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Please note that I have no idea how long it's going to take, but any and all purchases are going to take place a very long time from now, after I've finally saved up enough cheddar to get a PC actually capable of running games without having to go through extremely low settings and disgusting workarounds for a reasonable experience.

But, after much deliberation, I've decided that the next game I play should be a great big wilderness simulator where there's lots of dicking around to be had. I'm either going to buy one or the other. Or, actually, fuck it. If I've saved up enough money to buy a gaming PC, I should at least go whole hog and buy both of them. In which case, this thread is to discuss which one I should spend an hour downloading and installing first. Now, normally, I'd consider both of these games to be part of a sweaty, brown, over-romanticised genre that I'm really not all that interested in, but as technology advances and gameplay is tweaked, I've found these games to actually seem kind of interesting despite all my judgemental instincts. Here are the games I'm considering:

Tom Clancy: Another One (Better known as: Ghost Recon Wildlands)

According to critics, it's another big empty Ubisoft open world game. Having never played one before, and having watched a few videos and found nothing much wrong with it other than the fact that it's portraying the South American clusterfuck in a fucked-uppedly one-sided way. But hey, what else can you expect from Triple A 'Murica but propagandist cheese? At least it's not Call of Juarez or Army of 2 2. I'm just really enticed by the fact that you can jigsaw-puzzle guns together in ways that would make Raven shit himself. Aand I'm more than a little amused that you can play as Everyman American Joe dressed up as a pirate basically playing Grand Theft Auto in a third world country ruled by the Death Mafia.

Despite all this shit I'm mocking it for, it doesn't really make any statements about anything, and it's probably managed to be less edgy than Far Cry... Which is saying something, considering the fact that Far Cry 4 is basically a merry adventure in Pol Potland, yet it's still somehow more culturally enriching. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually seriously considering unironically buying this game once the price goes down, however much I mock it. It looks fun to play with friends, or to explore on your own and commit violence along the way. It's just that it's so, so impossible to take seriously.

The Hunter: The Call of the Wild (Better known as: A probably more respectable game to have in your library)

I'll admit, the whole reason I initially got into it was because I wanted to pretend to be a fast-talking private investigator who was actually paid to track down a specific deer and catch a man's wife cheating on him with it, but along the way get swept up in a conspiracy with the Bear Mafia and having to dispense cold lead justice for my own survival. Then I realized that actual direct combat and danger from an animal is probably an extremely rare occurrence, but that's what mods are for.

Regardless, it's a very pretty game, and the whole exploration, investigation, and deduction aspects were what drew me to The Witcher, which, if given long sessions and experience, sort of ruins the detective aspects once you figure out what you're doing and who you'll be fighting. This game gives you endless, procedurally generated "Mysteries". And, if you're shit at it, like I'll inevitably be, long periods of time to brood and chase after random clues feeling like you're getting somewhere. 

Tom Clancy: Another One is ridiculously unstable. Don't buy it unless you enjoy playing multiplayer games in more than half-hour sessions in between server outages.

Is it like GTA where I have to be online in order to play as the guy that I made? I don't think I'd really need multiplayer if I can still blunder my way through Cartel Land as a drunken, eyepatch-wearing belligerent.

My vote goes towards Option C) None of the above. If you want a good open world, Far Cry 3 is your ticket, or Assassin's Creed Brotherhood or Black Flag. If you want a 'tracking' game, LA Noire or the Witcher 3 are the best in their class. There's a formidable list of games I'd have to have played to be considering either of these two to be worthy of buying (probably a couple hundred games as of right now)

If you're just looking for something weird, this one seems amusing Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator

Honestly, I thought Far Cry 3 was pretty over-rated. Black Flag is sick if only because it appeals to the child in everyone and Noire was pretty cool and unique. Only playing Witcher 3 now, so can't insert my unasked for opinion.

I haven't played the original Far Cry or the impostor they call Primal, but otherwise I'd rank them as Far Cry 3 > FC4 > Blood Dragon > FC2. FC3 had a strong and distinct antagonist in the first half, allowed meaningful interactions with the environment, had breadth and depth in its activities, and lasted sizably long. FC4 had a fairly disappointing story and added nothing new to combat expect grenade launchers from micro-copters (which I mainly used to avoid having to climb any of those pesky towers). Blood Dragon was a weird 80s fuelled detour that was just spice for the sake of it, so no harm done but no progress made game/play wise.

