Summary
Plenty ofopen-world gameshave vehicles, but they’re mostly for navigation. Players use these crafts to get from Point A to Point B in a short amount of time. However, that’s only one possible use. Why impose such a limit on these rides?
Some open-world games usevehicles for combat.They throw in specialized crafts built for battle. If developers are especially generous, they may even let fans customize their rides. The results definitely get the blood pumping. Players maintain their momentum while wiping out anyone in their way. The whole process is such an infectious rush that more open-world games should take note. Fighting with vehicles could be just the adrenaline shot they need to come roaring back to life.
TheJust Causegames thrive on insanity. Their colossal sandboxes exist purely as player playgrounds. The toys for said playgrounds come in the form of guns, bombs, and other weapons. These items all serve to wage a one-man war on a third-world army andwreck their towering structures. That’s no small feat.
The most effective and exciting tools for accomplishing that feat are the vehicles.Just Causeincludes countless crafts for land, sea, and air travel. Many are specifically designed for warfare, making them ideal for assault. The controls may be somewhat sluggish, but they give each vehicle its due weight. Moreover, the controls are rarely an issue for survival, since the crafts are practically unmatched in might. There’s no feeling quite likeflying a fighter jet straight into an enemy baseand watching the place go up in smoke. It’s not complicated or deep, but it doesn’t have to be.
Thoughthe little blue alienexpands his territory to other countries inDestroy All Humans 2, the residents are just as hostile as the Americans. He could disguise himself as one of them to live in peace, but it’s more fun to vaporize the primitive monkeys. Crypto slides and glides around these international cities with ease. His sophisticated weapons make short work of most attackers, but he can only do so much on his own.
Luckily, a flying saucer evens the odds. Sure, it’s stereotypical, but that’s part of what makesDestroy All Humansa blast. Taking to the sky means new ways to rain down death. The ship has gravity manipulation, sonic booms, and even an old-fashioned death ray. All of these weapons can annihilate human ground forces, but why stop there? Thanks to the destructible environments, Crypto can reduce the biggest buildings to rubble. Such devastation basically breaks the game in half.
That’s no wrong way to play. Crypto uses his saucer sparingly enough to maintain variety. Plus, each instance comes with unique challenges, such as a kaiju boss battling the invader in a spectacular monster mash. That wild abandon makesDestroy All Humans 2the ultimate alien power fantasy, all with a ride that’s literally out of this world.
As the conlcusion to theBatman: Arkhamtrilogy,Arkham Knightexcels in numerous elements of the Dark Knight experience.Free flow combat is the smoothest it’s ever been, and stealth is strategic and intuitive. Best of all, players can roam a gorgeously grim Gotham City, riddled with challenges and bursting with life.
To navigate this urban cesspit, fans finally drive the Batmobile. Its breakneck speed makes travel exhilarating, and its sturdy frame can plow through virtually any hazard. However, players must also fight with it. At that point, encounters turn into tank battles with tons of strafing. Though reasonably engaging at first, their repetition definitely gets old after a while. Thankfully, the other aspects are more than enough to offset these segments.
Fans could see this pick from a mile away. High-speed battles are a staple of theMad Maxmovies, sothey’re an integral part of the game. This tale strands the Road Warrior in the middle of a massive wasteland. Worse, his trusty Interceptor car has been stolen. Luckily, an eccentric mechanic named Chumbucket has his own vehicular passion project, and he can complete it with Max’s help.
That premise forms the foundation for this underrated title.Mad Maxhas standard open-world activities; lookout points, enemy bases, etc. However, these don’t feel trite thanks tothe setting’s unique personality. Nowhere is that novelty more prevalent than with the Magnum Opus: the car that players build from the ground up. Throughout the game, they’ll customize it with various attachments and tune-ups. These tweaks obviously help with speed and handling, but they also create more ways to trash other vehicles. Fans can stick spikes on their wheels to whittle down enemy tires and armor, or they might install a ramming grill for catastrophic collisions. Each of these has a palpable impact on desert brawls. Most importantly, they ensure that the mobile death machine is unique to every player.
How fitting that a game inspired byMad Maxalso makes the list. Like its predecessor,Jak 3drastically expands on theJak & Daxterfoundation. It organically blends acrobatic platforming, third-person shooting, and open-world exploration. With the massive metropolis ofJak 2now embroiled in war, simple navigation involves driving hovercrafts through a chaotic battlefield. Daxter shoots while Jak drives. However, the city isn’t the only place where the heroes must watch their backs.
The duo faces banishment to the harsh wasteland. The only way to survive the blistering heat, towering monsters, and roving marauders is by driving off-road vehicles. Jak gains a slew of sweet rides for different uses. One car can launch itself into the air and shoot bombs; another has an auto-targeting turret mounted on the back. These built-in weapons decimate unsuspecting foes. While the mobile combat itself isn’t quite as tight asMad Max, the rest of the game is among the finest of its generation.Jak 3is an epic adventure blending all of its polished parts.
