Manhunter: New York
Manhunter: New York was developed by Evryware and published by Sierra On-Line in 1988. Manhunter was initially released for MS-DOS, Apple II, and Apple IIgs, with versions for Macintosh, Amiga, and Atari ST following a year later in 1989. Manhunter was created by three siblings, Dave Murry, Barry Murry, and Dee Dee Murry. The Murrys can be seen in the game admonishing the player for their failures.
Manhunter is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi series. In the year 2004, the Earth has been taken over by Orbs, giant floating eyeballs. You play as the titular Manhunter, one of many people forced to track down other humans for their crimes against the Orbs. You make frequent use of your Orb-issued Manhunter Assignment Device (MAD), a laptop-style computer that helps you track your targets and retrace their steps. The game uses real maps of New York City, and features several landmarks.
Manhunter uses the same Adventure Game Interpreter (AGI) engine that Sierra used for other games, including early entries in the King’s Quest and Space Quest series. Unlike those games, Manhunter primarily uses a first-person perspective. The player character is replaced with a cursor that can be moved around the screen to interact with items. This essentially gives the game an early point-and-click interface, though it was typically controlled with a keyboard rather than a mouse. Manhunter also features a number of “arcade” sequences—challenging action segments the player must complete to progress further in the game.
- Evryware Game Studios
The developer’s web site, still online as of May 2024. - Request Manhunter: New York on GOG
The Manhunter series is not currently sold online. You can ask GOG to add it here. - Manhunter: New York on Wikipedia
- Manhunter 1 on Sierra Gamers
Featuring downloads of the manual, hint book, and maps. - Manhunter is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi series that includes themes of slavery and murder, and some gory visuals.
Part 1 (with a starter of The Colonel’s Bequest)
First up: we check out my new-to-me complete box of The Colonel’s Bequest, and I try to get a new personal best speed run in under 13 minutes. Then around an hour and a half later I start my new Tuesday game: Manhunter: New York. Which I also have the complete box for! I also have news to share about an exciting schedule change for later in the week.
Part 2
It’s time for day 2 of Manhunter: New York! I can’t wait to see what sewage adventures await us.
Part 3
It’s time to learn the meaning of cool! Manhunter: New York continues.