Summary
A lot of people may scoff at the idea of open-world games with mechanics that involve taking over outposts or liberating areas. The sheer number of titles that employ this mechanic is so numerous that it has become rather stale at this point.
While this fatigue is understandable, that shouldn’t take anything away fromgames that have unique and interesting spins on this concept, nailing the execution in a way that makes these games such a blast to play for fans. These titles make an effort to tie their narratives into this gameplay loop to make it more sensible, and ultimately, more enjoyable.
The reputation that Ubisoft has in the modern era is far from great, but there was a time when this developer was known for creating fresh and innovative titles. The release ofFar Cry 3was a landmark moment for the company, with Jason Brody’s vacation taking a turn for the worst when he and his friends skydive and land on the Rook Islands, only to be captured by Vaas and his gang of pirates. In a bid to save his buddies,Jason uses his newfound abilitiesto liberate enemy outposts, helping the Rakyat tribe along the way.
People may find the act of taking over outposts uninspired now, but it felt incredibly engaging and rewarding back whenFar Cry 3came out. Players could take out outposts by being stealthy, going in guns-blazing, or combining both approaches. It was one of the many open-world activities players could accomplish in this amazing game and is worth revisiting even today.
The Saboteuris a game that lets players take on an active role to reduce the Nazi presence in Paris during World War 2. In a bid to show how oppressive the Germans are,the world is decked out in shades of black and white, with very little color for players to feast their eyes on. It’s only after disrupting Nazi operations and giving the French people hope that players can restore color to the world.
It’s one of the best uses of art direction in a video game where liberating areas in and around Paris are a huge part of the gameplay loop. While there are times whenThe Saboteur’s gameplay can feel derivative to a fault, players will be able to look past this as they explore a rich, vibrant, and reactive open world.
There are times when open-world games become way too overcomplicated, to the point where having fun in a video game becomes secondary as opposed to cramming as many nuanced and intriguing elements that supposedly aid a player’s immersion. So, it’s nice to see that theJust Causeseries hasn’t lost its focus — namely, letting players blow up everything in sight using the wealth of tools at their disposal.
Just Cause 3is a fan-favorite whereplayers explore the massive world of Mediciand free it from the oppressive presence of a dictator who has virtually no redeeming qualities to speak of. As one would expect, liberating a region from Di Ravello’s oppression involves blowing up most things in sight. It may seem counterproductive, but the people of Medici don’t mind a ton of explosions and destruction as long as they regain their freedom.
Players were salivating to get their hands on anAvatargame, withFrontiers of Pandoraletting players explore a rich and luscious open world. The Western Frontier of Pandora features many biomes and ecosystems, but the oppression of the RDA and the reckless manner in which they’re hogging the natural resources of this region are marring the beauty of the planet. Unless the player takes out these RDA outposts, mining camps, and everything else along the same lines, the frontier’s ecosystem will start diminishing.
Seeing polluted jungles and biomes come to life after the RDA is given the boot makes for an incredible visual reward for all the work the player has put into restoring Pandora’s world.Frontiers of Pandoramay suffer from lackluster design choices that have become a staple of modern Ubisoft games at this point, but the breathtaking visuals of the open world are so easy on the eyes that most fans will find it easy to overlook.
It’s a shame that the lackluster sales ofAssassin’s Creed Syndicateled to Ubisoft’s decision to pivot into a more RPG-heavy focus for this series. Players who got to explore the Victorian London setting of this gameloved the emphasis on gang warfareand how players had to root out the Blighters (a Templar-controlled gang ruling London’s underground scene) by completing various liberation missions.
Eventually, players could weed out the leader of the gang in each borough, culminating in a face-off where they must be taken out for the Rooks — Jacob and Evie’s gang — to take over control. A unique feature here is that players can skip the final leg of these liberation missions if they manage to chase down and kill the gang member in question during a fight that takes place beforehand, which hastens the experience and incentivizes players to hunt down and take out these gang leaders whenever they get the chance.
