Good "Exploration RPGs"?

[Ebonsword]

The recent discussion of Morrowind vs Oblivion got me to thinking how much I liked the exploration in Morrowind. The thrill of being able to travel over a distant mountain or to cross an eerie swamp just to see what's there was very fun for me.

So, I was wondering if there are any other non-linear, exploration heavy RPGs which are worth playing?

Newer titles are preferred (I do have a weakness for shiny graphics) but aren't essential.

 

[Wyrmlord]

Arx Fatalis

 

[Nael]

Might and Magic 3-7

 

[Jaime Lannister]

Might and Magic 6 and 7 look pretty good except for the JRPG combat. Is the world varied or repetitive?

 

[phanboy_iv]

Well, Daggerfall if you haven't already tried it. Gothic 2 as well.

 

[Nael]

Well, Daggerfall if you haven't already tried it. Gothic 2 as well.

Daggerfall is crap for exploration. Unless you enjoy it all looking essentially the same. The storyline and the questing is what made Daggerfall so choice.''

EDIT: Oh, and the "Dress 'em Up Dolly" factor can be fun. It's what gave rise to so many great SUPER ANIME OBLIVIONZ MODZ!

Might and Magic 6 and 7 look pretty good except for the JRPG combat. Is the world varied or repetitive?

It's large and varied. That's why I suggested it as an "exploration game". If you enjoy exploring every nook and cranny in a game and being rewarded for doing so, check em out.

 

[Data4]

Try an MMO. Seriously, the gameplay may be crap, but there is some fun to be had just checking out the various locations. Even WoW is good for that for a time. LOTRO is also good for a nice, albeit scaled down representation of parts of Middle Earth. I'm partial to how they did the Shire.

Both WoW and LOTRO have free trials.

 

[Nael]

Try an MMO. Seriously, the gameplay may be crap, but there is some fun to be had just checking out the various locations. Even WoW is good for that for a time. LOTRO is also good for a nice, albeit scaled down representation of parts of Middle Earth. I'm partial to how they did the Shire.

Both WoW and LOTRO have free trials.

If you wanna pay a monthly fee to walk around join a fucking gym, fatass.

 

[sah]

Freelancer, but that's in space and not really an RPG.

 

[The Dude]

Two Worlds is pretty good for exploration, 't has the eye-candy too.

 

[bat_boro]

+1 to both of the above posts

 

[Data4]

Try an MMO. Seriously, the gameplay may be crap, but there is some fun to be had just checking out the various locations. Even WoW is good for that for a time. LOTRO is also good for a nice, albeit scaled down representation of parts of Middle Earth. I'm partial to how they did the Shire.

Both WoW and LOTRO have free trials.

If you wanna pay a monthly fee to walk around join a fucking gym, fatass.

-10 for trolling fail. I'll let Ebonsword decide what he does or doesn't want to pay for. Some of us have jobs and can afford a monthly subscription, should we so choose.

 

[Binary]

I have to agree that MMOs have, generally speaking, bigger landscapes to see

If you don't like monthly fees, Guild Wars Prophecies is probably your best bet - you can get the GW+GW:EotN combo pretty cheap these days

 

[sqeecoo]

So which Might and Magic would you recommend for starters? 6? 7?

 

[JarlFrank]

Ultima 7.

 

[Wyrmlord]

So which Might and Magic would you recommend for starters? 6? 7?

Start with 4 and 5. The third one, Isles Of Terra is a little meh-ish.

 

[mondblut]

Gothic 1-2 are pleasant to walk around.

But eyecandy aside, M&M4-5 and Wizardry-7 are the most engrossing exploration games.

 

[aleph]

Vanguard though it has many flaws has a large, varied world to explore.

 

[Binary]

So which Might and Magic would you recommend for starters? 6? 7?

M&M6 would have the biggest, and possibly most varied, world to explore. I prefer it over M&M7

M&M7 is very small for my taste, but it does have a better combat system, and Arcomage, and generally the codexers prefer it over M&M6

 

[Gragt]

Divine Divinity?

 

[SuicideBunny]

I have to agree that MMOs have, generally speaking, bigger landscapes to see

If you don't like monthly fees, Guild Wars Prophecies is probably your best bet - you can get the GW+GW:EotN combo pretty cheap these days

prophecies is big, but it's a nightmare for explorers. bad, buggy map design and essentially nothing interesting to see in any of them.
factions and nightfall are much better options than prophecies.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Gothics 1+2 and Betrayal at Krondor.

prophecies is big, but it's a nightmare for explorers. bad, buggy map design and essentially nothing interesting to see in any of them.
factions and nightfall are much better options than prophecies.

I wouldn't say so, from the three campaigns it has the best art design imo (EOTN looks better, but it's not a campaign per se). Nightfall is all about Savannah, savannah, savannah, moar savannah, radioactive desert, evil other plane, end. Factions is all about Shing Jea first which is OK, then you have Kaineng the big-ass annoying chinese city, after that you have the absolutely fucking irritating Echovald forest and the kind of empty Jade Sea, while Prophecies has a desolate wasteland, snowy mountains, lowland based eastern Kryta, some swamps in the western Kryta, a jungle, a desert and volcanic islands, and basically, Kryta, the desert and the mountains look great in quite many places.

 

[Nael]

Try an MMO. Seriously, the gameplay may be crap, but there is some fun to be had just checking out the various locations. Even WoW is good for that for a time. LOTRO is also good for a nice, albeit scaled down representation of parts of Middle Earth. I'm partial to how they did the Shire.

Both WoW and LOTRO have free trials.

If you wanna pay a monthly fee to walk around join a fucking gym, fatass.

-10 for trolling fail. I'll let Ebonsword decide what he does or doesn't want to pay for. Some of us have jobs and can afford a monthly subscription, should we so choose.

Hit a little too close to home, eh?

So which Might and Magic would you recommend for starters? 6? 7?

Start with 4 and 5. The third one, Isles Of Terra is a little meh-ish.

Aw cmon. You have to admit that he'll never be the same after the Maze From Hell.

 

[Trash]

The avernum games are situated in a huge underground world that I think is a blast to explore. Other than that Gothic 2 and Ultima 7 are two of the best exploration rpg's I know off.

 

[Fez]

The exploration aspect of RPGs is one that I enjoy too. I think that was where Fable went wrong for a lot of players. The feeling of being "fenced in" or led along a corridor all the time was not so fun. If there are walls and fences it is better to do it in a way that the player does not notice it so much.

The Gothic games and Avernum series are good games that were fun to explore too. U7 is a classic and the Ultima games did offer a good deal of fun that way. I'd also suggest Darklands.