Grand Theft Auto 2

Revision as of 10:52, 26 April 2008 by gtw>Heliosphan
Grand Theft Auto 2
GTA2 Cover
DeveloperDMA Design/Tarantula Studios
PublisherRockstar Games
Release datesPlayStation

United States Canada 22nd October 1999
United Kingdom Europe 22nd October 1999
Australia New Zealand 22nd October 1999
PC
United States Canada 27th October 1999
United Kingdom Europe 27th October 1999
Australia New Zealand 27th October 1999
Dreamcast
United States Canada 2nd May 2000
United Kingdom Europe 2nd May 2000
Australia New Zealand 2nd May 2000
Game Boy Color
United States Canada 25th December 2000
United Kingdom Europe 25th December 2000
Australia New Zealand 25th December 2000

PlatformPC
PlayStation
Dreamcast
Game Boy Color
Ratings

ESRB: T (PC and Dreamcast: M)
BBFC: 18
USK: 16+
OFLC: MA 15+
OFLC (NZ): R18
SELL: 16

ProtagonistClaude Speed
LocationAnywhere City
Year1999


Overview

Grand Theft Auto 2, or GTA2, is the second major installment in the Grand Theft Auto series. It was released worldwide on October 22nd 1999, by developer Rockstar North (then known as DMA Design), for the PC and PlayStation. Subsequently a version for the Dreamcast console was made available, and later a toned-down version for Game Boy Color.

The PC version of the game is now available for free download [1].

GTA 2 was the first GTA title to adopt early 3D graphics technology present in the Playstation and some PCs. Whilst the gameplay did not shift to the third person perspective, as did GTA III with its full 3D environment, it utilised 3D graphics hardware/software to improve the visual quality.

GTA 2 gameplay was via the top down perspective, as in all GTA 1 titles/expansion packs, but due to the employment of early 3D tech, it exhibited smooth dynamic camera zooming, smooth [sprite] rotation, and lighting effects from street lamps, car headlamps and police car roof lighting.

Gameplay

City

The main character's name is Claude Speed. Action takes place in Anywhere City divided into 3 districts - Commercial, Residental and Industrial. In each of them there are three gangs, whose bosses give you missions via payphones. Districts differs in type of building (Commercial - mainly offices and blocks of flats, Residental has two villages, and Industrial is filled with factories), maximum wanted level (Commercial - SWAT, Residental - FBI, Industrial - Army), gangs and cars.

Respect

Player earns gang respect for killing other gang members (to know which one, player can go to blue phone on gang territory and listen to boss), stealing and destroying their cars, doing missions, failing missions for other gang, or by taking "respect" pickup which is avaliable only in a car crusher.

Missions

There are three levels of mission difficulty: easy, taken from green payphones, medium, from yellow payphones, which pay better but require the player to have some respect, and from red payphones, which pay very well, but usually are very hard, and requires maximum respect. For completing a mission you earn money, respect and a money multiplier. Sometimes during a mission we can be given access to new parts of town, or weapons.

Bonus Arenas

After completing each level player unlocks not only next district, but also one bonus arena. There are 3 kinds of competition, each with 3 arenas. Only one of these can be unlocked by finishing on main level, rest of them are unlocked by finding all GTA2 Tokens hidden all over the map.

There are three competitions: Destroying Ice Cream Vans, racing with killing pedestrians and gang members killing.

Gangs

There are 7 gangs in the game:

  • Zaibatsu Corporation (symbol: yellow 'Z') - They appear in all of the areas and are a seemingly legitimate corporation who manufacture everything from cars and weapons to medication, but beneath the surface they are involved heavily in narcotics, contract-killing and shadowy politics. Their car, called a Z-Type, is the second fastest gang car available. The Zaibatsu is apparently led by at least three leaders, or at least have three executives through whom they organize their criminal activities: Trey Welsh in the Commercial District, Red Valdez in the Residential District, and Uno Carb in the Industrial District. Their gang color is black. Their name comes from zaibatsu, the Japanese word for conglomerate.
  • Loonies (symbol: winking smiley face) - They appear in the first area and they are quite crazy. Their gang car, the Dementia, is a microcar with their mark painted on top and is probably named after their apparent insanity. Their small section of turf is in the vicinity of the city's mental institution, named "SunnySide" after the Mental Institution in Montrose, Scotland, near Dundee, where the game was originally created. Their boss is Elmo. They use surgical green as their gang color.
  • The Yakuza (symbol: blue yen '¥') - They also appear in the first area. They make drugs at the so-called J-Lab, one of their strongest "industries". Their boss is Johnny Zoo. Deep blue is their gang color. And their car is a Miara).
  • SRS (Sex and Reproductive Systems) Scientists (symbol: a golden shield) - They are headquartered in the Residential District, and are a clandestine research institute involved in slightly questionable practices. Their business is advanced weapon development along with cloning, genetic engineering and robotics. Their leader, Dr. LaBrat, is Icelandic, and all of their 'street' members appear to be genetically engineered clone soldiers. Their gang car is called a Meteor and is the fastest gang car available. Their turf is the Scientist Research Center. Their gang color is pale gold.
  • Rednecks (symbol: the Confederate flag) - Led by Billy Bob Bean, they appear in the second area, are rabid fans of Elvis Presley, and specialize in explosives and vehicles. Their business is the brewing, running and selling of moonshine. Their car is a wide pick-up truck. The Rednecks' turf is the trailer park at the northwest of the Residential Area. Their gang color is light blue.
  • Russian Mafia (symbol: a red star) - They appear in the third area and specialize in contract-killing and gun running. Their car is the Bulwark, a station wagon, which is the most durable gang car in the game (capable of surviving one direct hit from a rocket propelled grenade, hand grenade or Molotov cocktail, if the car is in perfect condition). They can be seen in the seaport areas. Jerkov is the name of their boss. They use red as a gang color.
  • Hare Krishna (symbol: an orange flower) - They appear in the third area and their car, the Karma Bus, is a big love bus with flowers painted on its roof. The Krishna's turf is around their temple. Their boss' name is Sunbeam. They use orange as a gang color. This gang also appeared in the first Grand Theft Auto game (called the Gourangas), but were not involved in criminal acts.

