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[kiphalfton]

GTA V pisses over GTA IV. Bigger, more vibrant, more things to see and do etc.

GTA V is the greatest open world sand box ever made.

Case closed

If by bigger, you mean mostly north of the city? Which has nothing to do. Then yeah sure.

 

[GymWolf]

The care for physics and destruction is better in gta4 but gta5 city feels more alive.

Rdr2 smack both in the ass.

 

[IDKFA]

If by bigger, you mean mostly north of the city? Which has nothing to do. Then yeah sure.

There are loads of things to see and do north of the city.

 

[Muffdraul]

GTA4 Liberty City is hands down my personal favorite. It's not about having "a bunch of fun activities" and mini games and shit, it's just about being a little virtual city for me to virtually exist in. There are open world cities that are objectively superior for whatever reason, bigger size, more colorful environment, whatever. Liberty City 2007 just has a certain je ne sais quoi IMO.

 

[elmos-acc]

The Simpsons Hit & Run or Sleeping Dogs are much better for me.

Hit & Run is a fun game and the vibes are immaculate. However, it is not a well designed city, it is 3 racing tracks that loop around.

Sleeping Dogs is my second favorite open-world-crime game but it has a similar problem, it could be a little bigger and denser IMO.

 

[bender]

Certainly not as it is the worst in the series.

 

[March Climber]

OP is discussing the physics, density, and NPC interactions.

A lot of other people here keep bringing up gameplay design and graphics, which are separate things.

An example to help clarify: Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall looks ancient today and the gameplay of it is average at best, but the world in it felt vast and overwhelming because it felt like everyone had routines and things to do, including random elements like creature appearances, or someone ending up dead by some event hours before you showed up, causing you to have to investigate(if you're curious) simply because you arrived too late.

Bethesda sort of went further and further away from NPC routines and 'missable design' to appeal to the completionists and the casual market, which ended up doing more harm to them than good. Rockstar leaned into it more with Red Dead Redemption 2.