Manhunter: New York
It is set in the (then) futuristic year of 2004, when Earth has been enslaved by a race of aliens known as the Orbs. The Orbs, who look like giant floating eyeballs, have implanted all humans with global tracking devices, forced them to wear nondescript robes and forbid them from speaking or communicating. The protagonist has been assigned by the Orbs to track down fellow humans who are believed to be forming an underground resistance. Over the course of the game, the player discovers that the Orbs are not the benevolent rulers they claim to be; they are actually harvesting humans as a food source. The player then “switches sides” and works to overthrow the Orbs.
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Manhunter: New York is a post-apocalyptic adventure game designed by Barry Murry, Dave Murry and Dee Dee Murry of Evryware and published in 1988 by Sierra On-Line. A sequel, Manhunter 2: San Francisco, was released the next year in 1989. Play Manhunter: New York online!
Manhunter: New York game description
The Earth has been invaded by the Orb Alliance, and a tightly restricted regime instituted for the humans that remain. Brown monk robes are the only garments allowed, speaking is a capital offense, and every human has been implanted with a tracking chip recording their every move. To track down criminals, the Orbs enlist “Manhunters” – humans given access to advanced technology and selected to be a combination of police officers and bounty hunters. The player controls one such Manhunter as he unravels a conspiracy inside the decaying heart of the New York ruins, and a mysterious serial killer on the loose.
Each chapter begins with the Orbs assigning the player’s nameless Manhunter with a crime (such as murder) or target to investigate. The player gains leads through the use of the “MAD” computer, which displays the logs of all civilian movement in an area in an overhead map view. By starting with the victim and following the people who encountered him that day, the player can then go to a first-person investigation view at various New York landmarks to find clues to the suspect’s identity. At the end of the day, the player must report the correct name of their suspect to the Orbs.
Manhunter uses a modified version of Sierra’s AGI interpreter, with a rudimentary point-and-click interface used to locate and uncover clues at the investigation sites. At various times throughout the investigation, the player will also have to directly control the Manhunter in arcade-style challenges, like dodging gang attacks or throwing knives between a bar patron’s fingers.
Play Manhunter: New York online
You can play Manhunter: New York online here, in web browser for free!
