Grand Theft Auto 2

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Grand Theft Auto 2
Developer(s)	DMA Design Tarantula Studios
Publisher(s)	Rockstar Games
Series	Grand Theft Auto
Release date(s)	PlayStation October 22, 1999 Windows October 27, 1999 Dreamcast May 2, 2000 Game Boy Color December 25, 2000
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Mature (M) (Dreamcast and PC versions), Teen (T) (PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions)
Platform(s)	Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, PlayStation, Windows
Media	CD-ROM, GD-ROM, Cartridge

Grand Theft Auto 2, otherwise known as GTA2, is a video game released worldwide on October 22, 1999, by developers DMA Designs (now Rockstar North); initially for the Windows operating system and the PlayStation (whose version is toned-down), and subsequently for the Dreamcast console, and another toned-down version for Game Boy Color. It is the sequel to the controversial 1997 hit Grand Theft Auto (also developed by Rockstar North, then known as DMA Design). Rockstar now offers the PC version for free download at their website.

Contents 1 Setting 2 Gameplay 3 Gangs 4 Radio stations 5 GTA2: The Movie 6 Trivia 7 Reference 8 External links

[edit] Setting

Unlike other games in the series, GTA2 is set in the near future (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 [1]) in a metropolis referred to only as Anywhere City. Its overall aesthetic style is a combination of cyberpunk with vintage-styled vehicles (which bear a striking resemblance to the style of the cars featured in The Fifth Element). 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 City" by any means necessary.^[1]

[edit] Gameplay

GTA2 retained the top-down viewpoint of GTA but added a choice of factions to the car-stealing/telephone-answering formula of the original.

There are two new factions for each of the three levels of the game, and one faction which is present in all levels. Being employed by one faction or 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 a certain amount of cash, a voice announced "Hallelujah! Another soul saved!". This obvious pun 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. Medical workers in ambulances arrive to revive injured pedestrians, and 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 and robbers 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 a car that the player enters would explode for no apparent reason after the player kills a large number of gang members.

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

[edit] 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, with the remaining two different gangs. The gangs are as followed:

• Zaibatsu Corporation (symbol: yellow 'Z') - They appear in all of the areas and are a seemingly legitimate corporation who manufacture everything from cars and weapons to medication, but beneath the surface they are involved heavily in narcotics, contract-killing and shadowy politics. Their car, called a Z-Type, is the second fastest gang car available. The Zaibatsu is apparently led by at least three leaders, or at least have three executives through whom they organize their criminal activities: Trey Welsh in the Commercial District, Red Valdez in the Residential District, and Uno Carb in the Industrial District. Their gang color is black. In all districts, their territories can be distinguished by large red 'Z' banners hanging from buildings bearing their gang symbol. Their name comes from zaibatsu, the Japanese word for conglomerate.
• Loonies (symbol: winking smiley face) - They appear in the first area and they are quite crazy. Their gang car, the Dementia, is a green microcar with their mark painted on top and is probably named after their apparent insanity. Their small section of turf is in the vicinity of the city's mental institution, named "SunnySide" after the Mental Institution in Montrose, Scotland, near Dundee, where the game was originally created. Their boss is Elmo. They use surgical green as their gang color.
• The Yakuza (symbol: blue yen '¥') - They also appear in the first area. They make drugs at the so-called J-Lab, one of their strongest "industries". Their boss is Johnny Zoo. Deep blue is their gang color. And their car is a Y-Type (also known as the Miara), not to be confused with the Zaibatsu Z-Type. Their headquarters is near the docks in the Commercial District, as well as J-Lab and various buildings owned by them near the docks.
• SRS (Sex and Reproductive Systems) Scientists (symbol: a golden shield) - They are headquartered in the Residential District, and are a clandestine research institute involved in slightly questionable practices. Their business is advanced weapon development along with cloning, genetic engineering and robotics. Their leader, Dr. LaBrat, is Icelandic, 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 very compact, sterile, oppressive-looking campus with a profusion of complex equipment and machinery. Their gang color is pale gold.
• Rednecks (symbol: the Confederate flag) - Led by Billy Bob Bean, they appear in the second area, are rabid fans of Elvis Presley, and specialize in explosives and vehicles. Their business is the brewing, running and selling of moonshine. Their car is a wide pick-up truck. The Rednecks' turf is the trailer park at the northwest of the Residential Area. Their gang color is light blue.
• Russian Mafia (symbol: a red star) - They appear in the third area 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 seen in the seaport areas. Jerkov is the name of their boss. They use red as a gang color.
• Hare Krishna (symbol: an orange flower) - They appear in the third area and their car, the Karma Bus, is a big love bus with flowers painted on its roof. The Krishna's turf is around their temple. Their boss' name is Sunbeam. They use orange as a gang color. The GTA2 manual states that their criminality is entirely based around stealing and destroying technology, due to the fact that they are tired of being run over by cars with nothing but tambourines to defend themselves (a reference to the first Grand Theft Auto, where they were called the Gourangas and the player was rewarded for running them down).