Radio stations

Each area features five radio stations from a pool of eleven, in which one of them would be played as the player drives most vehicles in game. Changing radio stations for preference was also possible in the PC version by using the "F1" function key." "Head Radio" was present in the original GTA, Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Each gang also has its own radio station that transmits within a limited area.

  • Head Radio — The city's largest commercial radio station. It can be received in all areas of the game. The DJ's names are Phanny Joe Styles and Johnny Riccaro. Head Radio plays modern pop and rock.
  • Rockstar Radio — A commercial radio station in the Downtown Area. Sammy Starock is the name of the DJ. The station plays pop and rock and occasionally features on-air phone calls from "listeners".
  • KREZ — The Residential Area's commercial station which plays hip hop and rap. The DJ is Richie T.
  • Lo-Fi FM — A commercial station in the Industrial Area that plays oldies and pop. The DJ (DJ Die/Dye — Dai is a Welsh abbreviation for the name 'David') is Welsh and seems to have no ties to gangs in the area.
  • Futuro FM — The Zaibatsu gang's station. It can be received in all three areas. The DJ, Dean Franz, plays dance, jazz-oriented pop and Funk.
  • Funami FM — The Yakuza gang's station in the Downtown Area. The music is drum and bass-type electronic music. The station is hosted by a Japanese man and a frantically screaming Japanese woman (in a varied high-pitch voice) calling herself Teriyaki-chan, whose speech is unintelligible apart from a few random phrases of English.
  • Lithium FM — The Loonies' station. Features a totally insane DJ, Spaz Funbags, as well as some oldies and dance-music.
  • Rebel Radio/KING — The Redneck gang station in the Residential Area. The DJ, Marshall Nash, has a thick Southern accent. The music of choice is modern and classic rock.
  • Osmosis Radio — The Scientists' station, transmitting in the Residential Area. The DJ "Mama Doc", who is Icelandic or Scandinavian, plays modern dance music.
  • Heavenly Radio — The Krishnas' gang station, transmitting in the Industrial Sector. The music is a mix of Jesus-pop and soft music. Listeners are continuously urged by the station's DJ, Venus Ordelia, to convert.
  • KGBH — Radio station of the Russian Mafia with DJ Bombatumba. KGBH frequently encounters both technical and personal problems that interfere with their broadcasts. The station primarily plays classic rock.

Multiplayer

GTA2 was the last PC GTA with built-in multiplayer. It supported up to 6 players and connections via internet, LAN, serial cable or direct modem connection. There are also 3 small multiplayer maps designed for smaller number of players, as well as 3 districts with modified locations of weapons and parked cars.

Playing via internet using only built-in tools is quite difficult. First you need to choose "tcp/ip connection", then enter server IP and you will be able to join only if host is in hosting menu. That's why programs like GTA2 Game Hunter, or GTA2 Gamer were made. They provide one-click joining without entering anybody's IP, chat and some other useful options which makes playing GTA2 online as easy as any other modern game.

GTA2: The Movie

File:GTA2 ClaudeSpeedLiveAction.jpg
The live-action rendition of Claude Speed, played by Scott Maslen, from the opening cinematic of Grand Theft Auto 2

The opening of the game was pieced together from live film-material that was taken from an 8 minute GTA2 short-movie created for the purpose of advertising the game. This movie has since been made available to the public and is downloadable from the game's web-site. This depiction of Claude Speed (the playable protagonist) is somewhat different from his appearance in later (but chronologically earlier) titles as he displays a wide array of emotions and appears to be quite verbal, though since the only audio heard during the movie are music and sound-effects his lines are unintelligable (though the events are easy enough to follow).

Whether the movie can be considered canonical is debatable as it appears to show Claude getting killed at the end (shot by a Zaibatsu hitman while trying to break into a sports car). But in the game(s), Claude would always recover, ready to commit more crimes.

Various scenes of movie were shot in New York City, and also featured a blue-and-white NYPD Chevrolet Caprice police car as a pursuit vehicle. Claude Speed was played by Scott Maslen.