Top Five - "Favorite Worlds to Get Lost In" Edition

Something I think developers don't get is that the enjoyment of video games comes not just from the challenges and the fun, but also from entering a different world that could not otherwise be possible in real life. One thing that really kills games for me, for example, is backtracking: needless backtracking means less variety, less of a world to explore, less to get lost in. It's one the many reason why games like Metroid Prime, a first person adventure, seems lacking to me. So this article is to discuss good, well made, beautifully detailed worlds that create the necessary atmosphere to allow a player to walk into something completely different and all the while exciting.

Hope you enjoy!



5. The Old West from Red Dead Redemption -





I hate Rockstar. I will admit it right here and right now. I hate them because Grand Theft Auto is one of the most overrated P.o.S. game series ever created, and frankly only sold because of a ridiculous amount of violence. But for what it's worth, if it hadn't existed, I might have never gotten the chance to experience Red Dead Redemption. RDR is a huge leap forward for the company, because it implements things that should have been part of their work for years. But most importantly, it captures an amazing atmosphere, not holding back on the difficulties, size, and beauty of the Wild Wild West. It's an experience like no other in gaming, and that's what makes it so amazing. Using the sandbox style to do a mafia theme is not awful, but unimaginative. Using it to recreate the entire Old West (and parts of Mexico) is beyond fuckin' cool.



4. Arcadia from Skies of Arcadia -





I know it's not the most cohesive world, but it's incredibly imaginative and just enjoyable. A game set during the age of exploration? Awesome. A game set during the age of exploration involving air pirates, airships, and lost lands? Fuckin' ACE! The world of Arcadia just screams "adventure," and it's incredibly enjoyable to visit all the different places it provides. From the Asian style of Yafutoma to the Central American style of Ixa'Taka, the game delivers, helped along the way by one of the most spectacular game sound tracks ever conceived. I love getting lost in Arcadia.



3. Azeroth from World of Warcraft -





TRU FAX: World of Warcraft has some of the most shit graphics in modern gaming. Even by 2004 standards (when the game released), they were barely passable. The textures are horrible, the polygon count is laughable, the lighting is dreadful, etc. But the game still survives and part of the reason for that is how beautiful and interesting its world is. Truth is that World of Warcraft is, aesthetically, saved solely by some of the best art design in the industry. It's a little hard to attack Azeroth when it's so damned incredible and fun to be a part of. I'm not one for online competitive play and yet even I found myself entirely involved in the Horde vs. Alliance war (FOR THE HORDE!), and I am entirely convinced that it all comes down to how well the world is designed.

There's something incredibly beautiful about the variety in terrain, the incredibly cohesive lore, etc. that makes Azeroth one of the coolest gaming worlds, and explains the huge addiction some develop to WoW. There were times when I would honestly stop, even with the threat of being ganked, just to look at the gorgeously starry skies above, or the setting sun on the horizon, or the stunning architecture even in the smallest, remotest, and most unimportant towns in the game.

I'll be the first to admit that, a few years from now, when World of Warcraft goes down for the count, I'll be sad to see Azeroth disappear.



2. Virtual Japan/China from the Shenmue Series -





I know a lot of people don't like this game series, and as much as I love it, I can understand why. Shenmue is a game that is not for everyone. But for me, the world it brought to life was absolutely incredible. The immense level of detail in everything, right down to most seemingly unimportant thing, made it easy for me to lose myself in this world. I always thought it odd that one of my favorite video game worlds was actually something that was not a fantasy setting, but very real. I think I have learned almost every nook and cranny of virtual Hong Kong in Shenmue II, and I must know Ryo's neighborhood like it was my own. It was also amazing to me at the time to see how characters had schedules and did all sorts of things, making it all seem even more alive.



1. Rapture from Bioshock and Bioshock 2 -





I am enamored of the world in Bioshock. It's beautiful, and dangerous, and all at once mysterious. There is incredible amount of detail here, which only gets better as you listen to the tightly woven stories of both games. I would often worry that as I turned a corner I would come across some unforeseen horror, and yet, for all my constant worrying, there were times I couldn't help but to simply stop and look out a window into the massive ocean surrounding me. The world, the culture within it, the ingenious way in which it displays all the best tropes of dystopian science-fiction...it's all there. Rapture is a world unlike any other. Columbia (from Bioshock Infinite) has immense shoes to fill...




- Kharlo -