Direction

See, in many games you have your main mission to go about. Whether it's saving the world or killing the Aliens, we have a central objective. But often gamers just want to go about and explore their world. I've spent so long just flying about Arkham City that I forgot my objective and that's a good/bad thing. When the game distracts me so, I forget parts of the story and I lose emersion. Still, I didn't find Arkham City's plot too hard to catch up with (although the plot is the weakest part of the game...STILL ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR!!!!) But sometimes our freedom is stripped from us and we're forced down a narrow path to the next objective. That can get frustrating depending on the style of game you play. Something like Shattered Dimensions is an action game, so the game is always pointing you to the next objective without let up, but because it's an action game, that's what we want. But if we play a game with a bit more sophistication, then we get annoyed when the game holds our hand too much. if you're constantly being shown where to go and what to do, then it removes a huge chunk of challenge. YES NAVI, I KNOW I HAVE TO GO TO DEATH MOUNTAIN! However, despite the joke, Zelda does it really well. Not pressuring you too much but not falling to the other end of the spectrum. If a game has no direction, it can be both good and bad. It can inspire a desire to explore and find your own adventure but no direction means you don't know where to go. It's really hard to get that right in a game. Personally, I like games which let me do missions when I want, but always tells me where they are. You?