo Man’s Sky.
Assassin’s Creedtitles were beginning to really pick up their stride by 2009, and putting all that momentum to good use, Ubisoft released their second ever spin-off title on the PSP.Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlinesplayed and handled like a classicAssassin’s Creedtitle, and it acted as a direct continuation of the originalAssassin’s Creed’s story, placing it in an interesting little niche within the broadertimeline and lore of theAssassin’s Creedseries at large.
Exploring the isle of Cyprus — an open world appropriately scaled down for the PSP — still retains that classicACcharm, and the story is a surprisingly intimate one with a romance at its core. TheACseries frequently ranks among someof Ubisoft’s best titlesamid the more mundane open-world ones, and the spark in this little PSP title reminds players why — even if it’s not available for purchase anymore.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadowsis a gem among not just open-world titles, but the Xbox 360 andPS3 era of gamesas a whole. It had just about everything one could ask for in a Spider-Man title, and then some. Trapped between the temptations of the black suit and the obligations of the classic suit,Web of Shadowshas the iconic web-slinger fighting symbiote monsters across an increasingly militarized New York City, with appearances from a range of broader Marvel characters like Luke Cage and Wolverine.
Players could opt between the classic and symbiote suit, with the former handling with classic Spider-Man agility and the latter a lot more impactful with individual AOE strikes. The game’s ending was even affected by what suit (and love interest!) Peter went for in the end, and many features from this title are being called for in newer Spider-Man titles. This is one of those games in desperate need of a refresh. It’s a classic, hidden gem from a past era of gaming that fans of the web-head owe it to themselves to experience.
