{"id":212560,"date":"2021-03-10T15:00:32","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T15:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gamerant.com\/linear-game-franchises-turned-open-world\/"},"modified":"2021-03-10T15:00:32","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T15:00:32","slug":"10-linear-game-franchises-that-went-open-world-did-it-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2021\/03\/10\/10-linear-game-franchises-that-went-open-world-did-it-well\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Linear Game Franchises That Went Open-World (& Did It Well)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Open-worlds<\/a> have become a dominant force of mainstream gaming in recent years. The level of freedom, variety in objectives, and value for money that most open-world games offer has made\u00a0them appealing to casual<\/a> and hardcore players across various genres, such as action, racing, and adventure.<\/p>\n

However, open-worlds are certainly not universally beloved. Due to their popularity, many\u00a0developers and publishers have implemented open-worlds into their latest titles to help market and advertise the game, despite lacking the funds, abilities, or time to make them enjoyable to play<\/a>. This has led to the open-world genre being frequently criticized for favoring quantity over quality in its world design and gameplay.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a010 Open-World Games As Breathtaking As Assassin’s Creed Valhalla<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, there are more than enough fantastic open-world games<\/a> out there to keep players occupied, many of which are successors to linear titles from the past. The fans of the ten franchises on this list may have been worried when it was announced that their beloved series was\u00a0making the leap to open-world gameplay, though all of them managed to stick the landing with their execution.<\/p>\n

10 <\/span>LEGO<\/h2>\n
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Once gamers realized that movie tie-in games tended to be of low quality in the mid-2000s, the genre began to die out. However, Traveller’s Tales\u00a0were about to develop a game that would rejuvenate licensed games:\u00a0LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Traveller’s Tales’ now-iconic collectathon breathed new life into the movie-tie genre by creating a simple yet enjoyable gameplay style that offered great multiplayer and tons of replay value. Traveller’s Tales had to find a way to keep the gameplay style interesting following numerous other LEGO<\/em><\/a> releases, which is why they implemented an open-world in\u00a0Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes<\/em><\/a>;\u00a0an excellent decision that added even more content and replayability to the LEGO<\/em> games.<\/p>\n

9 <\/span>Far Cry<\/h2>\n
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The\u00a0Far Cry<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>series has become a cornerstone of the FPS open-world market. Along with the charismatic villains, the\u00a0Far Cry\u00a0<\/em>series is known today for offering a quintessential Ubisoft open-world experience, in the sense that the map is clearly laid out for the player to roam freely around the area and complete a handful of re-appearing tasks.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Far Cry\u00a0<\/em>franchise has implemented open-worlds in the vast majority of the franchise’s games, though the first game\u00a0is an exception to this rule. Although the first game wasn’t open-world, it did have large levels that offered\u00a0a\u00a0decent amount of free-roaming, which was unique for the time.<\/p>\n

8 <\/span>Burnout<\/h2>\n
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An embodiment of the phrase “you either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” the iconic street racing franchise\u00a0Burnout\u00a0<\/em>unintentionally provided the decisive blow in ending the street racing genre’s impressive mainstream run<\/a>.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0The 15 Biggest Open World Games Based On The Size Of Their Maps<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Following numerous critically acclaimed titles, the\u00a0Burnout<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>series decided to expand its borders and offer players a beautiful open-world with\u00a0Burnout Paradise<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>Criterion Games and EA did a fantastic job with\u00a0Paradise<\/em>, and the game is recognized today as a pioneer in modern open-world driving. The way the game put a stop to mainstream street racing titles was with data extracted from players; according to a producer for the game, Matt Webster<\/a>,\u00a0the vast majority of players weren’t competing in the game’s street races and events but were instead simply driving around the huge open-world.<\/p>\n

7 <\/span>Forza<\/h2>\n
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One series that\u00a0Burnout Paradise\u00a0<\/em>almost certainly inspired is\u00a0Forza<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0The\u00a0Forza\u00a0<\/em>franchise began life under the\u00a0Forza Motorsport\u00a0<\/em>brand, offering realistic, professional-style racers. The\u00a0Forza Motorsport<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>series is still going, and a new title has been announced<\/a> to be coming to the Xbox Series X|S.<\/p>\n

Another style of racer accompanies Forza Motorsport<\/em> under the same brand,\u00a0Forza Horizon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>The first\u00a0Forza Horizon\u00a0<\/em>game was released in 2012 and differentiated itself from its\u00a0Motorsport\u00a0<\/em>counterpart with its offering of an open-world. The latest Horizon <\/em>release\u00a0offered an excellent rendition of British countrysides, with a unique seasonal change system that provided some of the most beautiful racing visuals ever seen.<\/p>\n

