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Postal 2 -- FINALLY!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: March 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The fine folks at Running With Scissors have done it again. The original Postal was condemned by Senator Liebermann, banned in 10 countries, pulled from major retailers store shelves and sparked a lawsuit by the US Postal Service. Apparently it's considered okay to have violence in books, TV, movies, art, etc., but not video games, even those developed and marketed to adults (i.e., the MSRB 17 rating). This game will no doubt stir up that hornets nest again, with the same predictable result - lots of free press (translating to sales) for Postal 2.

The basic premise of the game is that you play the Postal Dude and have to get through a week in his shoes to complete the game. You are placed in a variety of situations where you can react passively or um, "not so passively". Violence is optional, it is not required to complete the game successfully (RWS's web site states the game is "only a violent as you are"). They do however, give you a lot of resources in the event you decide to take the "not so passive" approach, including various machine guns, explosives, a gas can & lighter, and a, er, "cat silencer" (don't ask). The violence is supposed to be very over the top and humorous in a twisted way. How Gary Coleman fits in to all this should be something to see...

This game will be stress relief for a lot of responsible, mature adults who understand the difference between fantasy and reality. That said, observe the rating code and don't let your kids anywhere near it ...

...P>I have Postal 2 on pre-order and I'm anticipating hours of mature, engaging, stress reliving virtual mayhem ...Thanks RWS!

Postal 2 promises to be the best stress relief of all time!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 14
Date: March 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The fine folks at Running With Scissors have done it again. The original Postal was condemned by Senator Liebermann, banned in 10 countries, pulled from major retailers store shelves and sparked a lawsuit by the US Postal Service. Apparently it's considered okay to have violence in books, TV, movies, art, etc., but not video games, even those developed and marketed to adults (i.e., the MSRB 17 rating). This game will no doubt stir up that hornets nest again, with the same predictable result - lots of free press (translating to sales) for Postal 2.

The basic premise of the game is that you play the Postal Dude and have to get through a week in his shoes to complete the game. You are placed in a variety of situations where you can react passively or um, "not so passively". Violence is optional, it is not required to complete the game successfully (RWS's web site states the game is "only a violent as you are"). They do however, give you a lot of resources in the event you decide to take the "not so passive" approach, including various machine guns, explosives, a gas can & lighter, and a, er, "cat silencer" (don't ask). The violence is supposed to be very over the top and humorous in a twisted way. How Gary Coleman fits in to all this should be something to see...

This game will be stress relief for a lot of responsible, mature adults who understand the difference between fantasy and reality. That said, observe the rating code and don't let your kids anywhere near it ("Oh my God, that video game has warped my fragile little mind!").

As for the mentally un-hinged or those on the verge of performing some violent act being "driven over the edge" by this game, they can get their influences anywhere. Not having video games with violent content will not make that issue go away (or guns or violence on TV, movies, etc.). Sometimes people just go berserk.

I have Postal 2 on pre-order and I'm anticipating hours of mature, engaging, stress reliving virtual mayhem (GTA 2 was getting old). Thanks RWS!

POSTAL 2: Overview and Comments

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 30
Date: March 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Index:
1: The Game
2: System Requirements
3: The Design
4: The Outcome

The Game
Postal 2 is a true 3D interactive game in which you play "The Postal Dude". He is a regular guy with regular chores to accomplish. However, you (as a player) decide on how to interact with the NPC (computer controlled) characters. This is astonishing.

Example of game play: Your walking around a huge town to meet Gary Coleman (yeah he is a guest star). You accidentally bump into someone (an NPC). Let's say the NPC reacts by yelling at you and then hitting you. Well, you have the choice to either walk away, defend yourself or use this as a reason to GO POSTAL on the town. It's so real and you are not required to go nuts and shoot everyone like other games. For lack of a better comparison, it's like DOOM meets The Sims. Except you don't have to feed the fish and pay the bills and all that other repetition.

System Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
Direct X 8.1 (download direct from Microsoft)
733MHz Recommended
128Mb RAM
8X CD-ROM
Windows compatible sound card
32Mb 3D video card
16 bit stereo Direct X compatible sound card
1.2 Gig available hard drive space Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

The Design:
Postal 2 designers (Running With Scissors), created a stew of the best gaming ever created. If the game was a car, it would be like Ferrari speed, big SUV comfort, the body of a Super Model with the kitchen sink in the trunk.

