One thing that need to change in open world games

I think we can all agree that the open world crime game is getting pretty damn tired. the first thing that I think needs to change is the setting.
I don't know about you but I'm sick of open world games that take place in a normal New York city clone. Unless they make some massive new features for GTA5, saints row 3, or mafia 2 its going to be pretty old and tired. Most of the fun in open world games is exploration, whats fun about driving around a normal city anymore.
But all is not lost for there are some games with interesting settings, that I'm looking forward to.
The first being Brutal Legend, it takes place in the world of metal name any other game with that setting. It has mountains shape like skulls, engines, guitar and fists giving the horns it'll be a damn just to see that world. Next you got Assassin's creed 2 I loved the first one but this next one looks amazing, I already have it preordered.
It takes place in renaissance Italy and has the same great climbing and free running with beautiful renaissance building. Lastly honorable mention goes to red faction guerrilla because it takes place om mars. 

I think we can all agree that the open world crime game is getting pretty damn tired. the first thing that I think needs to change is the setting.
I don't know about you but I'm sick of open world games that take place in a normal New York city clone. Unless they make some massive new features for GTA5, saints row 3, or mafia 2 its going to be pretty old and tired. Most of the fun in open world games is exploration, whats fun about driving around a normal city anymore.
But all is not lost for there are some games with interesting settings, that I'm looking forward to.
The first being Brutal Legend, it takes place in the world of metal name any other game with that setting. It has mountains shape like skulls, engines, guitar and fists giving the horns it'll be a damn just to see that world. Next you got Assassin's creed 2 I loved the first one but this next one looks amazing, I already have it preordered.
It takes place in renaissance Italy and has the same great climbing and free running with beautiful renaissance building. Lastly honorable mention goes to red faction guerrilla because it takes place om mars. 

I think setting does have a role with the enjoyment of exploration but also the gameplay aspect. I think why everyone loved riding around in GTA4 was because the driving was awesome and its just so fun to go on a mass murdering spree. I think its good to have a variety of settings but I don't mind if the setting is in a modern city as long as the gameplay/story holds up im fine with anything.

" I think setting does have a role with the enjoyment of exploration but also the gameplay aspect. I think why everyone loved riding around in GTA4 was because the driving was awesome and its just so fun to go on a mass murdering spree. I think its good to have a variety of settings but I don't mind if the setting is in a modern city as long as the gameplay/story holds up im fine with anything. "

I think there needs to be rewards for exploring areas, one fantastic example is Warhammer Online

Each time you found a new area or interacted with a certain object you would get a entry in your Tome of Knowledge (my favorite part of that game)
It would reward you with a paragraph or two about that place or relating to that object, and it would give you exp and a maybe even title.

well the reason all previous GTAs get a pass is because the whole open world concept was new. the concept had not been driven into the ground yet. like the first three guitar hero games were great then came: arowsmith, metalillica, bandhero, worldtour, ontour, GH5, rockband 1, 2 and Beatles. it's a little stale.

I think designers should get more creative with open world games.

I'd like there to be more unconventional verticality to open worlds.  I'd like to see a open world city that had dozens of vertical layers as well as spreading out in other dimensions.  A bit like some areas in Infamous or Jet Set Radio Future.  I think it'd make a good cyberpunk setting at least.

" I think there needs to be rewards for exploring areas, one fantastic example is Warhammer OnlineEach time you found a new area or interacted with a certain object you would get a entry in your Tome of Knowledge (my favorite part of that game)It would reward you with a paragraph or two about that place or relating to that object, and it would give you exp and a maybe even title. "

" @Diamond: Yeah that would be fun, more ladders less hills? "

" I think designers should get more creative with open world games.I'd like there to be more unconventional verticality to open worlds.  I'd like to see a open world city that had dozens of vertical layers as well as spreading out in other dimensions.  A bit like some areas in Infamous or Jet Set Radio Future.  I think it'd make a good cyberpunk setting at least. "

" @TheMustacheHero said:

" I think there needs to be rewards for exploring areas, one fantastic example is Warhammer OnlineEach time you found a new area or interacted with a certain object you would get a entry in your Tome of Knowledge (my favorite part of that game)It would reward you with a paragraph or two about that place or relating to that object, and it would give you exp and a maybe even title. "

that's really more of a solution to level grinding then stale open world games. "

" @TheMustacheHero said:

" @Diamond: Yeah that would be fun, more ladders less hills? "

Doesn't just have to be ladders, all sorts of different ways of getting up.What about something like the Blazblue world (even though it's not realized in a gameplay sense) where different sorts of people live on different layers.  What if you were stuck on the lowest rung of society and you had to follow the storyline to work your way up (in more than one sense). "

like cyberpunk assassins creed? "

" @trophyhunter said:

" @TheMustacheHero said:

" I think there needs to be rewards for exploring areas, one fantastic example is Warhammer OnlineEach time you found a new area or interacted with a certain object you would get a entry in your Tome of Knowledge (my favorite part of that game)It would reward you with a paragraph or two about that place or relating to that object, and it would give you exp and a maybe even title. "

that's really more of a solution to level grinding then stale open world games. "

But it gave extra incentive to explore the worlds. It's one thing if you are exploring for "the view" if any open world games have that, but instead of orbs or pigeons they should really give the player a reward for his exploration and not just laziley place them around the city for the player to collect and get an achievement, because really, is that fun?Crackdown also is a good example, those orbs that you had to climb buildings to get weren't just "orbs" they increased your agility stat, so you could run and jump faster. "

" @trophyhunter said:

like cyberpunk assassins creed? "

Could be, it's definitely an option.I envision a game with a fairly epic scale, where the world above you looks completely different than the world you're slapped into, and you spend a good amount of time trying to access the overworld.  In a simple sense it'd be like the GTA series 'islands', except the other world would always be visible above you, and could be radically different looking. "