This looks like the end for me. But come to think of it... they are lined up quite nicely in front of me. Hmm... |
Aesthetically, Grand Theft Auto 2 sort of sucks. The graphics, while necessarily top-down and wide view, are incredibly small. People in GTA2 look equivalent to characters in Mission: Impossible for the NES -- about a half-inch wide with barely recognizable details. Cars are pretty simplistic as well. They look just like Hot Wheels cars would if you stared straight down on them. Even the buildings look basically like concrete squares. While the overhead viewpoint is useful, it would have been nice if they'd tilted it a bit to get some perspective of height. Que sera...
The sounds don't fare much better. Pistols sound like BB guns -- and not even the good CO2 kind. Machine guns sound like somebody just stuck out their tongue and went "Pfffffptt" into the microphone for the sound effect. (You know the sound I mean; in second grade it was equivalent to a middle finger). Cars don't exactly rumble across the pavement either. GTA2 could use just a bit more bass.
GTA2 is the first game to ask the burning question: What if Tom Hall were a crack dealer? |
While the voices are funny ("Raki taki teri yaki. Teriyaki taste like sake"), they're not exactly matched up to what's going on. When you take a job for a major crime, instructions come through on the telephone. Instead of using audio, though, they're simple text that fill up a large portion of the screen. This is bad when you consider that the action continues while you're trying to read what's on-screen. You have the ability to scroll back to previous text, but a little bit of voice-over would've solved this problem nicely.
The interface is also... lacking. After you're treated to a mediocre FMV intro, you get dropped into a menu system with all the appeal of a naked John Goodman. The menu system is so simplistic that they could've done it on the VMU screen. This isn't a terrible drawback, since playability is the hallmark of Grand Theft Auto. Perhaps the limited options are better for quick games.
Lastly, GTA2 needs multi-player. Massive multiplayer. I would absolutely love for everybody in the game to be a person somewhere in the U.S. If I could carjack some jerk in Nebraska's 4x4, I would never leave the house. Then again, maybe this is a testament to how fun the game is, rather than a complaint. SegaNet, where are you?
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