No contest
The company Rockstar Games is almost synonymous with the title GTA, an undisputed champion. Being a major hit can have a huge amount of positive benefits for the company but it does also bring some minor disadvantages, for the GTA series has singularly overshadowed every other game that its own company has produced.
So in this article, we bring your attention to some of the games that have been beneath the shadow of this company’s leviathan. These games have no hope of even contending against the spot the GTA series hold but still they are worth the shot.
1.Red Dead Redemption
Life in the West.
A sequel to Red Dead Revolver, set in the cliché Wild West, nevertheless an unique experience on its own. Redemption follows up 50 years after the events of its predecessor. John Marston, a former bandit, who has decided to start afresh repenting his mistakes, seeks America’s final frontier to make a name and reputation for himself.
The landscape is bare and dusty devoid of skyscrapers or any modern urban settlements, but it’s an open world letting you roam the countryside taking in the scenery as you ride around in your own horse. One of the best elements in this game is that you can build a bond with your horse over time, as you cross the barren miles together. The more affectionate the horse grows to you, the more likely it is to be obedient and build more stamina, allowing it to sprint for longer durations without getting tired.
The side missions and quests are a great add-on instead of being a frustrating distraction like in most open world games, especially the dynamic quests which sometimes turns out to be an elaborately set ambush to take you down.
2.L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire HD Gameplay Footage
Ever wanted to play detective, ever tried buying a Sherlock Holmes game only to find it filled with frustrating puzzles that make no sense? L.A. Noire is a pure detective adventure condensed into interactive interrogation sequences where you have to judge whether the characters are trying to deceive you by observing their facial expressions.
This is made possible by the MotionScan technology that the game employs which does a great job of capturing actors’ facial expressions realistically, a concept that has never been tried before. Adding on to make the detective experience complete are foot chases, shootouts and car chase sequences for some extra action. Trivial events like foot chases are triggered dynamically when a minor street crime takes place while you’re roaming through the sprawling city of Los Angeles.
Another notable mention is the beautifully constructed ambience of the 1940s Los Angeles, from the police banners to the advertisements glaring above, the design and modeling team have done a great job in adding detail to the game making it a wholesome and authentically realistic experience.
3.GTA V
Grand Theft Auto V Gameplay
Yeah, here’s the behemoth. I guess this game doesn’t really need a preamble unless you were staying off the grid living in a cave for the past few years. But you can’t say that this game is the best in the series; yet it’s still the biggest and the baddest of them all.
A phenomenal game of gigantic proportions packed to the brim with stuff that you can only dream of doing in your wildest dreams and beyond.
4.Max Payne 3
Max Payne 3 Gameplay Walkthrough
Though this iteration will not live up to the experience its predecessor delivered, this is nevertheless an entertaining third person shooter that will make you doubt whether you’re playing through the game drunk, for its exaggerated bloom and saturated colors that flash by trying to disorient you.
The shooting and cover mechanics are great and the bullet impact animations gruesomely satisfying. There’s not much to be held in store with the story except for the traditional elements with the Payne family’s backstory.
5.Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix
Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix Gameplay Video
Rockstar’s Midnight Club is acclaimed for virtually recreating the cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, Atlanta and Detroit. Though L.A is not included in the Dub Edition, it was the central element in previous titles. Dub Edition Remix contains a huge assortment of vehicles and races, the best thing about racing in this game is the fact that you can take any route that takes your fancy, but sometimes this can be a problem if you misjudge the race direction.
People who know their way around the cities featured in this game will definitely fall in love with it. The remix edition has an additional city, Tokyo with 24 extra vehicles and a feature which allows players to make their own races within the cities from any one place to another.
6.Bully: Scholarship Edition
Bully Scholarship Edition Walkthrough
Do you miss being in high school? Feel like relieving all those good old memories? Look no further, Bully doesn’t have adrenaline pumping action sequences but it’s just a pleasant engaging affair with your typical boarding school.
Yet, it’s not entirely a walk in the park; there are bullies to be confronted, classes to be skived, girls to be impressed and what not. The game progresses as you build rep and take on different factions in the school on each chapter.
Attending classes are fun, you are expected to attend two of them every day, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. You can roam around freely doing whatever you want with the remaining time.
7.Beaterator
Beaterator PSP Gameplay.
Some might doubt whether this can even be categorized as a game, others say that this is a powerful sound mixing software disguised as a game to add a little bit of fun and to introduce it to a wider audience. Artists like Dizzee Rascal rose into the mainstream music business by tinkering around with sound mixers like this.
Whatever people may think, Beaterator has been developed by Rockstar, a gaming company and released on various gaming platforms, so this should be good enough for this to be labeled a game.
In the beginning, the various cartoonish knobs and dials might be slightly intimidating, but once you find your way around them and familiarize yourself to how they work, the kind of music you can pump out of this little beast of a mixer is only limited by your creativity and imagination.
The Fat Happy Company
It seems that Rockstar has pretty much established its name and fame with the GTA series for they have been a major revenue booster, even if their other games were to flop drastically, they would still be unaffected covered by their cash cow, GTA. But they needn’t worry, for most of their other endeavors have been reasonable hits if not major blockbusters.
Most of their games are rather old considering their founding date and the fact that the company was at its prime around 2005. So, currently they are financially well off with nothing to worry about and are only working on a single game, taking their own leisurely time to get it completed.
