Rockstar Gamesis no stranger to breaking the limits and pushing past boundaries. From bizarre Easter eggs to over-the-top sadism, Rockstar always stirs a considerable amount of trouble whenever the New York City-based video game company publish their game.
Related:Red Dead Redemption: 10 Facts You Didn’t Know About Colm O’Driscoll
In fact, Rockstar Games has published more than just theGrand Theft AutoandRed Deadseries, even though they’re known as Rockstar’s magnum opus. These are the company’s ten best games that aren’t from theGTAorRed Deadfranchises.
10Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
Midnight Clubis Rockstar’s open-world formula meets the fast-paced nature ofNeed for Speed. The series' third installment,Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, is set in three different cities: Detroit, Atlanta, and San Diego. Each city has different stories to be played and wild, high-intensity races to be won.
Midnight Club 3also features an addictive online and multiplayer mode where players are free to challenge anyone around the world, join a well-renowned team, or even make their own.
9Max Payne
The first game in the series,Max Payneis set around a former NYPD detective of the same name and his attempt to connect the dots of the murder of his wife and daughter. Little did he know that danger involving the US military and a notorious drug cartel were lying ahead.
Upon its release,Max Paynereceived a warm welcome from the fans and critics, making it one of the best-selling video games of the year in the United States.
8Midnight Club II
Set in the cities of Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Paris,Midnight Club IIwas the first game in the franchise to feature motorcycles.
Related:10 Video Games With The Most Heartbreaking Endings, Ranked
On top of that,Midnight Club IIemphasizes the brand new ‘Career Mode’ where players have the freedom to start from the grassroots level to compete againstMidnight Club’s best racers and dominate the podium.
7Manhunt
Want something a little creepier? Rockstar’sManhuntis a thrilling psychological horror from 2003. Its grimy nature and disturbing tone will keep players company as they navigate the fate of James Cash, a death row prisoner trying to earn his freedom by unwillingly participate in a gruesome series of snuff films.
Upon its release,Manhuntwas a constant subject in the media, mostly for its disturbing content. American attorneys even called to ban the game and its successor,Manhunt 2, even though it was unsuccessful.
6Max Payne 2: The Fall Of Max Payne
Players reprise the role of Max Payne in the franchise’s second title,The Fall of Max Payne, set two years after the first game’s events. This time, our favorite detective is accompanied by a femme fatale, Mona Sax, and the game centers around their tragic love story.
The game was a massive critical success, but unfortunately, it performed poorly commercially, causing Rockstar’s plummeting revenue in 2004.
5L.A. Noire
Set in 1947 Los Angeles,L.A. Noireis a way ahead of its time for fans of historical settings. You play as Cole Phelps, an LAPD officer-turned-detective, as he faces the city’s worst criminals, thieves, and murderers while haunted by his inescapable past.
4Manhunt 2
Manhunt 2is an AO (Adults Only) rated video game that brought more controversy. Set in the fictional city of Cottonmouth,Manhunt 2is the story of Daniel Lamb, a man trying to unravel the hidden truth of his dark past.Manhunt 2relies on the stealth mechanism to overcome the enemies along the way.
Related:Top 10 Detectives In Video Games, Ranked
Upon release,Manhunt 2stirred worldwide controversies for its over-the-top violence, making it one of the most controversial games of all-time.
3The Warriors
Based on the 1979 cult-classic of the same title,The Warriorsis set in the 1970s during the height of gang rivalries in gritty New York City. After a peaceful truce gone wrong, The Warriors, led by Cleon, are forced to flee back to their Coney Island home turf in one night.
In comparison to its original movie, Rockstar’sThe Warriorsis set several months before the truce and reveals an in-depth understanding of the gang’s rivalries.
2Max Payne 3
Nine years after the bittersweet love story, Max Payne was back on action inMax Payne 3. Set in the Brazilian city of São Paulo,Max Payne 3follows the former detective and his brand-new life as a private security personnel for the wealthy Rodrigo Branco & his family before the hard Brazilian streets force him back into a life of crime.
1Bully
Bullyis the real epitome of an underdog Rockstar game. The controversial award-winning game follows Jimmy Hopkins, a new kid at the Bullworth Academy, and his attempt to stop sociopath Gary Smith from bullying other kids.
Unfortunately, Rockstar has shut every slim chance ofaBully 2 sequel. According to a former employee, the video game publisher has indeed worked on the sequel before shutting down the idea in 2009.
