The fourth entry was universally beloved on release, but when presented against the other entries in the series, most people seem to think it never matches up to the lively settings of San Andreas, Vice City, or Los Santos or the importance of III. The black sheep of the 3D Grand Theft Auto main entries. However, as both a thematically unified interactive story and as a stealth-action game, Manhunt is a gripping thriller and one of Rockstar’s best.įor more on Manhunt, check out this opinion piece we wrote on the game’s timelessness. The tension as you sneak slowly behind a man armed with a shotgun, your only weapon a shard of glass in your hand, has rarely been matched in the genre.Īt the end of the day, Manhunt feels like a world-class game that’s never gotten its proper due thanks to the controversy surrounding its violence. ![]() The streets and world, presented as a modern take on The Running Man where snuff films are all the rage, are disturbing on a thematic level as much as they are on a visceral one. You’re a rat in a huge maze, scurrying around to survive, as predators much stronger than you lurk around every corner. However, unlike the sequel, Manhunt’s violence feels thematically apt and like it has a point. Every spurt, every convulsion plays to disgusting effect. Manhunt is grotesque and uncomfortable with its violence even now, with basic household items being used to murder people while the camera lingers on every moment and detail. Rockstar’s first stab at stealth drew attention from major outlets for its gory action, letting you strangle unsuspecting victims with barbed wire and suffocate them with plastic bags. With the likes of Metal Gear Solid, Thief, Tenchu, and Splinter Cell often thought of as the monumental stealth-action titles, it’s a shame that Manhunt has never been regarded in the same way. Max Payne 3 is easily one of the best third-person shooters ever made, and we’re still waiting on that sequel, Rockstar. In the moment-by-moment action (as well as the beautiful setting that balances exotic with despair) Max Payne 3 does so much right it’s easy to overlook the story’s habit of aping Man on Fire's plot or the fact that the game might just be a little too long for its own good. The environment is often shredded to bits, destroying you and your enemy’s cover during the course of a firefight. Max’s body feels like it has weight as he leaps around, often taking a full second or two to get up once he’s landed, leaving you open to enemy fire. Max always carries his weapons in a believable way, a pistol in one hand, a shotgun gripped by the barrel in the other. In 2011, the game’s approach to mixing realism with Michael Mann-like violence was unparalleled. Our tragic protagonist’s past trails him, causing misery and death to everyone around him, not to mention glorious shootouts.Įven if Max Payne 3 didn’t have the series’ renowned bullet-time sequences (it does, thank goodness), which allows you to slow down the world Matrix style, the gunplay would still be fantastic. ![]() Max Payne 3 is a bold game, essentially throwing the closure of the second game’s ending out the window to focus on Max’s time in Brazil working private security for a wealthy family. Rockstar took over the reins to everyone’s favorite series starring a widowed, drunk cop after Remedy bowed out, and the third entry is a hell of a sequel. Update (02/4/19): Now that Red Dead Redemption II has been out for a few months and we've had time to analyze and discuss its achievements, we've added it to the rankings below. With all that in mind, let’s steal a ride and roar down this road to hell. From the humble top-down beginnings of Grand Theft Auto to the blood-soaked streets of Manhunt and the beautiful jaw-dropping vistas of Red Dead Redemption, you’ll find every single title put in its proper place in terms of influence, importance of innovation, and just plain fun. In the lead up to the eagerly anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2, we came together as a staff to rank every single game that Rockstar developed (this means we excluded published titles like L.A. Rising up from quirky Scotland-based developers with a taste for pulp and crime fiction, Rockstar evolved radically, shifting into innovators and provocateurs, creating some of the industry's most influential and blockbuster titles. Over the past two decades, Rockstar Games has emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the games industry.
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