A second and slightly better version of everybody's favorite top-down shooter, like the first [I]GTA[/I] you are let loose in a city to cause mayhem and destruction, not to mention get to the top of the crime-power system in the city. In this game corruption and violence is everywhere, but if that's what you like, there is a lot of fun to be had.
In brief words, [I]GTA 2[/I] is a top-down shooter / driving game. Your main goal through the game is to rise through the ranks of the criminal underworld, which you attempt to achieve by stealing cars, running narcotics, performing hits, kidnappings, and other criminal acts. You have to choose sides with one of the predominant gangs, and help them out in what ever way you can.
Since the game is so similar to its little brother [I]GTA[/I], I'm gonna write a little about the improvements that have been done to the game. The first thing you will notice is that the graphics have been slightly improved, also that you can run the game in a higher resolution is a big advantage because it enables you to view a bigger area of the city, just like [I]Command & Conquer: Red Alert[/I] improved [I]C&C[/I]. This is quite handy when going really fast on a speed bike. One of the next things you are going to notice is that you have a life bar, so this time you can actually take some punishment. One of the next big improvements is in the game's size. More work has been put into creating the city you run amok in; in [I]GTA 2[/I], there are three rival gangs in the city and there is a structure to the missions. The equipment is the same for each of the gangs; the only thing that makes them differ is the colour of their clothes and the car that they drive. Each of the three gangs have a set of payphones that you can get your jobs from. The only catch is that if you perform jobs for one gang the others are not going to like you and if you are in a gang's bad grace, don't count on driving through their turf without getting one or two bullet holes in your windscreen, or a bat imprint in your forehead if you are unlucky enough to be on foot when in their turf. There are three bars visible at all times where you can see how much each gang either loves or hates you.
Altogether, the general playing experience has not improved drastically. The gameplay itself is still exactly the same; that also goes for all the small flaws in the game, unfortunately. Missions are a little bit harder, sometimes to the point of frustration, but don't worry, there is still a lot of fun to be had just running amok in your tank (if you are lucky enough to find it) and blow up all three gangs and the city cops, not to mention the old ladies and, and, and.....
Multiplayer is really one of the best aspects of [I]GTA 2[/I], there is so much fun to be had trying to either run over or shoot one of your friends in the head with a rocket launcher, whilst striving to be the first to reach a certain pre-decided number of points or kill ratings. The game is up to a maximum of eight players (I think, but I'm not entirely sure).
The final verdict is that the game is still entirely addictive, but only for short bursts of time. Multiplayer will greatly prolong the time you would like to spend with [I]GTA 2[/i]. If you liked [I]GTA[/I], you are going to love this. If you don't know [I]GTA[/I], you are going to love this. If you don't like either of these two games , congratulations! You are now officially apart of a 1% minority group. This game is almost straight A's!
Written by:
~ShadowUser
