Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) (VG)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

Alex De Rakoff
Jamie King

Writers:

Dan Houser (writer)
Michael Keillor (writer)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Respect is everything.

Plot:

A sequel to the hit video game Grand Theft Auto, this game once again puts the player in the role of...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Grand Theft Auto | Sequel | Criminal | Second Part

Cast

Scott Maslen	...	Claude Speed
Jill Tasker	...	(voice)
Gary Penn	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Melina Bruin	...	(voice)
Nick Conroy	...	Redneck Gang leader
Ian Fulton	...	(voice)
Bruce Kronenberg	...	(voice)
Lynn Lambert	...	(voice)
Fred Newman	...	(voice)

Directed by
Alex De Rakoff
Jamie King		(movie sequence)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dan Houser		writer
Michael Keillor		writer

Produced by
Gary Foreman	....	technical producer (as Gary J. Foreman)
Scott Hornbacher	....	line producer
Sam Houser	....	executive producer
David Jones	....	executive producer
Jamie King	....	producer
Colin MacDonald	....	producer
Tina Schofield-Nicholson	....	producer
Wayne Smithson	....	technical producer

Original Music by
Colin Anderson
Bert Reid
Stuart Ross
Paul Scargill

Cinematography by
Robert Benavides
Rob Benevides		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joshua Schwarz

Casting by
Judy Henderson

Production Design by
Michael Krantz

Art Direction by
Jeremy Blake

Costume Design by
Sophie Carbonell

Production Management
Rob Benevides	....	production director
Sam Houser	....	production lead

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Darin Berlin	....	second assistant director
Nick Conroy	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Stephen Banks	....	designer
Jeremy Blake	....	front end designer
Martin Good	....	artist
Neil Landstrumm	....	designer: front end animation
Ian McQue	....	lead artist
William Mills	....	designer
Andrew Strachan	....	artist
Billy Thomson	....	designer
Alisdair Wood	....	artist
Bentley Wood	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Colin Anderson	....	audio manager
Colin Anderson	....	sound effects
Craig Conner	....	sound producer
Adrian Hirst	....	audio programmer
Fiona Robertson	....	additional sound effects
Paul Scargill	....	audio programmer
Raymond Usher	....	audio programmer
Allan Walker	....	sound effects
Allan Walker	....	sound mixer: movie
Allan Walker	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Lenny Bass	....	gaffer
Samson Chan	....	assistant camera
Clifford Charles	....	electrician
Melissa Cohen	....	assistant camera
Michael Koepre	....	grip
Kamisi Norwood	....	electrician
Mike Reyes	....	key grip
Christian Franz Staab	....	grip
William Steward	....	electrician
Larry Troesken	....	grip

Music Department
Terry Donovan	....	music editor
Michael Keillor	....	musical director

Other crew
Emel Akiah	....	development team
Craig Arbuthnott	....	quality assurance supervisor
Pete Armstrong	....	game tester (as Peter Armstrong)
Richard Arrowsmith	....	additional tester
Sam Attenborough	....	additional tester
Brian Baird	....	programmer
Jeronimo Barrera	....	production team
Tim Bates	....	game tester (as Timothy Bates)
Martin Berridge	....	additional tester
Greg Bick	....	programming support
Eric Booker	....	additional tester
Andy Brownbill	....	programming support
Kit Brown	....	game tester
Thomas Lee Brown	....	game tester
Lee Campbell	....	test supervisor
Lorne Campbell	....	game designer: bonus level
Jim Collins	....	game tester
Nigel Conroy	....	development team
James Cree	....	game tester
Michael Dailly	....	additional supporter
Gregory Dimech	....	game tester (as Greg Dimech)
Terry Donovan	....	production team
Tim Earnshaw	....	technical supporter
Phil Eckford	....	test supervisor
Craig Filshie	....	game tester
Kenneth Giblin	....	technical supporter
Simon Gilman	....	additional tester
Julian Glendinning	....	technical supporter
Matt Gorman	....	product manager
Denby Grace	....	game tester
Filip Gracz	....	game tester
Chris Greatbatch	....	additional tester (as Chris Greatbach)
Keith R. Hamilton	....	lead programmer
Eddie Hayden	....	game tester
Adrian Hirst	....	development team
Kevin Hoare	....	programming support
Adam Holbrough	....	game tester
Sam Houser	....	production team
Nick Huggins	....	game tester
Richard Huie	....	game tester (as Richard Huìe)
Alan Jack	....	game tester
Lee Johnson	....	game tester
David Jones	....	creative director
Jamie King	....	production team
Charlie Kinloch	....	game tester
Sergei Kuprejanov	....	game tester
Jung Kwak	....	package designer
Chris Lacey	....	game tester
Ray Larabie	....	programming support
Brian Lawson	....	additional supporter
Daniel Leyden	....	programmer
Mark Lloyd	....	game tester
Steve Lycett	....	quality assurance manager
Greg Mathews	....	game tester (as Gregory Mathews)
Neil McCaffrey	....	game tester
Shaun McKillop	....	map editor
Wayne Mellors	....	additional tester
Neil Morton	....	technical supporter
Karen Mui	....	package designer
Eric Neilson	....	lead tester
Stephen Orr	....	game tester
David Paterson	....	additional supporter
Andrew Patterson	....	additional supporter
Jay Penney	....	game tester
Gary Penn	....	creative manager
Chris Pritchard	....	additional tester
Aaron Puzey	....	additional supporter
Adam Rabin	....	lead tester
Blair Renaud	....	game tester
Stephano Riallo	....	additional tester
Phil Rodkoff	....	game tester
Iain Ross	....	programmer
Andrew Scott	....	additional supporter
Brian Shelton	....	game tester
Gary Sims	....	game tester
Nick Sneddon	....	game tester
Kristian Sorge	....	production assistant
Michael Stirling	....	game designer: bonus level
Sean Taylor	....	game tester
Steven H. Taylor	....	game tester
Jim Thompson	....	game tester
Luke Warhurst	....	additional tester
Daniel Webster	....	additional tester
Graeme Williiamson	....	programmer (as Graeme Williamson)
Jonathan Wilson	....	additional tester
Jim Woods	....	development manager
Stephen Woodward	....	additional lead game tester
Ed Zolnieryk	....	game tester

