Grand Theft Auto 2

aka: GTA 2
Moby ID: 1097
PlayStation Specs
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Description official descriptions

Lie, cheat, and steal your way through three districts of a huge city in the follow-up to Grand Theft Auto. Earn the respect of 7 different gangs as you demolish the town in your attempt to make lots of cash.

The game takes place at an undisclosed time in the near future. Unlike the first game which featured three different cities, Grand Theft Auto 2 only features a single town, but it's divided in three districts which are unlocked one at a time: downtown, residential and industrial. Like in the original the player goes around answering phones to initiate various missions. The game uses an overhead camera in a 3D landscape and allows the player to freely explore the city and steal any vehicle the player sets his or her eyes on. To unlock new districts the player must reach a certain score which is done by committing crimes and finishing missions.

Because the game now features multiple criminal gangs, the player must choose allegiances. Performing missions for one gang, will decrease the player's reputation for another. When the player commits crimes he also becomes wanted by the local police, but as more crimes are committed without shaking the police, they will give way for first SWAT Teams, then Special Agents and finally the army.

New features include the ability to save at the church, when donating enough money, and various side missions, such as becoming a taxi driver to ear money. There are also many new cars with weapons attached such as a firetruck with a flamethrower and a car with machine guns.

On the PC version the player can change the time of day from noon to dusk to allow for more moody lighting. On the PlayStation the game can only be played at noon, and on the Dreamcast only at dusk.

Spellings

  • GTA 2 Беспредел - Russian spelling
  • 侠盗车手2 - Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 俠盜獵車手 2 - Traditional Chinese spelling

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Credits (PlayStation version)

173 People (158 developers, 15 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 76% (based on 54 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.5 out of 5 (based on 194 ratings with 7 reviews)

Just like the original, but even better

The Good
Grand Theft Auto 2 is the sequel to DMA Design's 1997 hit, and it is even better. For those who haven't played the original, you control one of several protagonists and go on many exciting missions to earn money. You can also have the option of participating in a high-speed police chase, go on a killing spree, and much more. The graphics and sound were amazing at the time, and there is plenty of replayability there as well. It was so successful at the time that players demanded more, and DMA delivered two years later.

In regards to GTA2, the developers took what made GTA great and expanded on it. The sequel features more advanced AI and more missions. If you commit enough crimes, not only are the police involved, but SWAT teams, secret agents, and the military. The game also introduces gangs who you do missions for (with the Zaibatsu commonplace). If you successfully complete a mission for a certain gang, you'll gain a higher respect for them but your respect for their rivals also decreases. I like the way they start shooting at you repeatedly if you drive around a gang's territory while you have low respect for them.

The higher your respect is with the gang, the more missions that you gain from them. Missions are split into three categories: green, yellow, and red. Green missions can be accomplished easily enough, but red missions are far more challenging, especially if they involve you driving into a territory of a gang whom you have lower respect.

There are thieves to look out for, including muggers and car thieves. Stand in an area for too long and you will get mugged. When I am playing the game, I'l let them mug me the way they do normal pedestrians, but as they walk away, I'll execute them in front of other people.

There are new radio stations to listen to, and there are a couple of DJs that I enjoyed listening to. Out of all of them, I enjoyed listening to Dean Frantz because at least I can relate to him, especially when he mentions the cops. I am glad that the developers chose to remove the option that allows you to turn on constant ratio. It didn't make any sense in the last game to be listening to radio stations while you were out walking around.

GTA2 provides a day and night setting. Some of the missions require you to blow up things, and the resulting explosions look spectacular at night, as do the buildings that have their signs lit up. There are several weapons that you can use on your enemies that cause these types of explosions. Two of my favorites include the flamethrower. Once you set people alight, they scream and run in the opposite direction. But that is nothing compared to the rocket launcher. If you use it too close to your target, you'll end up flying through the air and come back down hard on the ground.

Another thing I must point out is the nice save feature, where you can enter a church to save the game, as long as you get at least $50,000 and are not on a mission. This save feature is a step away from the draconian save method in the previous game, where you are limited to saving in between cities.

Cheat codes can be entered into the game if you keep failing the missions. The cheat codes include invincibility, maximum cash, full ammo for all weapons, and more. There are a few cheat codes that alter the game mechanics. I like using the one that involves all pedestrians turning into thieves. No matter where you go, you hear them fighting, and one of them has a go at you if you get too close to the action. Another cheat involves turning vehicles into the game into mini-cars. When you use this cheat, you can also listen to different radio stations in “chipmunk speed”.