The game takes full advantage of:
Epic's Unreal Warfare Engine
Liquid Dynamics: Pours, drips, runs and puddles
AI: Sophisticated people and animal interactions
All in a non linear, wide open to explore world.

The Outcome:
I not going out on a limb here. With that said, Postal 2 is the coolest game ever created in the genre of a shooter game. It takes shooter games to beyond the next level. We all remember our old favorite game that we got the sequel to and it had a couple of neat things that we really didn't want or need to warrant buying another game. Usually you have to wait for 3 versions for any real advancing in a game. Postal 2 skips version 2, 3, and 4. This game is like getting a steak with all the dressings when all you expected was a plain old ham sandwich with an extra slice of ham. For real.

This game will sell out. Order it ASAP.

ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 10
Date: March 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is greatest FUN game ever! I love your stile RWS! Now ready to blast all other 3D shooters to pieces! Go get it NOW!

Awesome!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 6
Date: April 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I only played the demo version and it looks great. I wish that either on the full version or an expansion pack, you could actually blow up everything (e.g., cars, houses, etc.). Right now the gas can just burns for a while over a static model and goes away after a while.

A kick [***] game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is the coolest game ever. Even better than GTA series.
If youre a fan of criminal games, get this game by all means necessary. If youre looking for great graphic this game has it.
Buy the game right now!!

Controversy does not a good game make.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 11
Date: April 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Obviously intended to be irreverent, super-violent, and disturbing, rating Postal 2 on a politically correct, moral, or ethical basis would be ridiculous. So let's just rate it on quality of programming and enjoyment of gameplay, shall we?

The graphics: Not bad, but certainly not on par with games like No One Lives Forever 2 and Mafia. The game does utilize the Unreal engine and has some nice textures here and there, but the town has a very artificial and claustrophobic feel to it. The NPC textures are o.k., as well, but nowhere near those in Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

The sounds: Very so-so. I found the weapon sounds in particular to be very unrealistic - especially the AR15. (It sounds like an airgun.) In a game where gunplay is an essential part of the fun, this is a glaring flaw.

A.I. - Not nearly good enough to be satisfying in the way the game claims to aspire to. To truly descend into the cellar of bad taste, the NPC's would have to behave in a believable manner, with a certain complexity of interaction available. As it stands, the NPC's have a very limited range of behaviors. This, combined with the so-so graphics makes for a very artificial environment.

Gameplay: Obviously, the creators did not have the funding nor programming talent to make Postal 2 into a game with cutting-edge graphics and groundbreaking gameplay. Even with these limitations, however, the developers could have made the game far more fun with just a little thought into what makes all of us want to go "postal". Getting stuck in traffic, having to wait in long lines, getting diss'd by a rude employee - with a little creativity, the programmers could have inserted these scenarios into the game to add fuel to our virtual postal tendencies. As it stands, apart from the postal dude's general psychosis, your player has no real motivation to go wacky - and the A.I. just isn't good enough to make it fun when you do. Without these assets, any open-ended environment - no matter how big - won't keep you coming back for more...

System Specs: P4 1.9ghz, 512mb rambus, Geforce4 Ti4600 128mb, Soundblaster Xgamer. Game ran fine on highest resolution with only a few stutters here and there, but I found loading times to be a bit excessive - especially considering the lesser graphic quality.

Postal 2....Fun? Definetly!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 7
Date: April 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is by far, the most original, creative, open-ended, bizarre, and downright fun game that I have played since I popped in the original Grand Theft Auto back in '97. The non-linear gameplay is refreshing, as you walk around a huge, totally interactive city...the question is, will you be passive and peaceful, or go completely POSTAL! It's all up to you and you control the speed and outcome of the game, as you are the postal dude. The graphics are completely top-notch and use the latest Epic(R) Unreal Warfare(R) Engine...Sound, is in high fidelity Ogg Vorbis 48kh, so you can hear everything, from crickets beneath the dusty wood planks of an old house, to the crack of a hunting rifle going off into your next victim. One warning, is that this game is the first game in history to recieve the ESRB Rating of "Intense Violence", so don't even think about buying it if your under 17, as every store on the market is extremely strict about this particular game. As for bugs...I've been playing for 2 days solid and have found none. There have been several reports of horrible load times, well as long as you have a PIII 800mhz or above, your load times should be fast, however, with a Pentium 4 you're load times will be like a torch through butter. I give this game a 5/5 for being totally original and outright fun!

