Was Open world really that bad?? Could it be made to work?

I loved TS3's open worlds, with all its flaws. And I could like TS4's system if they had just designed it so it could handle bigger worlds, but they didn't, so it looks like we are just going to get expansions with 4 or 5 playable lots. I would kill for another large empty neighborhood like Newcrest, maybe with a more peri-urban or rural theme, except with a couple 64x64 lots.