On the Assassin's Creed side, Black Flag stands out for doing a nice job of taking the romanticism of pirates and grounding it into the dirt and then burying it on a lost island. It doesn't hold back its punches on being irresponsible/a pirate gets you and the people around you killed, and the 'modern day' plot angle was less invasive and intrusive than in other iterations of the series. The naval combat, boarding ships (you can swim your own ship into the path of a frigate, jump off, and single handedly stealth kill the entire crew for a non-boarding takeover - bonus: do it while drunk through in-game cheats), forts, cruising the high seas, fishing, and diving all were distinct and memorable, so I hold that game in high regard. Rogue added nothing new to the formula except a mopey protagonist, so I never got through that one. Didn't pick up Unity or Syndicate because I was jaded out with the series doing nothing new. For the record, I liked the wilds in AC3, and personally didn't find the main plot as offensive as the rest of the gaming community apparently did. I'd still define Brotherhood as the definitive 'Assassins Creed' experience, it nailed the free-running in cities (which 3 and Black Flag didn't have much of), and in general had the best crafted protagonist of the series.

Noire was unique, and I rue that it may not get a sequel, it holds a special place in my gaming library.

The Witcher 3 (complete) is the greatest game made by mankind till date, I'll say no more about it. If you go for a near 100% run, expect it to take 120-160 hours.

I already have Brotherhood and I don't need Black Flag because I have Blood and Gold, which is the ultimate pirate game. Thing is, I enjoy being a pirate in settings where they don't belong, like The Sims, or DayZ. (One could argue that Black Flag is this, but I'd argue Kenway's not much of a pirate in the first place, so much as he's a scurvy Jules Verne ninja.) And being a pirate (Boat or otherwise) in Cartel-Torn South America is as brilliantly tone-deaf as the game itself, and it amuses me to no end. 

LA Noire and The Witcher are great, but, having already played them, they lose the detective aspect because I know what's happening and how to deal with it. A limited variety of creatures live in the Witcher world, and less of them have quests that require you to track them down and puzzle over things. Once you become a level 300 oil tycoon, it gets easy to cheese entire missions and figure out weaknesses on the fly rather than by necessity, which means accidentally and irreparably spoiling the entire mystery for yourself. Far Cry does do a good open-world thing, but it's pretty heavy on survival, and it has enough ridiculous, fantastical aspects while trying to maintain the sweaty brown veneer of realism that any of their games outside of stuff like Primal or Blood Dragon just feels a bit pretentious.

The reviews for Blood and Gold aren't too positive. Amongst them was found this gem "Stephen Hawking runs better than this game."

I'd still say give Black Flag a gander if you haven't already, it's bargain bin cheap nowadays

Yep, LA Noire's greatest weakness - replayability. The Witcher 3 atleast still has alternate paths/choices and pretty fun combat (alternate routes there too, plus the New Game Plus benefits they added). Far Cry 3 was fairly light on survival itself in my eyes (and this is coming from a person who positively hates the survival genre), but geared towards exploration (kill x animals to upgrade your gear). The outposts and the glider were probably the most fun in there outside the first half of the story.

Overwatch's current event is pretty fun if you're only looking for something a few hours long. OW itself can be played for years

On the other end of the spectrum, perhaps Just Cause 3 could meet your requirements (though with less 'gritty' realism and more chaotic mayhem. Haven't played it myself, so cannot confirm.

Bonus: Another review for Blood and Gold

answer this little QA before you buy this:

1. are you a fan of Akella's pirate RPG, Sea Dogs (or Corsairs/Korsary in the dev's native language)?

2. can you enjoy something that has prehistoric production values, being held together with chewing gum and tape?

3. do you not mind seeing the Mount and Blade engine being butchered in bizarre ways?

4. do you like ambitious, open-world PC games made in the former Eastern Bloc?

if you answered yes to 3 or more, then play this bad boy.

I recognize that M&B mods are definitely something of an acquired taste, simply because they're some of the least polished games out there. But honestly, it's twice the pirate game Black Flag ever will be imho.  Combat is a rewarding challenge, you can customize the build of your character and crew. I would definitely question the overall Steam Review reception to be honest. Especially given the 'Equally mixed reception" so many devs on par with Homicide Studios, when stuff like this can get tossed in the dirt for not being as held together. Or like Overgrowth, which is also getting a largely negative reception now since the 1-5 guy team has stopped updating it, despite the fact it's pretty much a complete, well-polished "make your own level" thing on its own. I'd dispute the $30 price tag at this rate of growth, but he's still an indie man doing his best, and that's been the established beta price forever now.

That's one thing I hate about Far Cry in general. "Kill x shit to upgrade shit." While this problem is negated somewhat in recent games with each different kind of item taking up its own inventory space, I'd much rather have something as trashy as a minecraft recipe than something as contrived as what's basically a fetch quest despite the fact that you're otherwise encouraged (And in some cases, need to) stuff your pockets with anything you can find. Scurrying around grabbing individual plants and trying to get specific animals across the island because you want to blow people up in more creative ways starts to feel like a chore.

