Grand Theft Auto 2 Review

Grand Theft Auto 2, the sequel to two earlier GTA titles, has you take the role of a character in the life of crime. You start off as a former prisoner with no job, money, or meaning. You start off at the bottom of the food chain and go up throughout the entire game. Up is of course referring to your criminal rank, your goal is to become the next crime lord of the city.

GTA 2 features three large levels with three gangs in each level. Each gang has a rival gang and by killing members in one gang, your rating with another gang will go up, while the gang which you killed will obviously go down. Gangs range from a mega corporation known as Zaibatsu, whose goal is to control the world through commercialism, to the mobile-home owning, pick-up truck driving red necks. The various gangs are amusing, so are the radio stations, mainly talk-radio.

Obviously, car-jacking is the name of the game, literally. Mobiles range from coupes, roadsters, sedans, cop cars, tanks, and more; a total of over 30 cars are featured. Still, while car-jacking is a key element, the game centers on gang-life, such as drugs, killings, blackmail, corrupt government officials, crime, and ethical decay.

Zaibatsu is the king of all gangs in GTA 2, being featured in all three levels. In this world of deceit, you try to come up with a plan to destabilize things a bit; set gangs against one another by developing hate and anger. Ultimately, it is your choice for which gang(s) you want to work for; you can also double-cross anyone that you want.

The original GTA showed a gritty side of humanity; at the same time, it was unplayable for me, since looking at the screen would make me nauseous. The result of GTA 2 was a game that’s camera angle wasn’t out-of-control, featured a more comedic side to life’s problems, and of course, more weapons, cars, and gangs to deal with.

GTA 2 features cars that have unique characteristics of handling, performance, speed, and braking. The enemies are more intelligent than in the original and the cities have hundreds of streets, parks, buildings, and alleys. GTA 2 is one of my favorite PlayStation games and is highly recommended. It’s length is adequate for its $9.99 price tag.