Wheelman director criticises sandbox gaming

Wheelman creative director Simon Woodroffe has told VideoGamer.com that he thinks sandbox gaming elements such as bowling and dating in Grand Theft Auto IV are boring and not developed enough to warrant replaying.

"Yeah, there are elements of GTA in the game - and there are certainly elements of Burnout. I think our driving, the accessibility and the speed of it... that's more Burnout than GTA. But we've got an open world, a compelling story and a whole bunch of side missions - and those things are all GTA," Woodroffe told VideoGamer.com at a recent London press event. "We don't have a sandbox - you can't go bowling or go on a date. All that stuff is all well and good, but personally it doesn't appeal to me. It seems like a good idea but actually it's quite boring after a while, because in all of those mini-games, the micro-mechanics haven't been developed to a level where you'd want to play them over and over again."