Postal²

Moby ID: 8952
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

Postal 2 is the sequel to Postal, the gritty, violent, over-the-top game that was the target of almost every politician's speech about violence in video games. Once again, the player takes on the role of Postal Dude, a normal (comparatively normal, anyway) guy living in Paradise, Arizona. The game is composed of a five day week, Monday to Friday, where the player must accomplish various errands. There is no time limit and errands can be done whenever the player feel like it. Errands range from getting a carton of milk (buying it or stealing it, player's choice) to cashing a cheque at the bank (either wait in line or kill everyone, again, player's choice). The game is as violent as you are, meaning the player can go through the majority of the game without killing someone or beating up someone, but can also go through it killing and decapitating every one the player comes across.

For killing needs, the player has a plethora of ways to dispatch people: kick them, urinate on them (making them vomit), shoot them, bash them with a shovel, throw gas on them and set them ablaze, leaving behind a charred corpse, and if the player wants to be stealthy, it is possible to pick up a cat and stick a shotgun into its rear end to use it as a silencer. One of the similarly over the top weapons is a decapitated cow's head filled with anthrax, which will cause everyone in the immediate area to gag, throw up, and eventually die.

The game uses the Unreal Warfare engine, and comes packed with the Warfare editor, allowing the player to create new people, levels, or even entire mods.

Spellings

  • Postal 2 - Alternative spelling
  • 喋血街头2 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

108 People (33 developers, 75 thanks) · View all

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Average score: 56% (based on 33 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.2 out of 5 (based on 91 ratings with 5 reviews)

RWS teaches kids that killing is boring

The Good
Remember in the early 90's when Mortal Kombat came out? It's success spawned tons of knockoffs and clones that suddenly realized what movies had found out a long time ago: In order to sell you don't need guts. You need Blood, and lots of it.

This was the marketing idea that gave birth to the original Postal, an itty-bitty action game that billed itself as the next big thing in ultraviolence. Now, I'm a sucker for bizarre games and a lil' bit of the good 'ol ultraviolence, but while I appreciated the idea of you being a psycho freak gunning down innocent civilians and listening to their cries for mercy in the demo, I never found it to be much entertaining and threw it out the window in no time. Lo and behold, the thing must have sold some copies (or the developers must be really persistent) because a decade later we get a sequel to this uhm.... "cult hit".

Forget the crummy sprites of the original, using the Unreal Warfare engine, the new Postal is a next-gen FPS complete with all the cool polygon-pushing features in today's games. The premise is a little more developed, yet remains the same as in the original: you are the "Postal Dude" (now updated to a black-trenchcoat wearing, white-trash idiot look a-la Columbine's "Trenchcoat Mafia"), and you live with your wife in a trailer on the outskirts of "Paradise, U.S.A." your typical peaceful, backwater, religious and conservative North American smalltown.

Now, instead of just going around shooting people for the fun of it, you are sent out on "missions" given to you by your wife, that involve everyday stuff like returning books or buying stuff at the grocery store. Still this IS Postal 2, and you ARE the Postal dude, so the shit is gonna hit the fan sooner or later, and this is where the main gameplay concept of Postal 2 comes into play: Basically you are in a virtual town, filled with NPCs going about their bussiness around you and stuff happening right next to you. If you want to, you can just stop and take a stroll around the gameworld, see the sights, waste time, etc... But whenever your "missions" trigger some problem you are going to have to defend yourself, or at least find a way out of the mess by shooting the rednecks, policemen, terrorists etc. that come gunning for you.

So far we are in “FPS 101” territory, but Postal 2 wouldn't be Postal 2 if it didn’t add the kind of twisted and downright sick details it’s known for. This include the arsenal of weapons that includes the usual shotgun/machinegun/pistol combo as well as more exotic additions such as a can of gas and matches (hmm! Crispy!), a taser, a cow head filled with anthrax (yep, you read that right) and the ability to do things like urinating on other people and yelling around so as to make them get down to their knees and beg for mercy. And this is what gives Postal 2 it’s edge and what allows you to unleash your most pathetically repressed urges such as knocking someone senseless with a shovel until they start crying and barfing, make them get on their knees and beg for their life only to stun them with your taser, watch as they pee on themselves from the shock, douse them with gas and burn them alive, and finally put the fire out with your own urine.

Sure, you can just shoot them, but where’s the fun in that? At least take their heads off and kick them around like a ball! I know you might argue that none of it is “fun” but the retarded, mad-at-the-world, poorly-endowed freaks that get a hard-on with this kind of stupidity sure do, and they did pull some occasional laughs from me and my friends so as to warrant their inclusion here.

