The intro involves live-action scenes filmed by Rockstar Games. The game was released for the PlayStation and Windows in October 1999 and for the Dreamcast and Game Boy Color in 2000.

The Story Behind Grand Theft Auto 2

Grand Theft Auto 2 was followed by 2001's Grand Theft Auto III, which started a new era for the series, while the game itself was re-released on Steam in January 2008. Emergency vehicles—such as police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and tanks—do not play regular radio stations. The game was developed with an eight-minute short film of live-action footage, filmed within New York City.

Each gang in the game operates its own radio station, but these broadcasts are limited to specific areas. The Character Selection theme is based on the classic Brazilian song "Chega de Saudade". Grand Theft Auto 2 received mixed reviews for most platforms, and negative reviews for the Game Boy Color, but was a moderate commercial success.

How Grand Theft Auto 2 Plays

Players begin a game with one character (six in the Game Boy Color version). Jobs on offer come from three different syndicates—each level features two unique syndicates, alongside a third syndicate present in all levels. Points are awarded from various criminal actions, such as destroying cars, selling vehicles, and completing missions for various crime syndicates, with the latter awarding more points than doing simple criminal actions.

Players can save their game during a level playthrough by visiting the church where they start, but must pay a set number of points to do so. Other improvements include vehicles and pedestrians being more interactive with the game's environment—such as gang members engaging in fights with police—the presence of other criminals (such as muggers), a health meter, garages that can modify vehicles with special improvements, a selection of side missions ranging from running a taxi to driving a semi-truck, and groups of 'hidden' packages to find across the level. The time period the game is set in is not specified—conflicting sources suggest anything from "three weeks into the future", to the year being 2013, despite in-game references to the "new millennium" that is coming (implying the game takes place around its time of release, in 1999).

Why Players Still Load It Up

IGNs Jeremy Dunham said that the gameplay is "where the game really takes a punch to the stomach", and that it "could've been a lot better." Tal Blevins called it "simple, but effective." Jeff Gerstmann said that "even though the gameplay is largely the same as in the previous GTA, it's still a lot of fun." Edge highlighted the game's story development and inventive missions, stating that Grand Theft Auto 2 "manages to draw you deep into the complexities of its world". The game's PlayStation version received a "Platinum" sales award (300,000 or more units in the United Kingdom) from ELSPA. IGNs Tal Blevins called them "average at best", and that the scenery is "hard to appreciate".

IGNs Blevins called it "one of the best features". I will take this time to plead with Rockstar Games - just say no to GTA on GBA." Blake Fischer reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for Next Generation, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that it is "A great idea that, for one reason or another, never really gets into a must-play game." The Game Boy Color version received negative reviews.

Grand Theft Auto 2 — Frequently Asked Questions