10 Biggest Open-Worlds In Video Game History

4. Test Drive Unlimited 2 - 618mi2

A game map may not feel quite as colossal when you're bombing across it at 80mph in a car rather than on foot or horseback, but the satellite-modelled islands of Oahu and Ibiza here are still impressive in their scale - if little else. Between the two islands, there are nearly 2000 miles of road for you to traverse, but you're free to go off the beaten track at any point, bounding over the sun-kissed countrysides of both beautiful settings. A downside of open-world driving games is that you never feel quite as attached to the world in them as you do in an on-foot game. You want to hang out with the locals, wander into the occasional building, and in Ibiza's case check out a fully accurate interior of one of its legendary super-clubs, but you're locked out of all these things - experiencing the world mostly through the screen glass of your car (you can wander around on foot a bit in TDU 2, but it's so mechanically poor that you'll quickly retreat to your car seat). In fairness, for all its flaws Test Drive Unlimited 2 is packed full of features and events to get involved with, so there is plenty of incentive to explore the island, partake in races... and whatever else it is you can get up to when you're mostly glued to a car steering wheel.
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Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.