The other element in play here is the gameworld itself which parodies most of the elements in US. pop culture, kind of like an interactive South Park, filled with offensive references to practically everything (my favorite being the group of gay gamers picketing the entrance of Running With Scissors’s offices with signs that read “We want games with stories!” “No more violence”, etc. etc.... Har-Har! I know some geeks like that). Plenty of funny stuff if you appreciate that kind of humor.

And if that doesn’t sound like enough for you how about throwing in Gary Fricking Coleman?? That’s right! He’s actually in the game!! The little bastard must be really pressed for cash to do something like this, but what the hell… as long as it adds to the game!

The Bad
I’m not going to make a statement as to how bad or good all this violence is and how amoral this stuff is as it’s totally pointless (not to mention a complete hypocrisy as the people who condemn this sort of material are the first ones to rally behind wars, capital punishments, and whatever criminal behavior suits their needs), if you are the kind of people that gets this kind of stuff, good. If not, get your oversensitive ass out of here. As for me? I know how to enjoy being a virtual killer for what it is, and I have the common sense so as to “take the gloves” off after playing and leaving the whole thing behind the monitor’s screen. If you can’t do that without going psychotic then that’s your problem.

Now, as for real problems with Postal 2 we have that it’s not much of a game really. Basically you raise some hell following your “objectives” and as you make more and more trouble, a police-meter (lifted right out of GTA) will rise, and the cops will start hunting you down, which means you better hide and cover until it’s safe to go back out there and tackle the next objective, and thus the world of Postal 2 goes around. As the game progresses more and more factions start to gang up against you (be it the angry gamers, or the cultists, or the taliban, or the rednecks or whatever) and thus it starts to get harder and harder to get around without getting shot on sight. And basically that’s it… A Psycho sand-box simulator, in which there’s nothing to do except kill people… Believe me when I tell you that it gets boring real fast, no matter how many “creative” ways you find to exploit the ragdoll physics and violent features in the game. I guess for what it’s worth Postal 2 leaves you with a nice moral, and that’s that senseless killing is boring as hell.

Worse still, the game really missed the opportunity to become the digital equivalent of South Park, as that show in particular showcased how you can combine shock tactics with social criticism effectively, however Postal 2 in the end doesn’t make a case for anything, offers no witty sarcastic critique or ideas behind it leaving you just with violence for violence’s sake. And if that’s what the developers were going for then ok, but there are titles like Serious Sam that do the brainless stress-reliever –thing much better than Postal 2.

Plus it takes ages to load, the AI is retarded and there’s no area damage save for the head (WTF? If ever a game needed dismemberment it’s this one!).

The Bottom Line
Earns points for including some downright disturbing stuff, lots of politically incorrect humor and adding Gary Coleman to the game. But like a joke without a punch-line, Postal 2 is devoid of any purpose or point, this doesn’t mean that I punish the game for not having a story, but even minesweeper offers something for you to aim for. Postal 2 is just about venting whatever aggressive behavior you might have deep inside you, and I guess if that’s your ticket you are bound to get some enjoyment out of it, however if you are serious about that there are much better titles that offer a longer lasting experience and better gameplay with the only value left out of the game being the laughs you can pull out of your friends while saying "Dude... You'll gotta see the stuff this game does!! Uh-Uh-Uh.... Coool!!".

And for the religious anal-retentive folks out there: Last time I checked the game wasn't being distributed for free at orphanages. This is an adult product for adults, and we are all adults here.... right??

Windows · by Zovni (10504) · 2004

I regret nothing

The Good
You think GTA was bad? Think again. Postal itself is a series of dubious quality, sometimes hit and miss, but often has some unique features to make them differ, yet all games are meant to be boundary pushing, politically incorrect, tongue-in-cheek and explicit. Postal II is such a game, and most of all - it's possibly the most controversial of the bunch.

The game's premise is quite unique. Over a course of 5 'days', you must complete errands to progress. Sometimes you just wanna get it done and over with, or maybe you just wanna cause some anarchy. The game's freedom is mightily impressive, and it shows in the progressively open world that is Paradise, which behaves like South Park in a sense. Things get stranger and stranger, until it all culminates in one hell of an ending. You truly do have a lot of freedom to do insane and bizzare things yourself. You can slaughter the populace with guns, shovels and rockets, use cats as gun silencers, smoke crack for health and piss on people (literally). Some of this is quite entertaining, and can be really funny to boot.

The game's writing is also really funny, but it isn't for everyone. Pretty much what the Postal Dude says is pretty witty, and it's kinda tempting to root for him in a world where everything is batshit insane, though he's still reprehensible in his own right. Of course, it's also in bad taste, but it's funny and there were a couple lines or moments that were gutbusting.

