Grand Theft Auto 2

Grand Theft Auto 2, also known as GTA2, is a video game that was released worldwide on October 22, 1999, by developers DMA Designs (now Rockstar North); initially for the Windows operating system and the PlayStation. The game was later ported to the Dreamcast console and the Game Boy Color. It is the sequel to the controversial 1997 hit Grand Theft Auto. The PC and Dreamcast versions of GTA2 are both rated M by the ESRB. The language and violence was toned down for the PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions which received a T rating. Rockstar now offers the PC version as registerware for free download at their website.. GTA2 was preceded by the original Grand Theft Auto and succeeded by Grand Theft Auto III.Setting
Unlike other games in the series, GTA2 is set in an unspecified time in a metropolis referred to only as Anywhere City. The year is not specified, but the game’s manual uses the phrase “three weeks into the future”, and phrases such as “X weeks into the future” or “X minutes into the future” are common phrases meaning “near future”; fictional journal entries on the GTA2 website suggest the year to be 2013. However, radio host Johnny Riccaro mentions in the game that “the millennium’s coming,” which would set the game somewhere in 1999. Anywhere City consists of three levels, or “districts.” The first level is The Downtown Area and features casinos, hotels, a large mental institution and a university. The second area is The Residential District and contains the city’s prison, a trailer park with an Elvis-themed club named “Disgracelands”, a research center and a large hydroelectric power plant. The third and last area is The Industrial District. It holds a large seaport, a meat packing plant, and a Krishna temple.

The player is a man named Claude Speed, who is freed from prison, having awakened from a cryonic sleep but experiences amnesia. The storyline shifts to his goal of becoming the “King of the Kennel” by any means necessary.

The game can be played in two modes (only in the PC version), noon or dusk. On the noon setting the lighting is bright making the game clear to see. On the dusk setting the game is darker, but there are more lighting effects. This feature was also expanded further in Grand Theft Auto 3 where the daylight is changing with the time of day in the game.

Gameplay
 
Police pursue the player (center) in the Windows version.GTA2 retained the top-down viewpoint of GTA, as well as the car-stealing/telephone-answering formula of the original. The player has the ability to explore cities on foot or in various vehicles. The aim is to achieve a certain score. On achieving this goal the player then can proceed to the next level. Doing missions awards the player more points than any other method but are not essential for completion of the game.

A new feature introduced in GTA2 was doing missions for separate gangs, of which there are two new gangs for each of the three levels of the game, and one faction which is present in all levels. Being employed by one gang can cause distrust from others (working for gang #1 will incur the wrath of gang #2, working for gang #2 will cause enmity with gang #3, et cetera). In the original GTA, only the local police pursued the player. In GTA2, SWAT teams, as well as two new law enforcement agencies, Special Agents and the army, can begin chasing the player as his or her wanted level increases.

GTA2 also included a saving technique that improved upon that of the original GTA, which saved only when finishing a city. If the player entered a church with $50,000, a voice announced “Hallelujah! Another soul saved!”. This notified the player that the game had been saved. If the player did not have enough money, the voice would say “Damnation! No donation, no salvation!” The “safe house” feature would become standard and expanded upon in later GTA games, although saving would become free of cost.

Other minor improvements pertain to city activity. Passing vehicles and pedestrians are no longer cosmetic parts of the environment, but actually play a more significant role in gameplay. Sometimes pedestrians would occasionally enter and ride in taxis. The game is also noted for the emergent behavior of its non-player characters. Pedestrians, gang members and the police would occasionally engage in fights, and there are even other carjackers (Green sweater) and muggers (Red sweater) in the city.

The PlayStation version of Grand Theft Auto 2 is noticeably toned down from its PC counterpart, with lower quotas for the number of kills needed in rampage style missions, and containing no voice acting in the saving interface. The port also includes an unusual feature wherein the player’s car will explode after the player runs over a large number of gang members. One level was also changed. Instead of the player tricking civilians into entering a bus to drive them to a meat processing plant to be cannibalized, the victims are Hare Krishna gang members.

As is the case with the original Grand Theft Auto and GTA London: 1969, the player receives bonuses for running over certain people with car without stopping or braking. A string of Elvis impersonators are sometimes spotted walking the streets. Their deaths are awarded with a large money bonus, followed by the bold words “ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING”.

The PC version of GTA2 was released as a free download on December 22, 2004. This version also includes support for multiplayer games.

Gangs
Grand Theft Auto 2 includes a pool of seven gangs, with each of the city’s three levels containing only a group of three gangs. The Zaibatsu Corporation gang is included in every level.

