Exploration, not Adventure

Reading EGM’s Future of Videogames article and pondering the future of gaming myself I’ve kinda culled up this urge in my soul for a new kind of game; a real exploration game. Actually, I don’t even want a “game”. That implies some kind of goal or competition. I just want a game title with a massive, lush, mystical world and the virtual muscle to explore it.

Not like ICO or Shadow of the Colossus or GTA. Not even like Boku no Natsuyami (above) which sees you reliving your childhood summer vacation in the countryside of Japan. I would seriously trade in boss battles, upgradable stats, A.I. pals, and all the customizable pants just for the most expansive and fleshed out jungle or long-lost isle to explore. Like Lost in Blue but without all the cooking, and better graphics. Or Crysis as envisioned by whoever designs the cities for GTA games.

Although Crackdown was mostly devoid of traditional game content (read: story, varying missions) I found myself enthralled with trawling over and around every inch of Pacific City and daydreaming about what might go on there when I’m not around. Who works on that oil rig? How’d that trash end up on this remote cliff? And why does an ore mine have “underground” catacombs that overlook, uhh, the skyline? More than anything I just want to sink into a virtual world, go poke around for a few hours and lose myself to its sprawling mystery.

Hopefully Tomb Raider Anniversary will help quiet this urge because my next hopeful candidate is Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and I sure don’t have $600 to spend on a PS3 anytime soon.