Rockstar Games is responsible for makingsome of the most iconic franchises in video game history. The company built a reputation for making mature games, usually with a focus on playing a criminal or being part of the criminal underworld.
However,even a titan like Rockstar Games can have a few misses. Unfortunately, those misses have often meant that some huge and popular franchises have been left in the dust over time.
10 Best Grand Theft Auto Games, Ranked
Over two and a half decades later, Grand Theft Auto remains one of the biggest franchises in gaming.
I was of a certain age when Rockstar started pumping out its mature-rated games, so I always felt like I was the cool kid when I rented one of its games (through my parents, of course) at the local Family Video. Even in those days, however, I could tell some of their games were a bit more innovative than others.
Now, let’s take a look at theRockstar Games titles that really made an impactand how they rank against each other.
To rank these games, I focused on the title’s critical review, its commercial success and player feedback, and its impact on Rockstar’s developmental history. Certain titles, like ported games or expansions, are not included. In addition, Beaterator is not listed because it is a music mixer, not a game.
22Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis
Out of Left Field
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis
Table tennis? From Rockstar Games?
Yup. Back in 2006, Rockstar shocked its fans by releasing a game that did not match at all with its identity. Up until that point, the studio had been known for making mature games.
The complete switch surprised a lot of people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad game.The reason for its low ranking is that most Rockstar fans are unlikely to pick this one up. Not unless they’re big fans of table tennis, anyway.
Now, despite the strange choice to make this game, it’s actually pretty good. At the time of its release, critics fell in love with the smooth animation and realistic physics that the team developed for it.
In fact, even though the game may be a strange choicewhen compared to the rest of Rockstar’s portfolio, it actually helped hone their animation and physics skills. These skills would later come into play with some of Rockstar’s other huge titles like Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto.
21Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Big Map, Uninspiring Characters, Balance Problems
Midnight Club: Los Angeles
Midnight Club: Los Angeles proved thata bigger map doesn’t always mean success. Rockstar clearly put a lot of love into certain elements of the street racing game, but it lost focus on what makes a game interesting–the characters involved.
Admittedly, the Midnight Club games have never had a really strong narrative with memorable characters, but in the other games, at the very least, the characters that the player interacted with felt real. The characters in Midnight Club: Los Angeles feel way too much like caricatures—and harmful ones, at that.
It’s like Rockstar put all their focus on developing a large world and offering even more customization options for vehicles, and then didn’t have anything left in the tank for anything else. The studio also seemed a bit lazy when designing the difficulty of the races.
There are some races that you can just blast right through no problemagainst racers who should have been a lot more challenging, with the opposite also holding true. The unbalanced difficulty isn’t fun and becomes a real point of frustration.
Considering that this is the 4th game in the series, Rockstar shouldn’t have been having those problems.
20Manhunt 2
Edgier Gameplay, Rough Voices, And Outdated Graphics
Rockstar has a reputation for making some pretty controversial games, and one of the early titles to cause quite a stir was Manhunt 2. Many government officials and bodies were already upset about the first Manhunt game, but the sequel really put them in a tizzy.
That’s because Manhunt 2 had even more extreme violence and a far more twisted storyline than the original. Now,just because something is controversial and edgy and shocking doesn’t automatically mean that it’s good.
Unfortunately, that’s the case with Manhunt 2. While it had a lot going for it, the game just couldn’t survive its poor voice acting or graphics.
I remember being completely taken out of the experience by the voice acting. It was practically laughable.
The graphics are also extremely outdated, especially for their time, and there was really no reason for it.The poor reception of the game has kept Rockstar from making another Manhunt game, which is a pityconsidering just how much buzz the series caused during its glory days.
19Smuggler’s Run II: Hostile Territory
The Same Game Repackaged
Smuggler’s Run 2: Hostile Territory
Smuggler’s Run II: Hostile Territory is a great game if you enjoyed Smuggler’s Run. It’s a terrible game if you did not enjoy it.
That’s becauseSmuggler’s Run II is basically Smuggler’s Run with better graphics. It’s the same gameplay but with slightly tougher enemies.
Unfortunately, because it didn’t really do much to push the franchise forward, it sort of fell flat on its face. There’s a reason Rockstar hasn’t made a new Smuggler’s Run in some time.
The performance for this game was just a bit underwhelming. That said,players can still experience some elements of Smuggler’s Run through updates with Grand Theft Auto Online, which sometimes brings in mechanics or vehicles made famous by the series.
Honestly, if you want to play Smuggler’s Run but have slightly better graphics, then the sequel is worth picking up. Otherwise, Smuggler’s Run II is pretty forgettable.
18Midnight Club III: Dub Edition
Pretty Veneer Not Much Substance
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
Midnight Club III: Dub Edition marked a big difference from the previous Midnight Club games.It was the first time that Rockstar used actual licensed cars.
It also partnered with DUB Magazine, hence the title. Now, while racing around and winning actual cars is certainly fun, there wasn’t quite as much innovation with this title as compared to Midnight Club II, for example.
