Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)

TL;DR - Although it improves on the original game in some areas, there are still some outdated mechanics that make it hard for the modern gamer to enjoy this entry. I dropped it not because it's unplayable, but because of the repetitive missions and the grind needed to complete the game.

OPEN-WORLD ACTION - You play as Claude Speed as he climbs the ranks of Anywhere City's criminal underworld, navigating gang rivalries and chaos to amass wealth and power.

PROS:

++ Driving. The best part of the game is the driving. It is a step up from the original, and I really liked how tight some cars controlled. Obviously, the bigger cars are slow and clunky but the sports cars had a great sense of speed and drifted around corners well. I enjoyed just driving around.

++ Improvement to controls. Overall handling of the character is improved. Both in vehicles and on-foot. You can now run forwards and backwards, and you have the ability to leap as well. Combat is still clunky and unsatisfying though.

++ Presentation. Music is great once again. And some of the radio stations made me chuckle with their content. And I feel that there is a noticeable improvement to the visuals.

++ Causing mayhem. Honestly, the game is at its best when you're just driving around causing mayhem at your own leisure. It gets proper chaotic and I had some fun initiating these chases.

CONS:

-- Repetitive missions. Go here and kill these guys. Go here and get this car. Go here and destroy this. It was all just too repetitive. And to add salt to the wound, you have to drive so far just to get to where the mission is. And then drive all the way back to get the next mission.

-- No mini-map. Just like the first game, you are left to guess which path will actually take you to your destination. You'll hit lots of dead ends trying to figure out where to go since the arrow is so confusing and inaccurate.

-- Conflicting systems. Just like the first game, you have to do jobs in order to make money to advance to the next area. And this was going fine at first until I got to the second area. The thing is, when you do jobs for one gang, you end up lowering your relationship with another. To the point where they'll start shooting you on sight when you're in their territory. This made some missions nearly impossible, and others straight up impossible! It got to the point of being too frustrating and the reason why I dropped this entry.

-- Grind. You need to do too many missions in order to advance to the next area.

-- Map layout. There are certain section that only have 1 or 2 entry points. This makes navigating those areas unnecessarily confusing and obnoxious.

Oh man, booting this up in the mornings was GLORIOUS. The graphics and overall presentation was a step up significantly from the original, and the soundtrack and gameplay had me playing for hundreds of hours, surely. The visuals are beautiful at night and even though I spent a lot of time on missions, the best part was to just roam the city and cause absolute chaos around you. A classic and a staple in the series!

[3.8] / [5]

This was my first experience with the Grand Theft Auto series, and really didn't think much of it at the time.

It was difficult to play with its top down view of a pixelated city filled with blocks of cars, pedestrians and roadways reminiscent of Tetris. Also recall gunfights and police chases being horrendous.

Definitely not revolutionary or great, but is a reminder of how far we've come.