{"id":66697,"date":"2014-07-26T14:07:08","date_gmt":"2014-07-26T12:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=66697"},"modified":"2014-07-26T14:10:09","modified_gmt":"2014-07-26T12:10:09","slug":"gamings-best-open-world-franchises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/66697-gamings-best-open-world-franchises","title":{"rendered":"Gaming&#8217;s best open world franchises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The gaming world is full of different genres &#8211; some straight forward and linear, others more diverse and expansive.<\/p>\n<p>Although having a predetermined path works for some, open world games are normally the titles that keep you coming back for more.<\/p>\n<p>The massive landscapes; hidden items, side-missions, and characters; and the freedom of choice are always a winning combination.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the franchises that exploit the beauty of\u00a0this genre.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">The Elder Scrolls<\/h3>\n<p>This is an absolute no-brainer. When it comes to great adventures taking place in huge settings, The Elder Scrolls franchise is one of the best\u00a0open world games to grace our screens.<\/p>\n<p>Every game in the series has been a testament to how the genre should make you feel &#8211; overwhelmed and awestruck.<\/p>\n<p>The series features good day and night cycles, beautiful environments, and a vast array of characters.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PjqsYzBrP-M?rel=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Grand Theft Auto<\/h3>\n<p>From the streets of Vice City to the valleys of Los Santos, the team at Rockstar always deliver a world which you can immerse yourself in.<\/p>\n<p>Even Hideo Kojima, the legendary creator of the Metal Gear series, admitted that GTA is on another level compared to today&#8217;s games.<\/p>\n<p>Bustling cities, iconic landmarks, fast cars, dirty hookers, drive-by shootings, sleazy strip clubs &#8211; this game allows you to live an honest and clean life, as your raging hedonism is satisfied in-game.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QkkoHAzjnUs?rel=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Dark Souls<\/h3>\n<p>Dark Souls might not be the biggest open world franchise to exist, but it offers something different (not just dying a lot, and killing dogs).<\/p>\n<p>The deadly worlds are fraught with danger, deserted castles make the hair on the back of your neck stand up , and you are never truly prepared for what happens next.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0MvSLUcLD30?rel=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Dead Island<\/h3>\n<p>Let&#8217;s be honest, one can never really get bored of smashing zombies to death&#8230; well, re-death. Combine this with an open world setting and, boom! Winner winner chicken dinner.<\/p>\n<p>The zombie survival titles take putrid flesh and combine it with exotic, sunny locations perfectly.<\/p>\n<p>The game world feels real, with chirping birds seemingly unaware that undead maniacs are on the loose. Dead Island 2 looks like it will do all that even better.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ST262ZbNcos?rel=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Batman Arkham Series<\/h3>\n<p>I know we go on quite a bit about the Bat &#8211; lately it&#8217;s his Arkham Knight adventure we are drooling over &#8211; but can you blame us?<\/p>\n<p>The Arkham series cemented Batman as the best super hero video game (<em>Ed: In our humble opinion)<\/em> and Arkham&#8217;s open world, notably in Arkham City, was as dark and treacherous as it was exciting and expansive.<\/p>\n<p>The game really does give you a feel for the original comic book world it originated in.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QCcKyxX15e4?rel=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Assassin\u2019s Creed<\/h3>\n<p>We are now entering the year of the seventh Assassin\u2019s Creed, and every entry into the franchise has featured a great, historic open world that has been a joy to explore.<\/p>\n<p>The Assassin\u2019s Creed franchise brings a fresh take on historic cities and landmarks &#8211; I&#8217;d wager it is the only history lesson a lot of kids are getting these days &#8211; and the previews of Paris in Unity look breathtaking.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/izoa3d3rMYs?rel=0\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Do you agree with the selection? Let us know in the comments and forum.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">More gaming news<\/h3>\n<p style=\"color: #6e6e6e;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0066cb;\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/67047-how-big-are-mobile-games-really.html\">How big are mobile games, really?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #6e6e6e;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0066cb;\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/features\/67021-destiny-pre-order-price-roundup.html\">Destiny pre-order price roundup<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #6e6e6e;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0066cb;\" href=\"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/news\/67081-new-doom-the-details.html\">New Doom \u2013 the details<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One gaming genre reigns supreme over all others &#8211; the open world adventure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":67127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_enabled":true,"_sma_x_custom_text":"","_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[145,8433,1728,1607,625,21,11234,169],"class_list":["post-66697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-assassins-creed","tag-batman-arkham-game","tag-dark-souls","tag-dead-island","tag-grand-theft-auto","tag-headline","tag-open-world","tag-the-elder-scrolls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66697"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67351,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66697\/revisions\/67351"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}