GTA fantasy blend...

Something I'd like to see is a console-based RPG using the lessons learnt from the seminal GTA3 series. When GTA went 3D they really blew the lid off the gaming experience. Free-roaming with a multitude of missions you could pick up in practically any order, MMOs and RPGs could learn a lot from an environment which attemps to mimic a living city and its surrounds.

Clearly GTA3: San Andreas was the pièce de résistance in this regard.

I would kill for the opportunity to develop a fantasy milieu RPG in such a setting. With a pseudo-medieval setting rather than a modern one. Crank up the stat improvements and add a diverse skill-tree and you'd have a fantastic single (or co-op online) RPG.

One fault I have with some, if not many of the GTA missions is their 'stepping stone' construction. Steal this car, go to this point, engage these enemies to get to your final objective. In a such a free-form game, allowing players to complete missions in a variety of ways would provide an improved gaming experience. Instead of stealing that car, how about stealing a plane and parachuting into the environment? Or steal a loader and using it as a mobile ramp to jump a fence otherwise securing the environment.

There are many ways to skin a cat and providing players with the freedom to plan their own execution of a mission is IMHO a definite advantage, adding an element of problem solving to the proceedings.

p.s. I'm not sure why the text of this post shrunk. Can't seem to fix it. Sorry!