Exploration was...well, I understand the point was to make the Forbidden Lands actually look like forbidden lands, but a land full of nothing gets boring when you realize there really is nothing out there, apart from nice vistas. I still appreciate the way they stuck to that decision though, filthy western pigs woud fill the gameworld with enemies to make it more palatable for the average gamer, and would have given Wander a trash-talking, sarcastic animal companion with attitude, who would spout one liners everytime you hit a colossus' weak point. Also, the priest would explain to his guards why the sword is important enough to warrant following Wander into Chernobyl (even though they should already know) in his first appearance, because the player would lose interest if the plot took too long to become epic.