Funnily enough that’s actually why it is my favourite GTA game (I haven’t played 5 and I won’t play 6), although nostalgia probably plays a big role too.
I also liked that it had a cold, clinical feel compared to the later GTAs. You are in “Anywhere City” and it feels like society has entered a permanent state of decline.
I also think the relatively lite cyberpunk and retro-futuristic elements added a bit of flair to the concept.
That being said, I can understand why they will never make a game like GTA2 again; bad market fit and the futurism of GTA2 is in many ways a product of the 90s/early 2000s.
Yeah, I don’t get it either, why am I supposed to connect with the city? I’m playing a violent criminal in a goofy, arcade-y top-down action game. Setting was perfect.
What I absolutely couldn’t connect with is GTA 5: The mechanics are stale, the game doesn’t respect my time and Michael and especially Trevor are just nasty, unpleasant pieces of shit. Zero enthusiasm for GTA 6 from me, it’s just going to have all the same flaws as any GTA since 3 and will surely be more tailored towards online money extraction schemes.
Meanwhile Cyberpunk 2077, with a somewhat similar dystopian setting, has become my favorite game in large parts because of the characters.
Bullshit I loved the hell out of that game. I definitely play a version just like it.
I liked GTA2. Probably because it was the only one I played. I would love to play it today, but the tank controls are too horrible. Does anybody know of an analogue controller mod or something like that?
You could try this mouse support mod: https://github.com/h0x91b/gta2-mouse
I haven’t tried it myself, so I have no idea how good it is
Or this twin stick mod: https://gtamp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1150
People seem to like cyberpunk 2077 so maybe people still had hope for humanity when gta2 came out, it was just before its time.
And that’s the real reason why they won’t make GTA in the future soon. That part of the market is already taken by CD Projekt, and Cyberpunk 2077 was not a clear success, so other CEOs won’t force their teams to fight for that market. Too much trouble, too much risk.
Copy what already worked, add a minimum innovation and maximum microtransactions and repeat until money stops flowing.
I believe Cyberpunk 2077 was a success. 35 million units and $750+ M revenue.
I agree it was a success, but do you remember its launch? Big studios only copy formulas that guarantee win, and in this case even CD Projekt, studio beloved by gamers, initially struggled to turn it into success (And yes, I know I might be too cynical here, Rockstar still seems to be more focused on making good games than most big studios nowadays)
Am I the only one who never realized it was supposed to be a futuristic city? To be honest my English wasn’t that good at the time I played it, but that information never clicked with me.
Man, what memories. I’ve also enjoyed the London(?) version.
I think that was an expansion pack for GTA1?
I could be wrong, it’s been ~25 years since I played it.
A second, freeware expansion, Grand Theft Auto Mission Pack #2: London 1961, was released for personal computers in July 1999, to coincide with the release of the Grand Theft Auto games on the internet. It is much shorter in length, and features the same map and characters as London 1969, but takes place eight years prior.
Boy oh boy, you’re right 😂
Just please put the random string of Elvis impersonators trolling the streets back in there
My favourite of the lot
I mean, the historical and geographical context of the newer entries definitely adds to the satire, but GTA2 wasn’t a bad game at all. I def liked it more 1 and 3 at the time. Interesting that the dev team wasn’t fond of it.
gta2 is still my favourite of the series. the first game was so damn janky that i could barely play it but the second one is smooth as butter, and with the artstyle they chose it looks really unique.
You know a game is good when you log many hours playing the demo.
I found a crack online that removed the two minute time -limit and just explored the map. GTA2’s demo has zero mission, it’s just the entire first map with a number of things missing or changed. Still a lot of fun to just cruise around and blow stuff up.
At this rate we won’t be seeing another GTA game after 6 until 2040 anyways
At least they’ve already finished the engine it will run in.
I played the hell out of GTA 2, had a 3 disk box containing 1 2 and London. And only now I’m bring told it was set in the future!
Yeah I thought it was just a mismatch of all different kinds. Like the 20s and 30s gangster cars and then random car styles from other eras
The London one was awesome!
GTA 2 didn’t connect not because it looked slightly different than GTA 1. This was the “transition to 3D” era and people gravitated towards such games, like Driver.
A shame because it was nice when Chinatown Wars came around some years down the road. A nice trip back to 2D, with some modernization.
I recently picked up cw again and it feels like the best aged GTA in the series
GTA2 was good, it’s just games journalists obsessed with a “3D full immersion VR future”, that they felt threatened by every 2D games made once the first Voodoo cards left the factories. The reviews were not about the games, but endless whining about they losing their “fully realistic games” (past Medal of Honor, they usually envisioned a perfect recreation of Battle of Normandy) because a man made a theme park game with accurate roller coaster physics in assembly.
The 3D push was quite similar to the current AI push, but more successful. Imagine if Microsoft blocked games being released onto XBox if they don’t have a certain amount of AI generated assets and/or “live generated content”.
I am honestly surprised that so many people thought GTA2 was the best.
I understand that a significant portion of the Threadi demographic probably grew up on the first two games, but even wit that factor I wouldn’t have thought it was that popular.
