Running around in a game, trying to get from one location to another, without any other goal in mind, is probably the thing I hate most about games in general. And I was wondering if there are any games that somehow made this element fun, or if its tedium is just an inevitable outcome of every game design in which it occurs.

I love classic adventure games, but the really playable ones allow you to double-click to rapidly get to where you're headed.
Games like Skyrim have some very nice scenery as you journey around, but the hikes still get tedious (the fast traveling Oblivion added was a much-needed improvement over Morrowind). It probably increases the feeling of immersion though, and games that encourage exploration probably benefit from the design.
The older Mario games rarely (if ever?) have Point A to Point B without any other goal in mind. I think that's possibly one of the things that makes them a "good game". Constant gameplay, no hiking.
And I haven't played Just Cause 2 yet, but that's one that comes to mind as a possible outlier where getting from point A to point B is truly half the fun of the game.

Any games in particular (otherwise great or not) that just piss you off due to all the hiking?
Or more hopefully: are there any games that make the point A to point B experience a really fun aspect of the game?

13 years ago*

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I like in Rune Factory how you can warp back to the dungeon entrance. Then if you warp again you go home.

13 years ago
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It makes it fun in Sleeping Dogs. On your way to a mission location a number of optional treks are available. A store owner might need your help with a drunk and disorderly man, a kidnapped person in a car trunk might need your help, you could come upon a CCTV that needs hacking, random goons guarding a lockbox could entice you, health shrines that raise your hp level permanently, statues that grant you new melee combat abilities, as well as drug busts. These optionals all offer cash/items/xp/abilities and are optional so it's up to you whether you want to do them or not. I did them all and had a great time collecting all the items and completing 100% of the game.

13 years ago
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Borderlands.

The vehicles are fun and the Fast-travels are perfect.

13 years ago
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13 years ago
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This is the main problem i see in BL DLCs, not a single fast travel for any DLC, and Knoxx's armory is huge.

13 years ago
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this, traveling trew the whole armory just to get to the crawmerax is a pain in the ass

13 years ago
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I actually thought Zombie Island and Claptrap's Robo Revolution were the best because of that. It's not like the vehicle controls were great, or even decent in that game anyways. Plus those maps weren't even that big.

13 years ago
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Borderlands makes travel really fun, love the vehicles. If I get a fast vehicle and/or something to do while I travel, it's usually ok. Travel is one my biggest gripes for games like Skyrim. It gets a bit tedious at times.

13 years ago
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Fallout 3. I never once used fast-travel in that game due to how much I liked the atmosphere and all the areas to discover in capitol wasteland. Three-dog narrating rumors over the things you've done in the game over the radio was also really cool.

I couldn't really say the same about New Vegas though. It just felt more mad-max-ey due to the whole "the bombs never actually hit us directly" thing and thus it felt more predictable due to all the people roaming around. The radio also got really repetitive.

13 years ago
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13 years ago
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Fallout: New Vegas and World of Warcraft!

13 years ago
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Werewolf jumps in Morrowind, or Boots of Blinding Speed + scroll of Windform.

There were already fast travels with the Mages Guild, boats and stilt strides, and there is no need for fast-traveling in Morrowind. Oblivion is in need of those mainly because of the lack of said travel means or spells (mark, recall, Divine / Almsivi's intervention, levitation).

13 years ago
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Forget those, I can fly!!!! I CAN FLY!!!! xD

13 years ago
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Any Assassins Creed game, Just Cause 2, Saints Row the Third, Skyrim

13 years ago
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Well, that depends on the player too. When I started playing online games WoW was one of my firsts games. And I didn't give much importance on fast leveling, I just wanted to enjoy the game and everything it had, and travels were always fun, finding interesting stuff and some tricky scenes. Even tried traveling to places with many levels over mine with my friend and got many funny(and stupid) moments But after I created my second char it was just tedious because I only wanted to level it quickly, even if they had added many things in the world and changed part of it I didn't care that much.

13 years ago
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Almost any GTA, specially San Andreas, wich was the one who had the most terrain to travel.

13 years ago
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I think GTA San Andreas had the best terrain to travel out of all GTAs too. What I liked most was taking a bike and tapping the X button to pedal as fast as I could, speeding through city streets. It was really difficult trying to steer at the same time, so I usually ended up crashing into a wall or other people. And it was FUN!! :D

13 years ago
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well... ain´t exactly fun.. but 'YOU MUST GATHER YOUR PARTY BEFORE VENTURING FORTH'

13 years ago
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Moving from the near-pits of Black Mesa to the very top. So fun, especially since it took a long time to achieve.

13 years ago
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Prince of Persia (2008) :D

13 years ago
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I'd have to say Assassin's Creed Franchise, Fallout Franchise (To an extent, because sometimes you can walk for a bit and not run into anything interesting.), Just Cause 2, Spider-Man Franchise (Especially Spider-Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man.), and Left 4 Dead Franchise? lol

13 years ago
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Vice city and Saints row 3.

Cruse around and listen to the radio. Suddenly run over a bunch of people and the cops all over me.

13 years ago
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Just Cause 2 parasailing

13 years ago
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Well, I always thought running around in Haven City or the Wasteland in Jak & Daxter 2 and 3 was a lot of fun :D. You could have fun in different ways in each of those places. In Haven City I would spend hours just cruising around with a vehicle and crashing into other people and vehicles!! In the Wasteland I enjoyed taking the vehicle with the super-jump ability, driving around the dunes and at the perfect moment, at the top of a high dune, I'd use turbo combined with a jump to fly towards the sky!! Wonder if there's anyone here who remembers these masterpieces of gaming :P

13 years ago
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The Scrolls of Icarian Flight in Morrowind were the best way to get anywhere...until you hit the ground, I had lots of fun times with those babies.

13 years ago
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I enjoyed cruising around on Sleeping Dogs on a bike. It was fun listening to the radio, trying to go fast and zoom through all the traffic, and just marveling every single time I start the game up again that I'm driving on the left side because it's HK. Hijacking cars while I'm driving another car is always fun to do as well =D

I also really enjoy Guild Wars 2 walking around so far, there's always something to do that's worthwhile to do along the way to wherever I want to go. Getting all the vistas, doing events, exploring the map. Maybe I'll get bored with it eventually, since I'm pretty sure that every game gets boring to travel around in. There'll be the day when you've seen it all too many times, but for now, I'm enjoying it a ton, and it'll be a while before I get bored since there's so much to do.

And Marumisu, I TOTALLY agree, Jak & Dexter 2+3 were a ton of fun to drive around in!

13 years ago
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rayman origins made the zone moving section quite fun with funny music and fast level gameplay

13 years ago
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Closed 13 years ago by godprobe.