The Bad
Again, the game is in bad taste...and in bad quality. Postal II is violent, vulgar, disgusting, horrific, juvenile and scatological. Racist stereotypes are abound, piss and shit are used for comic effect, the amount of violence and sexual humor, drug use as a gameplay element and occasional animal cruelty. It also has ugly graphics and a disjointed visual style.

No, seriously. The game is ugly in content and graphics. The game looks very dated, especially when the Unreal II engine was used for stronger and more capable games. Character models are jerky, sometimes lazily or sloppily (maybe amusingly) put together. Gun models look broken and cartoonish, and the blood effects look less brutal and more cartoony. Controls were also piss simple and sometimes didn't register, the AI was comically simple and were barely dynamic, and the original version had annoyingly long loading times that were fortunately patched up in Share the Pain, which had a pretty lame multiplayer mode.



The Bottom Line
Postal II is one of those games where it's so bad, it's actually pretty frickin' good. It's one of my guilty pleasures, and while it's not extremely vulgar as many made it out to be, it's still in bad taste nonetheless. If you get easily offended, grossed out, or think that video games are satanic or sexist or racist shit, don't play this game at all.

If it makes things better, the game is meant to be offensive on purpose. Unless if that makes things worse, then uh...eh, whatever.

Windows · by Tony Denis (494) · 2016

Don't judge the game yet...there's fun to be had!

The Good
This game is FUN. Its not fun as in I have to complete this next mission to see where the story goes, its not fun as in I have to show off these graphics to my friends, its fun because you can run around and cause havoc in this town. There is a huge variety of weapons to use, and the unreal engine provides adequate environments to use them. Everything can be blown up, and cars especially go flying up into the air and land with a gratifying crash after a good explosion. Some missions can be tackled from a number of different perspectives. Example: In one mission you must infiltrate the police headquarters to obtain something, I can't recall what. One way is to use a police outfit to fit in with the other officers and just waltz right up and take it. Another is to go in guns blazing. Another way is to take some "catnip" that slows down time, thus allowing you to run by all the officers, grab it, and run out. Or there is another way, I sat on the roof of the police station, found a skylight window, and lobbed grenades, molotov cocktails, and gasoline into the headquarters until there was no one left to stop me!
The game has a...distinct...sense of humor as well. Gary Coleman makes an appearance if that gives you any idea as to the basic scope of the game.

The Bad
The AI is this game is legally retarded. Basically the people in the game just stand and shoot at you until they are dead. Occaisionally they will run for cover, but most often not. The graphics are also quite lame, weak textures with low poly models most of the time.
The biggest detractor from this game is the load times. LOOOOOONG. Moving from one section of the city to the next can take forever as the level has to load ala Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Also if you don't appreciate this kind of humor, you may be very offended by the game.

The Bottom Line
Postal 2 gets a lot of bad press because of its content and tongue in cheek attitude. You play the Postal Dude, you live in a trailer, and throughout the game you are trying to go about your business (ie picking up a pay check, getting grocceries, etc.). Eventually you get into some pretty hairy situations that require the use of bazookas and flamethrowers...must've been a pretty bad week eh? Its a first person shooter based on the Unreal engine, although it is not optimized very well. It is fairly open ended, you have a whole town to walk around in and cause mayhem, although bits of it are locked and must be opened up at later levels. Its a very politcally incorrect game. You can pee on people and yourself, douse people in gasoline, use a cat as a silencer, at smoke a "magic pipe" that somehow heals you temporarily. You can kill a whole marching band and shoot up a circus. But it's fun!

Windows · by MojoHelperMonkey (39) · 2005

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Recommended? Indra was here (20756) Jun 8, 2011

Trivia

Banned in New Zealand as of November 24, 2004.

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Related Games

Postal²: Share the Pain
Released 2003 on Windows, 2004 on Macintosh, 2005 on Linux
Postal²: Complete
Released 2009 on Windows, Linux, 2012 on Macintosh
Postal Plus
Released 2001 on Windows, Linux, 2013 on Macintosh
Postal²: Apocalypse Weekend
Released 2004 on Windows, Linux, 2005 on Macintosh
Postal: Fudge Pack
Released 2006 on Linux, Windows, Macintosh
Postal²: Paradise Lost
Released 2015 on Windows, Macintosh, Linux
Postal²: Shtopor Zhzh0t!
Released 2005 on Windows
Postal: 10th Anniversary Collectors Edition
Released 2006 on Windows, Linux, Macintosh
NBA Street Vol. 2
Released 2003 on PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by JPaterson.

Linux added by LepricahnsGold. Macintosh added by Jeanne.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Katakis | カタキス, Sciere, Kabushi, Solid Flamingo.

Game added April 17, 2003. Last modified January 18, 2024.