[edit] Radio stations

Main article: Grand Theft Auto 2 soundtrack

Each 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." "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. Sammy Starock is the name of the DJ. 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 — The Zaibatsu gang's station. It can be received in all three areas. The DJ, Dean Frantz, plays dance, jazz-oriented pop and Funk.

• 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 Japanese man and a frantically screaming Japanese woman (in a varied high-pitch voice) calling herself Teriyaki-chan.

• Lithium FM — The Loonies' station. Features a totally insane DJ, Spaz Funbags, as well as some oldies and dance-music.

• Rebel Radio/KING — The Redneck gang station in the Residential Area. The DJ, Marshall Nash, has a thick Southern accent. 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 Icelandic or Scandinavian, plays modern dance music.

• 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, 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.

[edit] GTA2: The Movie

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. [2] Claude Speed (the game's playable protagonist) is played by Scott Maslen in the film.

Claude Speed is regarded by some Grand Theft Auto players as the same character as Claude (without a last name) in GTA III and GTA: San Andreas, but the movie rendition contradicts several details established in other games regarding him: The depiction of Claude Speed is different from Claude in later (but chronologically earlier) GTA titles, as he displays a wide array of emotions and appears to be quite verbal in GTA2 but is completely mute and expressionless in GTA III and GTA: San Andreas.

In addition, whether the movie can be considered canonical is debatable. The short film shows Claude being murdered (shot by a Zaibatsu hitman while trying to break into a sports car). Finally, the film was clearly shot in present-day New York City (with the World Trade Center 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.

[edit] Trivia

• GTA2 was intended to be titled GBH, or Grievous Bodily Harm. It was later decided that the phrase grievous bodily harm, used in English criminal law but rarely heard in the United States, was too obscure for American audiences. Traces of the name GBH can still be found in the game's code. [3] The radio station KGBH might also be an amalgamation of GBH and the Russian KGB.
• 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.
• A news-report in the game makes reference to a rapper named "Robert De Negro", who wrote the title track to the original Grand Theft Auto (it was also later featured in GTA III's Lips 106 radio bill). The rapper's name is an obvious play on actor Robert De Niro, however, this was not a decision of Rockstar or DMA, but rather the actual rapper.
• The mission "I'd Like A Tank, Please, Bob!" is a play on the catchphrase from the British version of the Blockbuster game show.
• On the Lithium FM radio station, music from the Nintendo 64 game Space Station Silicon Valley can sometimes be heard between songs.
• In Grand Theft Auto III, a medicine called Equinox, sold by the Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals, is advertised on radio stations. This is an obvious reference to GTA2's Zaibatsu gang, both by its name and the fact that the gang were known to produce medication.

[edit] Reference

[edit] External links

v • d • e Grand Theft Auto computer and console games

Grand Theft Auto (London, 1969 • London, 1961) • GTA2 • GTA III • Vice City • San Andreas • GTA Advance • Liberty City Stories • Vice City Stories • GTA IV