Only my weapon understands me......

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 32 / 37
Date: April 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Spend a week with a nutcase in Postal 2. Complete with a "Jackass" style warning label on the loading screen, developer Running With Scissors (RWS) gambles that they can stuff a game full of enough blood and gore to guarantee an assault by family-values groups, yet still make enough after the lawsuits to turn a profit. Let me be clear upfront, this game definitely delivers in the sick and twisted department and deserves the "M" Mature rating more than any game I've seen. Postal 2 is not designed for kids, but just like trashy rated R movies, I'm sure this game will be appreciated more by kids than adults.

In order to push the envelope (snicker) RWS enlists the services of the Postal Dude; a goateed Gen-X slacker in a Matrix-style trenchcoat that starts the morning by kicking the dog and shooting the air conditioner for making too much noise. His nagging trailer-trash wife/girlfriend sends him on a list of ordinary missions like shopping for milk, cashing a paycheck, or picking up a christmas tree (in July), yet the situations our buddy Postal Dude finds himself involved become anything but ordinary.

You see, Mr. "Dude" just wants to keep to himself and get through life without being hassled, yet all these people just won't leave him alone. He goes to his job at RWS and a bunch of video-game protestors bust in and start blasting away. He goes to the mall to get a book signed by Gary "I ain't going the the joint again!" Coleman and cops turn the place into a war zone. He goes to ... his dad's grave (seriously) and he's captured by a bunch of rednecks, locked in a brewery basement, and turned into a gimp - Pulp Fiction style.

Politically-correct this game is not and you can tell the developers had fun dreaming up scenarios that many will find offensive. Animal-lover? You probably won't like how the neighborhood cats become a shotgun accessory. Religious? You probably won't enjoy the holy war that the catholics and the muslims declare on each other. African-american? You probably won't enjoy the ghetto-slang of Krotchy, the child action figure... I shouldn't need to comment on the violence in this game, but after a particularly bloody and brutal episode involving a meat-processing plant you may not want to eat a steak again.

So you've got a sick sense of humor and not one politically-correct bone in your body. What's not to like? The problem with Postal 2 lies in the execution (not the people, the game.) Like the previous Postal, the graphics and gameplay seem very amateurish compared to the others currently out there. I didn't think it would be possible to create a bad game using the Unreal Warfare gaming engine, but this comes close. As a first-person shooter, it fails miserably. Everyone attacking hits you instantly, sometimes through walls, yet even on the easiest difficulty settings you have to pump about 40 rounds into someone to drop them. ... this game offers almost no interaction with the outside environment. Even the Postal Dude comments on the cars being "useless exploding props."

Most annoying, however, are the godawful load times. The installation was probably the longest I've endured in any game and crossing from one tiny section of town to the next subjects you to load times resulting in waits of over a minute. Since you are frequently sent from one side of town to the other, you will spend more time waiting for the game to load than you will actually playing the game.

There are some fiendishly clever moments and I'll stand neutral on the "garbage-in garbage-out" controversy this game will inevitably generate. What I will say is you will need to overlook some serious flaws in the mechanics of the game to be able to enjoy its twisted humor.

Hope the review helped.

Decent game, horrible load times

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 9 / 13
Date: April 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I got my copy of Postal 2 a few days ago, and have played it through about halfway. Overall, the game is fun, but there is one big drawback - the load times! It seems like every 2 or 3 minutes, I'm waiting for a section of the map to load. This can take up to a minute and a half, even though I turned down some of the settings and am running it on a 2 Ghz system.
The graphics are good, if a little repetitive (there are only about 5 or 6 different NPCs, they just have different colored outfits on, and some of the indoor environments are kind of boring), and the gameplay is great. I found the controls easy and how you interact with the environment good. But, you can't really "go postal", because it's too hard to kill your enemies. It takes several shots to kill anyone, even if you shoot them in the head. In fact, it doesn't seem to matter where you shoot them. I found myself running away most of the time, just 'cause it's easier.
Overall - A fun game, but the load times pretty much ruin it.

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