What's the deal with sandbox games?

[Elixir]

I can't stand B-rated joke controlled movies like MGS3, but that's for another thread.

Dead Rising was fun, I think it's the better way of using sandbox concepts. Though, the first runs consist of... messing around aimlessly, memorization, and grinding levels. Still, back then there wasn't much to play for 360. I did everything besides the 3-Day and 5-Day Survivor quests (because back then it wasn't possible to install games to 360 HDDs and this game was notoriously incompetent with loading areas).

Didn't bother with Dead Rising 2. I didn't really like the protagonist or what footage I saw. LA Noire might be worth a shot.

[Ruldra]

MGS3 is NOT easy to "exploit and break." I mean, sure, you can just ignore being sneaky and gun down everyone in the game, but that's still not outside the boundaries of what choices the developers intended you to have, and in my opinion it's actually the more difficult (if quicker) route.

I went the sneaky route until I got to the mountains, where I decided to have some fun and kill some guards with the sniper rifle. Was delighted to see that they regularly dropped ammo and I could never run out of it. From that point on to the end I killed everyone on sight. The game became 10x easier and much more fun to boot.

LA Noire might be worth a shot.

From what I've heard it gets boring really quick. And the interrogation part is broken. A friend of mine got rid of it in a month.

[shmuppyLove]

Didn't bother with Dead Rising 2. I didn't really like the protagonist or what footage I saw. LA Noire might be worth a shot.

Then you can play the follow-up, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record -- it's EXACTLY the same game, but you play as Frank West instead of Chuck Greene.

I mean it's EXACTLY the same, they just swapped the characters. LAME

[Moniker]

Picked up Dead Rising 1 a few weeks ago from the bargain bin. Haven't fired it up yet but it sounds pretty rad. I'll have to check it out.

[CMoon]

Well from the beginning this thread is problematic. So many people here hate casual gaming, and the sandbox game in general is the pinnacle of casual gaming. So yeah, this is being asked on the wrong forum to begin with, being only slightly less predictable than a survey asking whether users here like video games.

The more interesting question in my mind is whether sandbox games should be called games at all since you cannot in fact lose. Yes, I think there are some good ones, but far more horrible ones; this can be said about virtually every genre.

[evil_ash_xero]

I haven't been able to get into one yet(tried Dead Rising, Red Dead, and GTA 3 or something). So far, no good. You never know though.

[Estebang]

and the sandbox game in general is the pinnacle of casual gaming

Angry Birds and Farmville say hi.

[xbl0x180]

It`s like comparing a porno with a plotline about a pizza guy vs. one of those gravure videos where they just go to some random beach armed with a hulahoop and bunny ears and start filming. The storyline or lack thereof doesn`t really determine the entertainment value.

Whoa... wha... Both premises are = teh awersome

[Marc]

If you've never played Crackdown 1 or 2 you really should. If you have, and didn't realize how ace they are, you don't like fun.

[Obiwanshinobi]

MGS3 is NOT easy to "exploit and break." I mean, sure, you can just ignore being sneaky and gun down everyone in the game, but that's still not outside the boundaries of what choices the developers intended you to have, and in my opinion it's actually the more difficult (if quicker) route.

I went the sneaky route until I got to the mountains, where I decided to have some fun and kill some guards with the sniper rifle. Was delighted to see that they regularly dropped ammo and I could never run out of it. From that point on to the end I killed everyone on sight. The game became 10x easier and much more fun to boot.

I'm sure there are some bits later on where the game doesn't want you to raise hell badly, also, I wouldn't recommend any difficulty level below Hard to anyone (the A.I. makes quite a difference), but that's just, like my opinion. If you had some fun with the game, it must've done something right for you.
And yeah, even on Hard, you can mostly just run & gun the hell out of stuff from checkpoint to checkpoint, exploiting the "rank" reset upon every death of yours.

[powersoul]

Sandbox games generally are meant to have no fixed plot, except maybe in story, as experienced from games like Mercenaries. IT usually focuses on do-what-you-want's, giving the feel that you are in control of how you want the game to be. Make more allies, or be that lone ranger you always wanted to be, with the entire city/country/world/galaxy after you.

Replay value varies among games. Mercenaries POD was one of them which I still visit sometimes, GTA2 definitely. For me, perhaps some of the most important factors for sandbox would be the in-game games, such as many side missions, bonuses, secrets etc etc, like what you would do to get achievements. Another would be the freedom to do anything you want to, backed with an arsenal to accomplish your evil goal, such as a detailed large world map to explore, a base or something alike.

I like how it lets me release stress.

[wariomona]

Does "sandbox" mean just about everything nowadays?
People are placing Zelda, GTA, Metal Gear Solid and Minecraft in the same genre?
*confused*

[burgerkingdiamond]

... they suck ...?

[sjewkestheloon]

I love sandbox games if we are including open world rpgs, they are my bread and butter. I love action games with tight pacing that are skill based almost as much but I use them for mental stimulation. I use open world rpgs for relaxation and I do a lot of actual role play beyond the first time through.

As for complaints about the games being easily broken and made stupidly easy, just don't break them. That is the kind of logic that reviewers use when saying that shooters are easy because you have infinite credits.

[linko9]

Yeah, I've never been able to get into them. Closest I came to liking one is Fallout 3, if that even counts. It was extremely addictive, but by the time I was done, I hated the game. So much repetitive bullshit, terrible characters, ugly as sin, almost no music to speak of, bland weapon/armor system, and terrible, terrible story. It's the reason I'm avoiding Skyrim, even though I love that sort of world. To be fair, I've never played minecraft, so I can't say if I'd like that, but I'm guessing no.

[BPzeBanshee]

If you've never played Crackdown 1 or 2 you really should. If you have, and didn't realize how ace they are, you don't like fun.

I've heard negative things about 2, but having played the first I can say I enjoyed it a fair bit. I definitely would not compare it with Minecraft as a 'sandbox' game though.