6 <\/span>The Witcher<\/h2>\n
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Considering that\u00a0The Witcher\u00a0<\/em>3: Wild Hunt<\/em><\/a>\u00a0is recognized today as one of the best open-world titles of the eighth generation of home consoles, it may\u00a0surprise some people that the first two games weren’t fully open-world.<\/p>\n

The games were similar to the first three\u00a0Mass Effect<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>games in the sense that they weren’t open-world<\/a>, but players are never likely to feel too restricted due to the huge hub areas that the missions take place in and the variety of things to do in each area.<\/p>\n

5 <\/span>The Sims<\/h2>\n
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Iconic life-simulation series\u00a0The Sims<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>was one of the pioneers of the modern casual gaming market. The first two games offered story modes that required players to complete objectives in hopes of improving their living conditions.<\/p>\n

The Sims 3<\/em><\/a>, however, differentiated itself from its predecessors by ditching the story modes and replacing them with an open world map that let players create their own\u00a0narratives. It was a move that went down extremely well with fans, and the game is still regarded as the best entry in the series today.<\/p>\n

4 <\/span>Ori<\/h2>\n
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In a sense, the original Metroidvania titles were like the open-worlds of their day, as they offered a level of freedom that was rare for the 80s when the first\u00a0Metroid<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Castlevania<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>games were released.<\/p>\n

The most recent\u00a0Ori\u00a0<\/em>game,\u00a0Ori and the Will of the Wisps<\/em><\/a>\u00a0showed gamers what an actual open-world Metroidvania title could look like, as\u00a0Moon Studios’ title supplemented the game’s impressive level of freedom from around the half-way point with numerous side quests to complete.\u00a0Ori and the Will of the Wisps\u00a0<\/em>was well-received by critics, scoring between 88 and 93 on Metacritic across its four releases.<\/p>\n

3 <\/span>Batman: Arkham<\/h2>\n
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Batman was loving life in the late 2000s; not only did\u00a0The Dark Knight\u00a0<\/em>become one of the greatest superhero films ever in 2008, but\u00a0Batman: Arkham Asylum<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>became one of the greatest superhero games<\/a> the following year.\u00a0Arkham Asylum\u00a0<\/em>impressed fans and critics with its level design, charismatic villains, and revolutionary combat.<\/p>\n

RELATED:\u00a0The 15 Most Immersive Open World Games<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Subsequently,\u00a0Rocksteady Studios\u00a0was pressured with high expectations when developing the sequel\u00a0Batman: Arkham City<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>The studio clearly thrived under the weight of expectation, as the game surpassed its predecessor with a fantastic open-world filled to the brim with side activities and secrets.<\/p>\n

2 <\/span>Metal Gear Solid<\/h2>\n
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When the original\u00a0Metal Gear<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>games were released they were still classed as action games, as the stealth genre<\/a> hadn’t been formulated yet, exemplifying how groundbreaking the series truly was. The series was instrumental in the rise of open-world games with the release of\u00a0Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater<\/a>,<\/em> which wasn’t open-world itself, but did offer a unique level of freedom for its time.<\/p>\n

The series finally joined the open-world market with\u00a0Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeros<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in 2014,\u00a0<\/em>followed by\u00a0The Phantom Pain<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in 2015.\u00a0<\/em>Stealth sections are usually poorly executed in open-world games, but\u00a0Kojima Productions did a fantastic job making stealth feel both enjoyable and realistic in\u00a0the enormous map.<\/p>\n

1 <\/span>Grand Theft Auto<\/h2>\n
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Considering that the\u00a0Grand Theft Auto<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>series\u00a0is one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful franchises of all time, it’s a bit of an understatement to say that it adapted to open-world gameplay “well.”\u00a0 The games have been a benchmark for open-world action-adventure titles for decades, and the most recent game,\u00a0Grand Theft Auto V<\/em><\/a>, is still considered by some to be the best open-world release ever, over seven years after it initially hit stores.<\/p>\n

The first entry in the series was very open for its time, but\u00a0the map was separated into different stages with familiar names to anyone who has played a\u00a0Grand Theft Auto\u00a0<\/em>game:\u00a0Vice City,\u00a0San Andreas, and\u00a0Liberty City.<\/p>\n

NEXT:\u00a010 Open World RPGs More Breathtaking Than Skyrim<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Taking a relatively linear gaming franchise and making its next big title an open-world game isn’t always a good idea, but these games pulled it off.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":925,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"10 Linear Game Franchises That Went Open-World (& Did It Well) - ITTeacherITFreelance.hk","description":"Taking a relatively linear gaming franchise and making its next big title an open-world game isn't always a good idea, but these games pulled it off."},"footnotes":""},"categories":[607],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212560"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/925"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212560"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212561,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212560\/revisions\/212561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itteacheritfreelance.hk\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}