Thanks
Jeff Castaneda	....	special thanks
Kenneth Fee	....	thanks
Aaron Garbut	....	thanks
Kevin Gill	....	special thanks
Steve Hodgson	....	thanks
Jennifer Kolbe	....	special thanks
Paul Kurowski	....	thanks
Donald Robertson	....	thanks
Sheldon Steiger	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• DMA Design
• Tarantula Studios (Gameboy Color version)

Distributors

• Buka Entertainment (1999) (Russia) (all media)
• DMA Design (1999) (USA) (all media)
• Gathering of Developers (1999) (USA) (all media) (PC version)
• Rockstar Games (1999) (UK) (all media)
• Rockstar Games (1999-2000) (USA) (all media)
• Rockstar Games (2004) (worldwide) (all media)

Other Companies

• Company 3  telecine
• Moving Shadow  additional music
• NYC Sessions  DJs
• NYC Sessions  commercials
• Organic Studios  special thanks: music
• Oyster Partners  special thanks

Also Known As:

GTA2 (USA) (promotional title)

Country:

USA | UK

Certification:

Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:M | USA:T (Playstation version)

Company:

DMA Design

Quotes:

Army Soldier: Hey! This Army Base is for trained Government killers only!

Movie Connections:

References Brazil (1985)

The most dangerous game I've ever played!

Ok, I will never, EVER imitate what happens in this action/driving game, but I have never been more tempted to speed a red light, steal a cop car or run over pedestrians for a laugh than after I've played GTA2. Personally, I think that this game is the perfect way to relax after being stuck in a traffic jam for hours on end, as it lets you do anything you shouldn't and get away with it...if you can lose the increasing number of cops that give chase!

GTA2 hasn't attracted as much media attention as its prequel, which just goes to show that GTA was the scapegoat of the games industry when it came out. What we have left is an addictive, long lasting and above all, FUN driving game where you have to gain respect from rival gangs, each of whom have a mortal enemy. Taking on jobs from one will affect how you play the game. For example, completing a mission for one gang will get you respect from that gang, but you'll lose respect from that gang's mortal enemy, and thusly not be offered any jobs (and driving through their neighbourhood would be a bad move).

The piéce de resistance are the massive cities that you race around. What makes the game so good is how busy and realistic they are, with hospitals, restaurants, police stations, sewage plants etc. etc. They are nothing if not believable. There are over 120 vehicles in the game (according to the blurb on the back of the box) each with their own handling, and with a quick visit to a garage you can add machine guns to the sides or arm it with a bomb. Some of them have special features like taxies which will attract paying civilians and tanks which roll right over SWAT vans and fire shells at your persuerers. Sometimes the chaos is awe inspiring, as the flames light up the screen.

Each 'job' is fun and hilarious, and they increase with difficulty throughout the game. The later missions will definately increase the lastabilty of what could have been a "one week" game. In one such mission, the Russian mafia requires food for it's members. The boss tells you to steal a bus and collect passengers. When you have enough, you take the loaded bus to the meat factory, where behind closed doors you hear the screeches of the "livestock" as they become fresh hot-dogs. Using a hot-dog van (naturally) you drop off the 'dogs at a resturant. Mission Complete! While guys like me love this kind of humour, some may find it not quite to their liking, and belive me, that was one of the tamer missions.

The only bad point about this game is that it costs points/money to save your game, so you don't really want to unless you've done 2-3 jobs in a row. This becomes repetitive if you don't have the time to do so. Other than that, make sure you don't lose the all-important map or you'll get lost very quickly!

I'd recommend GTA2 to anyone who has an unhealthy sense of humour and thinks that's it's better to kill in games than in real life. 9/10