Electronic hiking - sightseeing in video games

I'm not normally in a habit of just posting links to stuff, but this is a great article that I simply wouldn't have thought of:

Dear Esther's atmospheric Scottish island is well worth a visit

The ten most beautiful walks in gaming (Guardian)

As games become more visually appealing, there is more opportunity for some stunning level design, especially in open-world games. Sadly too many games rely too much on uninspired linear, cover-based gauntlets, but sometimes I do enjoy just wandering around (especially if there are collectables to hunt!). I maybe add Assassin's Creed to the list...