There were a handful of new racing modes, including circuit mode. The game also had a bit more of a story, with the player interacting with certain racers who take them to different cities (San Diego, Atlanta, and Detroit), but it wasn’t a huge or monumental change.
The majority of reviews for this game were average, and that really sums up the game as a whole. It’s not a bad game by any means, but compared to Midnight Club II and the original,Midnight III: Dub Edition felt very much like a third wheel.
17Grand Theft Auto II
New Gameplay Meets Poor Graphics
Grand Theft Auto 2
Grand Theft Auto II marked a pivotal moment for Rockstar, and it’s largely responsible for the Grand Theft Auto games that we know today. When it was released,the game didn’t do as well as the original.
It was still a commercial success, but it didn’t garner the same critical reception. The main problem that a lot of players and critics had with it was thatthe graphics hadn’t been improved at all.
Now, Rockstar did add more to the game, with the player being able to do other jobs while driving and crashing cars around the city. They even had different types of enemies, with the player facing off against the police, the FBI, and even rival gang members.
There was even a bit more interaction with the world, with gang members teaming up to fight law enforcement and causing other kinds of chaos. However, despite these additions, the game didn’t seem impressive.
Rockstar learned a lot from this reception, which is likely what prompted the studio to change the gameplay experience completely.All those changes would eventually lead to Grand Theft Auto IIIand lay the foundation for the GTA franchise as most players know it today.
16Midnight Club II
International City Racing
Midnight Club 2
Of all the Midnight Club titles, I’ve always felt that Midnight Club II was the pinnacle. Rockstar built on the strong foundation that the original game had set, introducing new cities for players to race in, withfamiliar landmarks that made driving around Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo feel familiar.
Let’s be honest, half the fun of a game that uses real-world locations is visiting known landmarks.
The title also introduced the ability to race with motorcycles, which increased the number of vehicles that players could race and win. Another interesting development was the game’s introduction of checkpoint races.
I remember very vividly (mostly due to frustration) memorizing certain routes to beat racers who had far superior cars to my own to beat them. Players can reach those checkpoints however they wish, with the winner reaching all the checkpoints, then returning to the finish line first.
With the release of this title, Rockstar proved it had a firm grip on the seedy underworld of street racing.
15Smuggler’s Run
The PlayStation 2 Flagship
Smuggler’s Run
Han Solo heavily inspired me in my youth, so I thought smuggling and being a rogue in space was just super cool. If you were similar, then Smuggler’s Run was probably a dream come true for you, too.
Rockstar leaned into its preference for telling criminal stories once morewith this title, which had the player driving many different vehicles through three types of environments to smuggle contraband. As expected, there are a number of enemies who want to keep you from doing your job.
Police, border control, and even rival smugglers are all after you, which honestly made this game so much fun. The chases always felt fresh, even after driving through the same environment several times.
I always prepared for my runs by playing the Joyriding mode, which allowed me to learn the most efficient paths before doing a mission.
This game was also a flagship title for the release of the PlayStation 2, and many critics thought it didan excellent job of showcasing the console’s power and capabilities. Smuggler’s Run was so popular that it even inspired a sequel, although Rockstar hasn’t returned to the series in a long time.
14Midnight Club: Street Racing
The Birth of Rockstar Street Racing
Midnight Club: Street Racing
There’s no question that Midnight Club was a successful franchise for Rockstar Games. It all began in 2000 with the release ofMidnight Club: Street Racing.
The game was also one ofthe flagship titles for the release of the PlayStation 2. I was in my early days of gaming then, and I remember finding the idea of racing around a city in a public transit bus to be hilarious.
In fact, public transit cars, like taxis, are the first cars that players race, with the intention of winning better cars in the process. Rockstar wanted to put its signature on the racing genre, so it createdan open-world environment where players could cruise around and accept racesas they came across them.
This marked a significant change from most racing games, which focused on circuit environments. The switch was so successful that Rockstar would go on to make several sequels.
13Grand Theft Auto
The First Real Hit
Grand Theft Auto
Way back in the day, Rockstar’s various development studios weren’t always known as Rockstar Games. In fact, Rockstar North, which was the team behind Grand Theft Auto, was actually known as DMA Design.Big yawn on that name.
At this point in the company’s history, they had ported a few games for other companies, butthey had yet to establish themselves as a major game development company. That all changed with the release ofGrand Theft Auto.
Now, looking at this game, it’s insane how much the franchise has changed over the years, but there are definitely some early roots in the original that have remained present in the more recent games. For example,even in 1997, Rockstar was focusing on making open-world games, even though Grand Theft Auto was a top-down game.
It also revolved around crime, with the player having to prove they were the best at what they do by stealing cars and escaping the police. The classic “Busted” stamp appeared here and has remained a staple in all the games since.
Although the game wasn’t reviewed well, it was a huge commercial success and put Rockstar on the map.
