Sandbox games have been some of the bestselling games of the past decade, just look at the GTA series for an example. The go-anywhere, do-anything freedom of this kind of games seem to have a huge appeal nowadays, and there's even several settings to choose from, from open space (X3-Terran Conflict) to urban settings (GTA: San Andreas) to fantasy settings (TES: Morrowind) so let me ask you these questions three...

What is your favorite sandbox game?

What awesome moments have become lodged in your memory?

Which one was the one that got you hooked? (You always remember your first one, don't you?)

My favs are probably Morrowind, Sacred(which is a steal here on gog, 10$ for original+both expansions) and Fallout. My first one... Does King's Bounty count as sandbox?:P

My favorite sandbox game is definitely Morrowind. Huge area, lots of different factions, tons of quests, vast background, interesting story ... and thousands of great mods to expand on all that. I fell in love with the game the moment I entered Dorisa Darvel's bookstore in Balmora for the first time. Dozens of _readable_ books that provided glimpses into the immense amount of lore in the game ... I spent two hours there, reading everything. And then I started to collect every book I could find. :)

The first sandbox game I played ... hmmm ... that's so long ago that it's a bit hard to answer. Probably "Ultima II" on the C64. The term "sandbox game" didn't even exist at that time, but I guess the game fits the criteria well enough.

Daggerfall. Here's why:

My netbook can actually run it without a problem and it will properly fit my screen.

You had a cart, a horse, and if you used the Fly spell you could almost be like Santa, IIRC

You had tons of skills and you could easily climb on the rooftops of buildings and other places of interest.

You could be a vampire, werewolf, or even a wereboar.

Did I mention that it's free and has been pretty much GOGified to the point where you click, you play?

edit: removed some incorrect information.

I thought Daggerfall was mostly procedurally generated too and Morrowind was the first one to be actually 'designed'.

Yes, you are correct. Post will be revised. Thanks.

Yes, Arena and Daggerfall were (almost completely) procedurally generated, while Morrowind was designed "manually".

But only Arena encompassed the whole continent of Tamriel - Daggerfall was limited to two provinces, Hammerfell and High Rock (perhaps plus some small bits of the neighboring provinces, not sure about that).

Daggerfall kind of "felt" larger in-game though, the map already shows hundreds of settlements ... :)

Right now my favorite is Morrowind (I don't consider Fallout 1&2 to be sandboxes and my machine can't even dream to run Skyrim). I have a deep liking for sandboxes, the only reason I ever played MMORPGs is because they can be just like sandboxes if you don't talk to other players :D

First sandbox game I ever play is Morrowind. So it was very weird not having bunch of quests/directions being feed to me so I was just wandering and talking to every NPCs for the quests. But it was wonderful experience. I love the atmosphere. That reminds me.... I should boot it up and play it again.

But my personal favorite sandbox game is Two Worlds. Sure, the dubbing/subtitles are bit silly and it's not exactly great game but I just love it. I sunk countless hours in it because it's just damn fun game to play.

My favorite moment in Two Worlds is everytime I enter the dungeons. They always scared the bejesus out of me so I have to hack my way through the mobs. I'm on my 2nd playthrough of Two Worlds right now. :DDD

My favorite sandboxes would be the three most recent Elder Scrolls games and Just Cause 2.

My first sandbox was Sid Meier's Pirates!, I spent way too much time playing that game. And now it's on iOS so I can waste even more time!

Just Cause 2
Saboteur (Seriously, it's good)
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series
Arma
Oblivion/Morrowind
Minecraft
Terraria

Toss up between The Hulk, Ultimate Spider Man and Warband.

Morrowind was my first sandbox game and is my favorite.

Some awesome moments include the time consumed exploration and the easily immersion the game gave.

One nightmare-inducing moment I had in Morrowind was turning into a vampire. Another scary moment included the Dagoth Ur bed message(s) when slept and his "dreamers" among the cities and their messages to you. That always gave me shivers. I also got a shiver from that Dagoth guy who had an elephant trunk for a face, yes this guy - [url=http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Dagoth_Gares]http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:Dagoth_Gares[/url]

I just realized that while i asked you guys about your favorites, i didn't mention my own.

My all time favorite is Morrowind, and the very beginning is also one of my favorite moments in gaming.

The waking up after a dream, walking up on deck, just gawking at the water effects and that giant bug over there!, and then the sound it makes! it was like you were really about to enter another world.

Then you have a rather clever way of creating your character, get pointed in the general direction of the main quest and finally you are let out of the building.

And then you realize that you can actually go anywhere, do anything, to anyone.

It floored me back then.