"This Is the City..."

In popular entertainment, one aspect many look for is immersion. Feeling sucked in by a good book or movie makes you really feel like you are part of the action. They can transport you to another time and place, and whole new world (cue the song from Aladdin).

One style of game that excels at this for many gamers are “Open World”, or “Sandbox” games. While they do have an over-arcing plot, most of them allow you to play at your leisure. Often there are a lot of mini-games and side-quests to keep you occupied. If they are well designed, many players spend hours just exploring.

Here are a few good open world games with brief overviews.

Bully (PS2, Xbox 360, Wii)

You play as Jimmy Hopkins, a teenager with a bad attitude. Between attending classes and trying to get girls to make out with you, there is a quest progression that leads to your eventual take over of the schools’ many factions. You can explore the school grounds and the surrounding town, but if you miss classes or are out past curfew, the cops and the school prefects will come after you. While this is a sandbox game, it is a much more focused experience than most.

Crackdown (Xbox 360)

You take on the roll of one of Pacific Cities’ super powered cops. You start with enhanced strength, stamina and jumping ability, all of which you can level up. The plot is to take down the city gangs by killing off various mob bosses. The most fun I had came from leaping from rooftop to rooftop as I upgraded my agility, allowing me to get to even greater heights. This is done through the collection of agility orbs hidden throughout the city. Crackdown, over any other sandbox game I have played, gave me a sense that I could go anywhere and do anything.

Grand Theft Auto 4 (PS3, Xbox 360)

In Liberty City, Niko Bellic has just arrived from Eastern Europe to live the American Dream. What he finds is a land of gangs and corruption that he is immediately caught up in. As in previous GTA games, you have the option to randomly wander the city and explore, or complete missions that lead you along in the plot. This was Rockstar’s attempt to give the GTA series a more serious twist. I actually found this to be distracting from the random destruction and mayhem that normally goes on in the GTA universe.

Saints Row 2 (PS3, Xbox 360)

Unique to the Saints Row series (at least in the sandbox games that I have played) you are an anonymous protagonist who you create at the outset. There are tons of customization options used to make your character. Once you escape from the prison hospital, you and your “homies” in the 3rd Street Saints undertake the task of regaining control of the city. Not only are the cops after you, but so are all the rival gangs. You can steal and customize your gang outfits, graffiti, vehicles and hideouts. Unlike GTA 4, Saints Row 2 does not try to be serious on any level. The sheer ridiculous nature of the game make it a lot of fun to wander around causing random havoc.

Dead Rising (Xbox 360, Wii)

In Dead Rising, you take on the roll of Frank West, a photojournalist (he’s covered wars, ya know) who is trapped in a shopping mall swarming with zombies. This is another sandbox game where your character levels up as you play. It even encourages multiple play-throughs since you get to keep all your special abilities and weapons. The main plot is also very hectic to try and make it through in a single playthrough. If you choose, you can ignore the story and just try to survive in the mall for three days (game time) until the rescue helecoptor arrives. One of the coolest parts of Dead Rising is the ability to pick up and use anything you can get your hands on as a weapon (there is even a hidden Mega Man costume and blaster). There are multiple endings and even an infinite mode, where you see how many days you can survive without being eaten or dieing of hunger yourself. It is an early 360 game (I have not yet played the Wii port “Chop Till You Drop”) and does have some bugs, leading many to refer to the game as “The Best Bad Game on the 360″.