Manhunter: New York

Overview

Manhunter: New York is a 1988 adventure game, developed using Sierra Entertainment's Adventure Game Interpreter tool. However, unlike the majority of Sierra's other adventure games from the period, it does not use a text parser. Instead, it uses a point-and-click interface and a first-person viewpoint. The distinctively gritty visual art style for the time, alongside the unique interface and the in-game inclusion of several real-life locations from New York, helped to distance Manhunter from the rest of Sierra's catalogue, which up until then had been extremely family friendly, with titles such as the King's Quest series.

The game does not include any pre-recorded dialogue, but relies upon text bubbles to convey important all plot-critical information. The major gameplay mechanics involve tracking down individuals in New York by locating their addresses across the city. Although point-and-click, Manhunter does not actually use a mouse; the cursor is moved across the screen using the keyboard directional arrows. If the player has access to a mouse, it is only used to demonstrate the current location of the cursor, rather than move.

A sequel, Manhunter 2: San Francisco, was released in 1989.

Story

Set in (the then futuristic) year 2004, the Earth has been invaded by a race of aliens known as the Orbs. These aliens appear as enormous floating eyes, and observe the humans during their daily lives. The Orbs have also implanted every human with a tracking device and complex monitoring equipment, dressed them in regimental uniforms and forbidden all forms of speech or communication. The populace have been enslaved into believing the Orbs are actually their benevolent leaders, and have no knowledge of their previous lives. The protagonist has been tasked by the Orbs to infiltrate and destroy a group of humans who are believed to be attempting to form an underground resistance movement.

During the game, the protagonist witnesses the true evil of the Orbs regime, in that they are actually slowly harvesting the entire human race as a source of food (similar to the plot of the film Soylent Green). After discovering the truth, the protagonist joins with the resistance and tries to overthrow the Orbs by force.