Zaibatsu Corporation (symbol: yellow ‘Z’) - Zaibatsu is a seemingly legitimate corporation which inhabits every district of the city. They manufacture everything from cars to medication, but beneath the surface they are involved heavily in narcotics, contract-killing and shadow politics. Their car, called a Z-Type, is the second fastest gang car available. There are three Zaibatsu representatives who offer the player jobs: Trey Welsh in the Commercial District, Red Valdez in the Residential District, and Uno Carb in the Industrial District. Their name comes from zaibatsu, the Japanese word for conglomerate. Their gang color is gray.
Loonies (symbol: winking smiley face) - Escaped inmates who have overrun the city’s mental institution (named “SunnySide” after the Mental Institution in Montrose, Scotland, near where the game was originally developed). They appear in the Commercial District and are quite crazy. Their gang car, the Dementia, is a green microcar with their insignia painted on the roof. They wear surgical green as their gang color.
The Yakuza (symbol: blue yen ‘¥’) - They also appear in the Commercial District. They manufacture drugs and own a series of labs along the waterfront. Yakuza gangsters drive around in Y-Type sport cars (also known as the Miara). Their gang color is deep blue.
SRS (Sex and Reproductive Systems) (symbol: a golden shield) - Also known as the Scientists, they are headquartered in the Residential District and run a clandestine research institute. Their concerns are advanced weapon development, human cloning, genetic engineering and robotics. Their gang color is gold, 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, a sterile, oppressive-looking campus with a profusion of complex machinery. Although in other gangs the members only had pistols, the SRS members portray pistols, machine guns and flamethrowers.
Rednecks (symbol: the Confederate flag) - Dwelling in a giant trailer park at the corner of the Residential District called “Disgracelands”, the Rednecks are rabid fans of Elvis Presley who specialize in explosives. Their business is the brewing, distribution and selling of moonshine. Their car is a blue pick-up truck, and their gang color is light blue.
Russian Mafia (symbol: a red star) - They appear in the Industrial District 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 found in the seaport areas. Their gang color is red.
Hare Krishna (symbol: an orange flower) - The Krishnas reside in a commune/temple at the edge of the Industrial District. Their car, the Karma Bus, is a big love bus with flowers painted on its roof. Their gang color is bright orange. The Krishnas abhor technology, and their criminality is entirely based around stealing and destroying vehicles. The GTA2 game manual states this is due to the fact that they are tired of being run over by cars (a reference to the first Grand Theft Auto, where the player was rewarded for running them down).

Radio stations
Main article: Grand Theft Auto 2 soundtrack
 
The PlayStation version of GTA2, taking place in daylightEach 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 Windows PC version by using the “F1″ function key and also in the Playstation version by pressing the “up” directional button. “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. The DJ/commentator is Sammy Starock, who apparently hates everyone and regularly receives letter bombs from listeners. 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 — A radio station sponsored by the Zaibatsu and filled with promotions for their products. The DJ, Dean Frantz, plays dance, jazz-oriented pop and Funk.
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 — A pun on the Soviet KGB and grievous bodily harm (GBH), 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.
Lithium FM — The Loonies’ station. Features a schizophrenic DJ, Spaz Funbags, who plays oldies as well as some dance music.
Rebel Radio/KING — The Redneck gang station in the Residential Area. The DJ, Marshall Nash, has a Southern accent and posts announcements of escaped convicts who have bounties posted on their heads. 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 either Icelandic or Scandinavian, plays modern dance music.
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 maniacal Japanese woman screaming in a high-pitch voice who calls herself Teriyaki-chan.
The theme song on the main title screen is the song “Short change” by the group E-Z Rollers

GTA2: The Movie
 
The live-action rendition of Claude Speed played by Scott Maslen from the opening cinematic of Grand Theft Auto 2.The opening video of the game was pieced together using live-action footage taken from an eight-minute short film created for the purpose of advertising the game. This film has since been made available to the public and is downloadable from Rockstar’s website. Claude Speed (the game’s playable protagonist) is played by Scott Maslen in the film. Scott Maslen also plays DS Phil Hunter in the UK drama The Bill which is on the United Kingdom TV channel ITV and also plays Jack Branning in the BBC soap opera EastEnders in the UK. The short film shows Claude being murdered (shot by a Zaibatsu hitman while trying to break into a sports car). It was shot in present-day New York City (with the World Trade Center (obviously before 9/11 in clear view) instead of the game’s anonymous city of the future (it should be noted, however, that two fictional locations were mentioned in the film: “Chernobyl Docks” and “Disgraceland”, the latter being the name of a club featured in GTA2). The film depicts a blue-and-white NYPD 1991-1996 Chevrolet Caprice police car as a pursuit vehicle, as well as a black BMW E39 528i driven by Claude, which is later repainted white.