Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands (2017) (PC) (Ubisoft Paris)
0I haven't actually *played* much of Wildlands yet, but driving around the map is a great way to spend half an hour or so. Much has been said about the lackluster mission design, tiresome side activities and questionable narrative, but it would be a shame if such concerns (however warranted) overshadowed the fact that the game's environments are legitimately impressive - even compared with other recent open world releases such as Zelda or Horizon Zero Dawn. The many different regions each have their unique terrain and the various mountains, valleys and rivers look more like the result of erosion and other natural forces rather than something that was handcrafted by a level designer or generated by a computer (indeed, a Polygon article from last December explores the lengths to which the developers went to achieve this advanced level of landscape simulation). Instead of just giving the players a detailed landscape to navigate, this fictional representation of Bolivia is authentic and realistic enough to evoke a genuine sense of place.