This is negated in Ghost Recon, from what I've seen, where you just pick up weapons across missions, and all the optional parts don't really completely change how the game plays. The LMG does LMG things, the Assault Rifle does Assault Rifle things, it's all ""Realistic"" enough that it'll onetap the mafia goons anyway, and you don't have to bend over backwards trying to find and unlock the thing that makes them look cool. Again, it's probably not an exceedingly good game, but the idea of Ghost Recon, after all the research I've done, really intrigues me, and I honestly would prefer it over playing another Far Cry game at this point. I've played enough Far Cry to sate my thirst, I want to try one of the Tom Clancies, just because this looks about as good as they're ever going to get... Which, honestly, seems pretty satisfacory.

As far as Just Cause goes... Can I fight the mafia in a jungle as a crazy old man wearing an eyepatch? Can I roam around solitarily in the wilderness tracking down minute, inane things based on little details without feeling  like I have to do something else and I'm missing the point of the game? No? Well then, keep trying, Just Cause, because it's still between another Ubibox and a hunting sim. They'll probably be around the same price by the time I buy a new PC.

Until then, TW3 is still just as fun as it always was, even if it is now sorely lacking the detective aspects for me. 

Wait, is it actually possible to beat the Witcher 3? I've been playing regularly since it launched and I still can't beat the damnable thing lol.

I can't really think of any games that would fit the bill that haven't been mentioned already. Well, maybe Mass Effect Andromeda, but I can't recommend that janky masterpiece in good consciousness. If you want to buy a playstation instead (lol) you can give Horizon Zero Dawn a go. I haven't played myself, but I've heard plenty of raving.

I guess maybe wait and see if Bethesda strikes gold with Prey? If you want something that is entirely not what you're looking for (because that makes sense), I've been absolutely addicted to Rainbow Six Siege recently and highly recommend it for the sheer joy that comes from winning one round because of tactics and skill, and then the following by dicking around with all recruits or equivalent nonsense. #BuffBlitz

Yes, it's possible, but it is quite the climb. I remember when I was 80 hours in and reached Skellige for the first time (after finishing every thing I could find in the White Orchard and Novigrad maps), and as I opened the new gigantic Skellige map my first reaction was - 'Nope. Nope. No way. There's no way I can continue playing this much more content.' TW3 became the first game in which I had to take an intentional mid-game break (played a couple of different indies before returning). To be honest, a lesser game would have said 'yay, game over' after the defense of Kaer Morhen. The fact that that was only ~2/3rds of the way through (not including DLC) was awe-inspiring. The DLCs being more self contained were easier to get through, marathoned Blood and Wine in three days (~40 hours / 72 hours).

If Sent hasn't yet (unlikely), I'd recommend the original ME trilogy, that was solid gaming, and the series evolved between games so each is distinct (arguably with the second being the strongest entry). Keeping my fingers crossed on Prey, may pick up Bayonetta in the meanwhile (been hankering for an epic brawler since Revengeance).

Personally never went for R6 Siege, most multiplayer games don't have Indian servers, so you start off from a 60 ping handicap vs. your teammates. Appreciate the game design, though.

Well if you're going for wilderness sim, you could get The Forest or The Long Dark.

I'm guessing you already played Don't Starve.

The Long Dark would've been great, and almost preferable to THCOTW, if I didn't have to babysit little meters all the time. The Forest was loads of fun, but the boat physics, as well as the regular physics, are such a pain in the ass that I stopped bothering with expecting any new plans to work and just started building random shit to see if I could be the best genocider. Don't Starve didn't seem fun at all when I looked at it. No real ability to build anything cool or new or distinctly your own, just an empty-feeling top-down with pretentiously obscure lore that you need a FNAF kid to decipher while you're pissing around endlessly trying to keep your numbers up.

Just because I'm a Nitpick Nancy, I'd still contest that The Hunter is still the preferable experience for what I'm after rather than The Long Dark. What with there being a wider array of environments to search through, and more reasonable and realistic hunting clues than "Watch for bunnies at all times until you figure out the pattern they were programmed to follow, so you can put a trap there".

The wolves, while also giving me the action and combat that's mostly absent in Call of The Wild unless you royally fuck up, were definitely programmed to be antagonists rather than targets, with their sound being your only warning rather than constant pacing, planning, and tracking. In TLD, you're trying to fight off harrassers and pursuers rather than defend yourself from a lone, dangerous thing that you've spent a while trying to feel and figure out once it's found you.

That's not quite what I was after... All the same, I'm left wondering where the fuck Sang-froid has been all my life.