Video gaming has a new trend that gives gamers more bang for their buck: larger open-world environments.
Thanks to games like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, gamers can now spend hundreds of hours exploring worlds created by game designers, with each new title offering larger maps than ever.
The latest game to boast large maps is Nintendo's Xenoblade Chronicles X, which is the largest game of all: its map is bigger than the maps of Skyrim, The Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 combined. That means that the game boasts a massive world and offers a lot of gameplay for its $60 price tag.
What's perhaps most interesting about Xenoblade Chronicles X, though, is that it's not a title for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, the two major console contenders. This game is a Wii U exclusive, and could help jumpstart sales for Nintendo for a next-generation console that never quite caught on, at least in the U.S.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is an action roleplaying game that already saw a release in Japan, where it did very well with gamers, who purchased around 85,000 copies upon its launch. The title comes out in the U.S. next month.
Much like its predecessors, Xenoblade Chronicles X takes place in an open world and begins in the year 2054 with two alien races warring near Earth. This forces humanity to evacuate the planet with the story following passengers on an American ship after it crash lands on the planet Mira. The Americans must learn to survive in their new environment, while fighting off alien races. This all takes place in a new huge open world that rivals other similar titles.
Eurogamer included Xenoblade Chronicles X as one of its most anticipated titles.
"Anticipation for X shouldn't be limited to fans of Japanese role-playing games," wrote Simon Parkin for Eurogamer last year. "Xenoblade Chroncles deftly shrugged off genre and convention and there's every indication that X will do the same, mixing action, strategy and narrative into a delicious, idiosyncratic concoction with broad appeal. X may not have the greatest commercial prospects, but in terms of the creative partnership underpinning the game, few forthcoming releases can match its bold promise. Swim Takahashi. Swim for all you're worth."
Xenoblade Chronicles X arrives on the Wii U on December 4.
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