While I hold some grudge against this game I don't see it being either worse, not better than it's release date competitors.
Part of the problem is the delusion that a open world concept makes a game better, while it clearly doesn't. For example I don't remember NFS Underground being any less good for having several circuits layouts and not having an open world structure, I don't remember Burnout 3 being any less fun for having 3 main scenarios and like a hundred variations, same for older Test Drive games, old NFS games, and so on. As fantastic as the map was in Test Drive Unlimited 2 it didn't made it better than the small but cleverly layout map for Forza Horizon and so on.
IMO a game doesn't need to be open world to be more fun, what it needs to be is to have a well constructed driving model, with a set of interesting challenges and tons of activities, what an open world game does is take the uniqueness of some track designs in favour of content, and that's a trend that has been overdone for the last ... 10 years (from NFSU2, to any need for speed game onwards except from Pro street, Shift and The Run, burnout became open world before becoming NFS, TDU2 missed the point in having a massive map, and so on and so forth).
I believe that both Horizon 2 and The Crew will be inevitably good (they being designed over an open world racing concept), and I believe this could be just as good and probably even more varied (not as varied as The Crew, but in the gameplay aspect the driving model is what dictates such a thing).
I'm weary of the concept of having a massive map with around the same scenery, that just making the same colour pallets, identical assets and a handful of unique 3D models to make the map more varied than what it actually is.
DC understands that, and instead goes for a full on diversity approach to the game, from snow to desert, to jungle, to valleys to forests. I miss that kind of diversity, and as much as I like the setting in FH2 I can't shake the feeling that it will mostly be just areas surrounding Monte Carlo and maybe a bit of Tuscany, The Crew is going for full on variety and is pretty much a purchase for me, although I will wait until the game comes out, try it and then see if I purchase it (not falling for it after I fell for WD). As a plus user I got a taste of the game to see what is like, and I'll decide if it's worth the additional price. But it being a worse game for not being open world is a bit ridiculous, I play Burnout 3 every now and then and I play it more than Horizon 1 or TDU, both of which I got fed up with their settings and never bothered into playing again.
(Also the reason I ain't big on The Crew)
okay.
