6 Take-Two Interactive Games You Forgot Were Awesome

Take-Two Interactive started life as a relatively small developer/publisher, but quickly grew by acquiring several smaller studios, including Rockstar, which proved to be its biggest money-maker. The company rode that success to become one of the gaming world’s biggest players, publishing several major releases each year. However, several games in Take-Two’s long history didn’t get nearly the fanfare of the Grand Theft Autos and Bioshocks of the world. The list below includes games published and developed by Take-Two, while also filtering in a few games made by companies they acquired. That should give a more holistic view of the iconic company.

Here are six Take-Two games you forgot were great.

6) Ripper

Ripper is the only Take-Two Interactive-developed game on this list. That’s largely because its development efforts aren’t nearly as good as what it’s done in the publishing scene, but Ripper is also an excellent FMV game. At least in terms of its cast.

Look, Ripper didn’t redefine genre, though it did include randomized villains to keep things fresh on a second playthrough. That’s a neat addition, but the real draw here is the Hollywood cast. Ripper includes the talents of Christopher Walken, Paul Giamatti, John Rhys-Davies, Burgess Meredith, and many more. Take-Two made two more FMV games, but neither of them can match Ripper‘s star power.

5) All-Pro Football 2K8

Take-Two acquired Visual Concepts right after Madden had been so scared by NFL 2K5‘s quality that it bought the exclusive rights to America’s major football league. You might assume Take-Two would decide to leave football behind, but they gave it one last try with All-Pro Football 2K8, which includes historical players and fake teams.

The move didn’t work commercially, but APF still has some of the best football gameplay of all time. It’s the little things: pocket formation, quarterback movement, running animations. All of that comes together to create gameplay that, in some respects, feels better than modern-day Madden. It’s a shame the franchise mode was so lacking, and we never got a sequel due to poor sales.

4) Rune: Viking Warlord

Human Head Studios’ Rune was originally published by Gathering of the Developers, which Take-Two had acquired about six months before the game’s release. However, the PlayStation 2 port, Rune: Viking Warlord, was directly published by Take-Two, so even if they came in late on the original launch, I think it’s fair to include Rune here.

Rune is a tough-as-nails action-adventure game, with enemies that love to gang up on you. To survive, you need to master Rune‘s weapon selection, learning all of their Rune Powers to give yourself an edge. If you’re feeling particularly mean, you can take those skills into multiplayer against unwitting friends and lop their heads off as they flail around the world. It’s a flawed game, but a fun one.

3) The Darkness 2

The original The Darkness might have a stronger narrative pull than the sequel, but it doesn’t feel as good in motion. The Darkness 2 was developed by Digital Extremes, which is also behind Warframe. If you’ve played that long-running multiplayer game, you’ll know exactly what to expect. The shooting and movement are fluid, and the Demon Arms give combat more than enough variety to keep things interesting.

It’s a shame The Darkness 2 is on the short side and ends on a cliffhanger that’s never been explored, but the moment-to-moment gunplay is exciting enough to get you through. The Darkness 2 is the perfect game to run through in a weekend.

2) Spec Ops: The Line

Spec Ops: The Line from Yager Development is nearly the opposite of The Darkness 2. Don’t get me wrong, the combat in this military shooter isn’t terrible, but the story is the star of the show. Yager’s reboot of the long-running Spec Ops series shows players the horrors of war through protagonist Martin Walker’s slowly collapsing sanity.

It’s a dark game that’s definitely not something everyone is up for, but Spec Ops: The Line is worth your time. Yager isn’t afraid to force the player into morally ambiguous decisions, leaving them feeling hollowed out by their own choices. It’s an effective storytelling technique that makes Spec Ops stand out from the crowd. Just don’t bother looking into that tacked-on multiplayer mode.

1) Prey

Human Head Studios strikes again. The original Prey stars Tommy Tawodi, who has been abducted by aliens. He has to save himself, his girlfriend, and his grandpa in this hard-hitting first-person shooter. Tommy also has Cherokee heritage, which lets him connect with the spiritual world. You can detach his spirit from his body to freely scout the environment and use his connection to resurrect yourself.

On top of that, Prey introduced portals, which share similarities with the portals in Portal, but cannot be created by players. You can still see and shoot through them, but they aren’t quite as useful in Prey. There’s also variable gravity, which helps turn exploration on its head.

On the gameplay and visual front, Prey was a revelation, and we nearly got an even more ambitious sequel from 3D Realms and Human Head. Unfortunately, that never happened, but Bethesda’s 2017 Prey is a great game, even if it barely shares any DNA with the original.

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