Posted May 07, 2009
Postal 2, like it's predecessor, was a game made specifically to generate headlines. The reasoning being, I suppose, that it's easier to rile up conservative, anti-violent video game types than it is to make an original, innovative game. I suppose it worked for the first game, which sold much more than you would expect a simple top-down shooter to sell.
Postal 2, however, is a FPS; it's main selling points (aside from the graphic violence in it) where silly things like a cameo appearance by Gary Coleman, and the idea that you don't technically have to do anything violent to beat the game (though the denizens of Postal Guy's town do everything in their power to jostle you into, ahem, 'going postal').
The graphics are good for the time, and the sounds are acceptable. You can set people on fire, pee on them, blow their heads off, use the business end of a cat as a silencer...strangely, bodies can't be dismembered other than being decapitated, which normally wouldn't be a big deal but seems like a large omission in a game like this.
All of that stuff is fun for a little while, but it starts to wear thin fast if you've ever played a gore-fest game before. After that, the main thing that keeps the game going is it's sense of humor, which consists mainly of toilet jokes and ethnic stereotypes.
The main thing that really sucked about this game where the loading times. They were ridiculously long when the game came out (and are still uncomfortable on my current machine) and are far, far too frequent. The game didn't do much to alleviate the problem in it's gameplay either; there are points where you will have to cross one of the numerous load points, just to walk up the street a few meters and into another load point, collect an item there and go back through the two loads again, drop the item off and go back AGAIN to do something else! There are times where more time is spent looking at loading screens than actually playing the game. The price of all those pretty graphics I guess, but was it really worth it? No, not in my opinion.
So, there you have it; a game selling itself on it's violence and free form gameplay, while doing neither particularly well. If it weren't for the terrible loading problems, I could recommend this game for a laugh at this price, if you are into silly potty jokes and things like that. As it is, I can only really recommend it for serious fans of the original.
Postal 2, however, is a FPS; it's main selling points (aside from the graphic violence in it) where silly things like a cameo appearance by Gary Coleman, and the idea that you don't technically have to do anything violent to beat the game (though the denizens of Postal Guy's town do everything in their power to jostle you into, ahem, 'going postal').
The graphics are good for the time, and the sounds are acceptable. You can set people on fire, pee on them, blow their heads off, use the business end of a cat as a silencer...strangely, bodies can't be dismembered other than being decapitated, which normally wouldn't be a big deal but seems like a large omission in a game like this.
All of that stuff is fun for a little while, but it starts to wear thin fast if you've ever played a gore-fest game before. After that, the main thing that keeps the game going is it's sense of humor, which consists mainly of toilet jokes and ethnic stereotypes.
The main thing that really sucked about this game where the loading times. They were ridiculously long when the game came out (and are still uncomfortable on my current machine) and are far, far too frequent. The game didn't do much to alleviate the problem in it's gameplay either; there are points where you will have to cross one of the numerous load points, just to walk up the street a few meters and into another load point, collect an item there and go back through the two loads again, drop the item off and go back AGAIN to do something else! There are times where more time is spent looking at loading screens than actually playing the game. The price of all those pretty graphics I guess, but was it really worth it? No, not in my opinion.
So, there you have it; a game selling itself on it's violence and free form gameplay, while doing neither particularly well. If it weren't for the terrible loading problems, I could recommend this game for a laugh at this price, if you are into silly potty jokes and things like that. As it is, I can only really recommend it for serious fans of the original.