Grand Theft Auto 2

So-called sequel to "Grand Theft Auto" is fun, but this game is full of enhancements to the original game and that is not necessarily good. There are more missions, more gangs, more weapons, and more cops. The soundtrack is sillier than ever. The Atari 2600-like graphics are only a slight improvement, if not better. The foul language has been toned down a little. Like the previous game, the camera angle looks straight down on the action. The only good thing about this game is that you get complete freedom to do what you want when you want to. As a criminal, you can manipulate gangs by turning them against one another, work for any gang that you feel like working for (as long as you have enough respect that one gang), steal fancy cars and go on a killing spree using heavy artillery. If you love the first game then give "GTA2" a shot but don't expect to see much improvement. My evaluation: 6 out of 10.

You are an independent crook in a corrupt city. You can work for any of the three gangs but first you must get respect – by either carrying out minor jobs for them or by inflicting damage on one of the other gangs. Each job pays big but also bring you to the attention of the law. Alternatively you can start a one man crime wave and steal cars, run down people, shoot gang members, the public and cops.

I bought this game cheap for PC, years after all the controversy raged. Personally I am not going to go out and commit crimes simply because a game with an overhead view allows me to do it – that is a game and this is real life…..just cause I still play video games as an adult doesn't mean I'm a child!

Outside of the controversy this is an enjoyable game. The basics get a bit samey but are still entertaining. Most jobs involve stealing cars, pick up this, pick up that etc but it is all still enjoyable. The jobs increase in difficulty and depending on how some of the gangs feel towards you can become more difficult. For example when a gang hates you but they're armed with pistols then no problem, but when they've got machine guns etc then just driving past a crowd could find your important vehicle destroyed.

With the mission difficulty increasing so does the problem the police pose. In the first level the basic police presence will be added to by SWAT teams unless you lay low for a moment to let the heat die down. In later stages you get ruthless special agents (who WILL kill you instead of arresting you) or in the final stage, martial law is declared and it's impossible to avoid the military for long – literally every street is full of soldiers and tanks.

The driving/walking game play is quite fun – even if the view makes for confusing controls until you get the hang of it. My main problem with it is that it gets quite samey for a while so I'd rather be able to pick it up for short times. However to save a game you must get back to the `church' (a job in itself if you don't have maps) and then it costs you money to save – setting you back in terms of progressing further into the game. This is a down side as it means anything you do needs to be save continuously as you go.

Overall a good game – looks a little basic but if you want to play then you can go through the missions – or if you want to destroy and go nuts then you can do that too!

Rated M for Violence and Language.

The Grand Theft Auto series is my all time favorite video game series.Its the almost perfect game series.You can do almost anything in the games.It is a very controversial and excellent video game series.It was really Grand Theft Auto 3 that caused GTA to be a really famous video game series.I got Grand Theft Auto 2 cheap from EB games a couple of years ago.The game is very fun and good especially for its time.For its cheap price the game is excellent.Unlike after Grand Theft Auto 3 the pre-GTA3 games don't have a real story to it.There are three gangs in each city(there are three cities).Each gang has different cars and different missions.Doing a mission for one gang or killing members of a rival gang will bring your gang points.When you get high gang points you can do missions that you could not do when you had low points.If you have really low gang points the gang will start trying to kill you.You don't need to complete missions to play the game.You need to get a certain amount of money.GTA2 is a fun game and if you can find it get it.

9/10

So Much better than GTA 1, Faster Cars, A Really Cool Gang System, Better Graphics, and the Controls While still Clunky, are much more fitting to the newer GTA Titles for example Triangle is to get into a vehicle now while in GTA 1 it was Square. They're Still Flaws, For example No In-game Map, A Wonky Health system (But hey at least you have health this time). and lastly even thought the controls better than in GTA 1 it still takes time to get used to. Overall I give this game an 8/10. Its far from perfect and could use some touching up, But hell I would much rather play this game instead of GTA 1 Any day.

Ok, I will never, EVER imitate what happens in this action/driving game, but I have never been more tempted to speed a red light, steal a cop car or run over pedestrians for a laugh than after I've played GTA2. Personally, I think that this game is the perfect way to relax after being stuck in a traffic jam for hours on end, as it lets you do anything you shouldn't and get away with it...if you can lose the increasing number of cops that give chase!

GTA2 hasn't attracted as much media attention as its prequel, which just goes to show that GTA was the scapegoat of the games industry when it came out. What we have left is an addictive, long lasting and above all, FUN driving game where you have to gain respect from rival gangs, each of whom have a mortal enemy. Taking on jobs from one will affect how you play the game. For example, completing a mission for one gang will get you respect from that gang, but you'll lose respect from that gang's mortal enemy, and thusly not be offered any jobs (and driving through their neighbourhood would be a bad move).

The piéce de resistance are the massive cities that you race around. What makes the game so good is how busy and realistic they are, with hospitals, restaurants, police stations, sewage plants etc. etc. They are nothing if not believable. There are over 120 vehicles in the game (according to the blurb on the back of the box) each with their own handling, and with a quick visit to a garage you can add machine guns to the sides or arm it with a bomb. Some of them have special features like taxies which will attract paying civilians and tanks which roll right over SWAT vans and fire shells at your persuerers. Sometimes the chaos is awe inspiring, as the flames light up the screen.

Each 'job' is fun and hilarious, and they increase with difficulty throughout the game. The later missions will definately increase the lastabilty of what could have been a "one week" game. In one such mission, the Russian mafia requires food for it's members. The boss tells you to steal a bus and collect passengers. When you have enough, you take the loaded bus to the meat factory, where behind closed doors you hear the screeches of the "livestock" as they become fresh hot-dogs. Using a hot-dog van (naturally) you drop off the 'dogs at a resturant. Mission Complete! While guys like me love this kind of humour, some may find it not quite to their liking, and belive me, that was one of the tamer missions.

The only bad point about this game is that it costs points/money to save your game, so you don't really want to unless you've done 2-3 jobs in a row. This becomes repetitive if you don't have the time to do so. Other than that, make sure you don't lose the all-important map or you'll get lost very quickly!

I'd recommend GTA2 to anyone who has an unhealthy sense of humour and thinks that's it's better to kill in games than in real life. 9/10