The Postal Dude is back in Running With Scissors’ Postal 2. This time around, the game is presented in a first-person perspective compared to Smash TV’esque from the top view presented in the original. And for the first person visuals, the development team at Running With Scissors’ chose to use Epic’s Unreal Engine. The results are quite stunning.
The game starts off like a pounding Monday morning hangover, with your girlfriend sending you out to do errands (which includes picking-up your paycheck at Running With Scissors no less). Like the typical Monday morning, nothing seems to go right, as the Dude gets fired and then viciously attacked by a mob of angry “Parents for Decency” demonstrators. All in all, enough to make any typical (I meant disturbed) person go…postal!
As the postal dude, you must go through five days of torment, prompting you on some occasions to unload a few rounds of lead to get things under control. Well that is if you choose to do so, as you can achieve your daily tasks with minimal violence (you still must avoid the occasional psychopath who goes postal on society once in awhile). But boring events in the game usually culminate into violent situations (such as when a group of angry environmentalists decide to burn down a library after a pro-tree rally). Your reactions affect the course of your game drastically. For example, if you decide to go postal on society, your wanted meter increases and police officers swarm the proximity in hopes of cashing in on a big arrest (there’s even a big gaming bonus when you get arrested. Trust me on that one).
The game comes loaded with a fair share of bugs and unrealism. The game’s rag doll physics occasionally reacts oddly resulting in victims appearing in awkward and unrealistic positions after being downed. Also, the physics react oddly with blood trickle as it sometimes goes up and down in game elevations (see first picture below). The game also lacks realism in other aspects, for example you can soak your surrounding full of gas and then light it up with a match, but you can’t drop a match and then light it up using your nifty gas canister. The targeting is also nasty! Being a first person shooter fanatic, the first shot I usually take to down a victim is straight to the head, and believe me, it’s usually affective. Just aim your firearm at a victim's head and unload, you will see what I am getting at. Use your shovel for better results… Word from the wise, watch-out for trigger-happy pedestrians, they usually don’t miss, and it’s hard to avoid them (hint: press TILDE and type in sissy, then type in alamode… it’s the easiest way to avoid getting killed instantly).
I absolutely despise the loading zones in Postal 2. This is one of the first FPS titles that I have played that incorporates these types of load sequences. The game is presented in a manner where you can freely explore Paradise City’s surroundings, but you’re frequently subjected to numerous load times while trying to achieve your particular errands on a given day. In my opinion, each day's path should have been preloaded to avoid such game lags. If you stray off of your daily path, you'll be subjected to such loading zones… The only suggestions I have for you folks right now is to make sure your Game Boy is charged up or is loaded up with a fresh pair of batteries. Believe me, you’ll need the unit at some point to fend off loading zone boredom.
The in-game jokes, meant to be offensive, just aren’t really funny. What’s so humorous about mounting a cat to a shotgun? Why should gun-totting priests be hilarious? I don’t know. Someone please clear that up for me, I just don’t get the punch line! Actually, I find some situations to be blatantly stupid instead of being funny or offensive. Oh and trust me, I have a sense of humor, but this just doesn’t do it for me (want funny and offensive content? Head off to your local video store and pick-up Eddie Murphy’s "Raw").
One positive aspect of Postal 2 is indeed its visuals. The game uses the Unreal Engine, while not on par with Unreal II or Unreal Tournament 2003, the game packs its own punch and looks quite appealing compared to other FPS. The textures look great and the colors are well utilized. The character models aren’t really appealing though; more attention should have been given to their design. But overall, the graphics are crisp and visually entertaining.
Another interesting aspect is the minimal puzzle solving and tasks that need to be achieved to progress through the game. For example, you need to go pick up your check in order to successfully obtain money to purchase your girlfriend's milk on day one. While on your errands quest, you get to meet some quirky celebrities. Come on, how cool is meeting Vince Desi and Gary Colman in a virtual environment? The nice thing about it is that you can do nasty things to them if you feel like going postal. A shovel always comes in handy when you want to silence someone nicely.
