When Grand Theft Auto came about, it set a huge trend. After the arrival of GTA3 on the Playstation 2 there was a huge wave of sandbox titles; the genre became very popular. As someone who is highly appreciative of sandbox games myself, I decided to write up a list of five great sandbox games that I enjoy. Check it out and leave comments; It would be cool to see what you guys think also.
In no particular order.
1. Scarface
Who could refuse running rampant in an open world with the worlds most favorite gangster Tony Montana; the game did a great job of putting you in the shoes of Mr Montana. Not only could you lead Tony on his path of revenge, but you could manage your drug distribution and purchase Guns, Cars, and Mansion upgrades. This was a game that I could not resist.
2. True Crime: Streets Of LA
I loved this game for the sheer fact that you played the game from the perspective of a Police officer, which put a twist on the whole genre as you usually play as a criminal. Although this kind of limited the amount of side activates you could don(because a police officer would never drive around picking up prostitutes right?), there was the fact you could solve random crimes dispatched through the Police radio. Also the game introduced some nice fighting mechanics, as well as your typical shooting.
3. Saints Row 2
You cant compose a list of great sandbox games and not include Grand Theft Auto’s biggest competitor in there. The best thing about Saints Row 2 is the level of customization; if your going to inflict carnage on the world, then you may as well do it in style. I’m all for customization in gaming, and this game lets you customize to the teeth(literally!).
4. Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
My two favorite genres are Sandbox and Rpg, so combining the two is going to be nothing short of amazing in my opinion. Although the setting of Oblivion (or the Elder Scrolls setting period) may put off a lot of casual gamers, this game is up there on the list of the best games I have ever played period. The world is so big, and so open that you’ll be overwhelmed when you step out of that sewer for the first time. Fallout 3, from the same makers of Elder Scrolls was an honorable mention, but I didn’t put it here for the fact that there’s not many options as far as travel.
5. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Quite frankly, any game labeled with the Grand Theft Auto name is going to be a phenomenal product. San Andreas is the one I chose to mention because as it stands, it had the most amount of activities to part take in. Even Grand Theft Auto IV didn’t top San Andreas in terms of freedom, but I am pretty sure Rockstar are holding of some great features for the second next gen release of Grand Theft Auto, whenever that may be.
So there you have it, 5 great sandbox games that I felt we’re worth mentioning. There are many honorable mentions such as; The Godfather (one and two), Shenmue, Spiderman, Fable (one and two) Crackdown, and I could go on. Three that I am very excited about are; Prototype, Infamous and Red Faction 3. Also look out for one coming later this year called APB, so now it’s up to you guys to leave some comments and let me know all those other great sandbox games that I left out.
