Yeah, I talk about Fallout 3 a lot, ah well - if you haven't played it, I'm sure you don't understand why :P
While walking around the capitol wasteland today, I was struck by the addictive nature of exploration. As a young man, a perfect saturday would involve me on my bike with a city map and a highlighter to mark the streets I had been to - seriously! Whenever we would go camping, I would strike out on my own, with my army surplus pistol belt, canteen and flashlight. It's a wonder I survived those years.
One of my favorite games of all time is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, mainly because of its exploration and discovery. That game was well ahead of its time in many ways, but one thing it had down to a science was its way of encouraging exploration. The percentage of the map you have covered shows up on your character sheet as well as your save game file, and while you are moving through the castle you are continually confronted with ledges or doorways that you simply lack the ability to reach at the time. When you finally do get the item needed to jump a little higher or to fly, it is doubly exciting as you know offhand a few places that you will be revisiting soon! (if you've yet to enjoy SOTN, check it out, its only flaw is that it's a console game :D)
And that has to be the single factor in Fallout 3 that has me hooked the most. The world is HUGE. There is always a building, ruin or cave complex to explore, and tons of desks, file cabinets or metal boxes to raid for loot. All if it rendered beautifully. It can be frustrating sometimes - partly because there are times when I'm sure I'm missing something, but mostly because I don't know how long it will take to finally finish this thing...
So what games come to mind when you think of exploration?
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