Summary
- Open-world game maps became popular in the 2000s with expansive worlds and rewarding exploration.
- Saints Row offers humorous gameplay, while Grand Theft Auto 3 pioneered detailed open-world environments.
- Far Cry and Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind introduced new technologies and deep narratives to open-world gaming.
At the time of writing, a great many games follow the open-world game map design concept. It has become a staple in many genres, from role-playing games to action-adventure games. But this wasn’t always the case. Back in the 2000s, especially the early 2000s, few games attempted to provide sandbox-style gameplay on a large scale.
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In the 2000s, gamers began to invest in specialized technology to improve their gaming experience. High-performance GPUS, and water-cooled gaming rigs, for example. Game developers were able to leverage these new resources to create massive worlds for the player to explore, and reward this exploration as well. Based on the quality of the open-worlds and the game content, here are the best 2000s open-world games.
6 Saints Row
Sandbox Gang Game
Saints Row
Welcome to Stilwater, a city where the streets are everything but tranquil. Divided by rival gangs, you'll need to adopt savvy street smarts in order to make money and build respect. As a member of the 3rd St. Saints, you need to push back against a city looking to wipe you out in order to rise up the ranks and eventually control the streets.
If it takes theft, extortion or tried-and-true brute force, then that's what you've got to do -- only then will you rule the streets. But watch your back! On your way to making the Saints into the city's controlling syndicate, powerful gangs and politicians will have you in their cross-hairs.
- Released
- September 1, 2006
- Developer(s)
- Deep Silver
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action-Adventure, Shooter, Racing
- Popular for its humorous narrative
- Often weird and whacky, bordering on surreal
Saints Row has often been compared to Grand Theft Auto, and there is some overlap between the two. However, even though this action-adventure game does at first glance, seem very similar to GTA, it is very different in many ways.
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As the leader of the Third Street Gang, the player takes on various criminal missions and quests. These take place on foot and in vehicles. The game map is huge, and players are free to roam as they wish, or follow the questlines. Saints Row secured a place on this list due to the underlying, often humorous themes the game tackles. At times, the game seems surreal, introducing players to outlandish scenarios.
5 Grand Theft Auto 3
Pioneered Open-World Games
Grand Theft Auto 3
- Released
- October 23, 2001
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Platform(s)
- PS2, Xbox (Original), PC, macOS, Android, iOS
- A highly detailed rendition of Liberty City
- Richly populated, immersive environment
Playing as Claude, the player is free to explore the open world map of Liberty City as they please in Grand Theft Auto 3. This was one of the very first games to embrace open-world, sandbox-style map design, and encourage players to exploit the environment in any way they wished.
The gameplay takes place on foot and in vehicles, with Liberty City populated by pedestrians, all of which could interact and react with the player. The dynamic weather system added to the realism. Grand Theft Auto 3 earns a place on this list, for pioneering so many concepts that have since become the staples of open-world games.
4 Far Cry
The Start Of A Legendary Franchise
Far Cry
- Released
- March 23, 2004
- Developer(s)
- Crytek
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS3, Xbox (Original), Xbox 360
- The first game to use the CryEngine
- Offered freedom to approach missions in any way
Even though the original Far Cry game had an open-world map, it wasn’t until Far Cry 2 that the developers began to leverage this feature to improve gameplay. However, the original Far Cry game did much to lay the groundwork for these future improvements.
Far Cry could be termed a sandbox FPS game. It was also the first game to use the new CryEngine. At the time, this set the standard for graphical fidelity, showing gamers how emerging technology would soon completely change the way that games looked. Far Cry is on this list for the way it mixed open-ended missions and combat with a horror theme, and wrapped the entire package in cutting-edge graphics.
3 The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
One Of The Best Elder Scrolls Open-World Maps
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Released
- May 1, 2002
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox (Original)
- Still popular over 2 decades after its release
- A massive amount of mods are available
Some players see The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind as being the best of all of the open-world game maps in the franchise to date, despite being released in the 2000s. The map design included many hidden secrets and treasures to find, making exploration both compelling and rewarding.
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With its excellent fantasy setting, and deep game lore, The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind is considered one of the classic RPG experiences of all time. There are two primary reasons why the game made this list. First, for the fact that the player is free to do anything they want when they want. And secondly, because the game has a massive modding community, adding new features and improving gameplay.
2 World Of Warcraft
The First Theme Park MMORPG
World of Warcraft
- WoW has a huge open-world map
- Game lore is central to exploration
It seems odd to include a blatantly theme park MMORPG experience on a list of open-world games. However, just because the player is encouraged to approach the game in a linear fashion, there is nothing stopping them from exploring the map in its entirety, at any time.
What World Of Warcraft does very well, is deliver a unique experience as the player explores different parts of the open world game map. From dry deserts populated by scorpions and vultures to sunken ruins full of deadly sea creatures, the game world is incredibly diverse, with each zone having its own identity.
1 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Open-World Map Covering 3 Cities
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Released
- October 26, 2004
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Massive free-roam, open-world game map
- Explore cities and rural areas
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is set in an alternative version of California, with a huge open-world game map that covers the three cities of Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas. Outside of the main urban areas, these cities are linked together by rural areas. Players are free to explore the map.
Even though the map design was the best in the franchise to date, there is another very good reason why Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas took the top place on this list. The game has well-crafted narratives that are not all about gang politics. The game brings in themes of family values and loyalty as well.
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