The Bad
If I have to say anything negative about this game, it would have to be the fact that the aforementioned $50,000 requirement for saving games is a little bit hefty, and should have been much less. With this requirement, you need to successfully complete at least two missions, and then you can then save in-between each mission if you want. I am glad that the money requirement is left out for GTAIII and onwards.

The Bottom Line
In conclusion, Grand Theft Auto 2 is a much better game than its predecessor as the game mechanics are much better. There are new radio stations you can listen to while you are driving around, and also thieves and gangs to deal with. As I said earlier, completing missions for a certain gang earns you a higher respect with them, but lower respect with their rivals. As a result, the rivals will deal with you the moment you enter their territory.

As the game says, “And remember: respect is everything.”

Windows · by Katakis | カタキス (43092) · 2013

GTA revisited...

The Good
Rockstar made a number of improvements with GTA2. There's an added police threat, as your wanted level goes up you'll be chased by F.B.I. agents and eventually the army. The new concept of respect within the rival gangs works well at times, if you're really respected within one group, for example, they'll attack any the those pesky police officers attempts to catch you. The introduction is great to watch. To be honest it's one of the best features of this game. It's just what GTA would be as a movie really. As always the soundtrack to the game is above par. While the music might not be up the standard of the first game, it is the advertisements that you're bound to remember. Where else can you hear about "Orgasmo bars" or the burgers at "Crazy Cj's"!

The Bad
The missions for GTA2 are pretty weak when compared with the first game. Expect no surprises really. The idea of having rival gangs is a good one, but the fact is that that there are no real differences between any gang's missions. There's no improvement on the graphics. Usually a sequel attempts to improve on the standards set in the previous game. Sadly with GTA2 this is not the case.

The Bottom Line
Really when it comes down to it, this game is just a repackaged GTA. If you're a huge fan of the original or if you want to have the complete GTA series, it's worth a look. Just don't expect to be surprised.

PlayStation · by Ciarán Lynch (84) · 2004

About as much fun as can be had with a five-year old hand-held machine

The Good
The GTA series has always aimed to offer total freedom, and GTA 2 continues this perfectly. You can wonder around anywhere in the city, killing civilians, hijacking cars... The guns and cars are some of the best points of this game. There may not be many more than twenty weapons to use, but they are all a good laugh to use. The cars are equally as good, and it is good to experiment with different types of car since some handle better than others. The music which you listen to when you enter the car - presumably to simulate a radio - is good. The controls are simple to use (if positioned in odd places such as Select to get in/out of cars) and the cities you play in are gigantic. It's not just killing which is fun, either. Just simply nabbing a car and seeing how well I can drive it is enough to keep me enthralled.

The Bad
The view of the game is slightly irritating. It's top-down, meaning that you can only see your head and everbody else's head. Driving - while on the whole good - can be slightly difficult to control at times. The AI is alright; when you fire a gun people will run away from you and the driving of the AI is alright, but the rest of the time it is just stupid. The coppers will try and catch you by walking up to you, but they just walk into anything in between you and them. The same applies for cops trying to get to you in their cars and people trying to shoot you. Also, there is no save function, and I cannot work out the password system. Therefore, I have not been able to advance any further than the first city.

The Bottom Line
Despite its many major flaws, GTA 2 is still a great laugh to play. These flaws might be profoundly irritating, but at least the core principal of the game - the freedom - remains unscathed.

Game Boy Color · by Una Manzana (5) · 2005

[ View all 7 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Doesn't work with a Audio CD Player. Wormspinal (619) Jul 9, 2009

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Grand Theft Auto 2 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Freeware release

In December 2004, Rockstar put a full, free version of Grand Theft Auto 2, compatible with Windows XP, on their Rockstar Classics page. Check the related sites section for the link.

German version

In the German version killed enemies don't leave blood behind.

References

In the Residential Sector, two of the city's areas are named Largo and Stromberg, presumably named after James Bond villains Emilio Largo and Karl Stromberg.

Awards

  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/2000 - Best Action Game in 1999

Information also contributed by Maw and Sciere.

Analytics

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by JubalHarshaw.

Game Boy Color added by Kartanym. PlayStation, Dreamcast added by Grant McLellan.

Additional contributors: Trixter, Unicorn Lynx, Jony Shahar, Apogee IV, tarmo888, DarkDante, Stratege, Patrick Bregger, Victor Vance, FatherJack, 一旁冷笑.

Game added March 20, 2000. Last modified March 12, 2024.