Grand Theft Auto 2

Grand Theft Auto 5 wouldn’t be where it is today if it wasn’t for the teachings of its great great great grandfather, GTA 2. Released in 1999 the game made its way into the lives of gamers and managed to create mixed feelings about it. It wasn’t a wonderfully great game back then, and now it exists for those who want to take a trip back in time.

Back in the day, Grand Theft Auto 2 was one of the things you had to play. It wasn’t because of the top notch graphics or excellent gameplay, both of those could have been much better, no, it was for the freedom of doing whatever you wanted. By the standards of those days, the open world in Grand Theft Auto 2 was great.

You could walk into the middle of the street, carjack the best vehicle you could find and then start running people over. Two or three game victims later, the cops would be on your tail ready and willing to do whatever it took to bring you down. There was something about having that vast arsenal of weapons, from Molotovs to Bazookas, and being able to cause that much chaos. It stuck with people, it made the game fun. If it weren’t GTA wouldn’t be where it is today.

Now, playing Grand Theft Auto 2 is a gamble because chances are it will not run on your PC and if it does, you’ll feel like it’s as slow as a snail that’s tripping. Gameplay is still fun to mess around with but you might not have patience with it.

Actually, forget the above, about it being slow. Your character might move slow but it actually takes more skill to aim and shoot as well as to evade the cops than it does in the more recent titles.

Not to mention that today, Grand Theft Auto 2 has a bit more charm when it comes to the atmosphere, especially if you play it in Dusk mode. That makes it somehow heavier, a bit more serious and tough. Or it just looks better. Either way, it remains a nice experience to try out if you haven’t already. You’d certainly appreciate the newer versions a lot more after seeing where they started from.

To wrap it up, today, Grand Theft Auto 2 is played by those who miss it or by the gents who are curious about it. Regardless of the case, it will be an experience, most likely a pleasant one. It looks cute with its top-down perspective but somehow, it feels a bit darker than the rest.