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
