This game was low key pretty advanced. Even the radio would cut with static and turn low quality in certain areas of the map as the signal became low on the radio. That still blows my mind it’s so forgotten
I hate to be the guy, but this game is underrated. GTA3 was when most people learned about the franchise, but I LOTS of fun with this game back in the day.
Hot Dog Homicide is probably the darkest mission in the series. You kidnap a bus full of innocent civilians, take them to the Russian Mafia meat plant, and watched as they’re stripped naked and forced at gunpoint to walk into the meat grinder as they all scream and cry. Then you take the freshly made hotdogs out and sell them
I remember getting this game as a kid and my mother asking the guy in the shop why its 18 rated and he goes "oh its just because some of the people on the street say things like Jesus Christ" and my mother goes "oh thats not so bad" and she let me get it.
@@SquareEyedJak One of the green telephone missions for the Russian Mafia. Except @ThePPQQ1 is misremembering: you don't turn rival gang members into hot dogs... you turn normal civilans, which you pick up from bus stops first. Possibly the only time in the entire game when I actually thought this is taking things too far.
GTA 2 is a great game honestly. It's a huge improvement over the original game. Graphically I still think it looks pretty awesome even to this day. To this day I still consider GTA III to be literally a 3D version of GTA 2. If you've played GTA 2 and then played GTA 3 in a bubble you will notice what I mean. But GTA 2 gives that being dropped into a Sandbox feel I want out of a GTA game that sadly none of them have achieved since. I don't like grand story's surrounding a premade character...
This was always an essential LAN party favorite amongst my friends. GTA2 is forgotten for its multiplayer modes, but if you're reading this and interested in retro games, give it a try with your friends.
Great memories of putting landmines for others to run into only to run into them yourself after 10 minutes, or trying to get to the tank before someone else does...
Got this for Christmas back in 99, I was 8, I loved this so much I remember pretending to be sick to not go to school so I can have time with this :-)
I also always loved the sorta “fence hopping” mechanic when it came to dealing with the different gangs in this game. Felt like most everything you did had consequences. It’s definitely something I’d like to see refined in a modern game where you’re a more neutral criminal with no clear cut allegiances to anybody. I feel like the closest we got it being replicated was in GTA III, where Claude does do business with all the gangs at one point, but almost all his bridges are burnt by game’s end also.
It will be a sad day when GTA 6 is released because after a few days people will ignore the story and just play the online gangs vs police or heist modes.
2 is easily my favourite. The 3D ones have been awesome but there's just something about 2, multiplayer especially, that is just 100x more fun. A bit of whimsy goes a long way.
I loved GTA 2 back in the day. Even then I dreamed of game where you can do "anything". And that is what GTA 2 really was.. a sandbox to do whatever you want. Of course it was very limited to today's standards but back then it was amazing, at least to me.
Thank you so much for this Video! In my opinion, it's one of the best games of all time and even compared to the other GTA games, I think part 2 is just sensationally good. This is especially evident in the fact that it's from 1999 and it still works awesome today and has aged very well.
Rockstar did an amazing job with further polishing the diamond that they found with the concept of the original GTA. Jak, you summarized it really good: Rockstar's first good choice was making the experience more like a video game and arguably less like real-life (but actually more playable and much less irritating) by adding a health bar, the ability to replay failed missions; and figuring out that finding weapons and power ups should not be such a big deal for the player and thus scattering them aplenty on the map, including always right near the payphones with the missions. Second thing they did brilliantly was making the city feel even more alive that GTA1 did: taxis and buses actually work (and that's regardless if the driver is an NPC or the player), radios have DJs with some personality plus ads for places that actually exist in the game ("Crazy CJ's, home of the Mad Burger. You'll be insane to miss it!" - says perhaps the most memorable one, spoofing the Mad Cows Disease scare of that era... and then you blow the building up). Last but not least: rival gang members who attack each other on sight, car thiefs and pick-pockets not affiliated with any gang do their thing too. If a policeman is nearby he tries to stop them. It really felt like this is a real-life simulator that you can just leave running and things will happen. Like the player is just one small pedestrian that the game in no way cares more about that all the other NPCs. What can I say? Back when it came out, this one young boy (that is now almost middle aged), quickly declared it his favourite game of all-time (dethroning GTA1). It might no longer be, but it still holds a special place in my heart... and on my hard drive, where it stays pretty much permamently since 1999. I just can't front on this title. It was super fun back then and still is fun today.
I wish Anywhere City and its retrofuturistic theme was recreated in some 3D installment of series. This game has unique atmosphere and for that remains my fav in the series. I like Industrial area the best, as it takes that atmosphere up to 11. And yes, 6 heads in this game is BRUTAL. Only one comparable would be GTA3 with how quick military can mow you down with their OP minigun like M16s. As for kill frenzies, never bothered. When you die, it's better to reload save as you lose all your weapons, so extra lives aren't that important IMO.
Thats why i dont like gta 6,to be set in Vice City,we already digested the concept of Vice City in:GTA VC and VCS and also in the original Scarface movie and also there is a Scarface videogame The gta 2 concept is something very misterious and exotic,and difficult to visualise due to the game lack of story and character development I wish Rockstar will make an GTA game set in the HD version of the Anywhere City with a more detalied map and with a much complex story,the retrofuturistic theme would fit for vehicles like Opressor mark II from gta online
0:52 The guy in the GTA2 intro movie is actor Scott Maslen. He currently plays the character Jack Branning is British TV soap 'EastEnders' and has done so since 2007.
I like how you can play each gang, and at the end of the level when all missions are done, all gangs will send assassins after you which you can kill and win that way.
Okay, that intro with footage of the streets and city loop of Melbourne was an insane montage. For how uneducated on GTA2 I came into this video, I'm baffled I haven't heard more about it compared to GTA1 or the 3D titles. What a wild episode Jak, top tier stuff.
Dude, I’m new to your channel and I have to say, you have of the most authentic, energising and entertaining personalities of anyone I’ve seen making this kind of content. So many people play a kind of character when they’re in front of the camera. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but it’s so refreshing to see a person cut out the nonsense and speak articulately and passionately about the things they love - and the things that give them the shits! And not to shit on anyone else, but it’s awesome to hear a proper Aussie accent without some kind of weird affectation / exaggeration that some of the more popular Aussie TH-camrs seem to feel they need to put on. My only regret is not finding you sooner. Keep doing what you’re doing my man, I look forward to coming along for the ride!
My childhood game right here, I played it non stop for years on ps1. It was the greatest in the top down series, and with the 8 minute movie I always wished it was a show or movie 😢
This one is by far the best part of the classic GTA games. It resulted too hard for me to overcome back then in my childhood, so it's one those check boxes I'm still looking forward to be checked!
So many awesome features that need to come back. Love upgrading the car with oil slick. Getting chased by the pigs and leading them in to my gangs territory who slaughter them. Need to re buy thisb
Fun fact: in GTA2 you are playing as Claude Speed who may or may not be Claude from GTA 3. Also yeah, GTA2 is among my favorite childhood games. The gang mechanic was incredibly immersive and it's a shame there's really not been anything similar since, even outside the GTA franchise.
This game was My introduction into the GTA series and one of my favorite PS1 games as a 6 year old best game in the series to start with in my opinion, if you wanted a head start to your criminal Enterprise that is : )
It's like after this game rockstar hit gold with GtA 3 and said "y'know what let's never change up our game design ever and innovate only visually and we'll remove a bunch of stuff people love"
To be honest, GTA 2 is my favourite in the series. I am much more a fan of the whole "arcade style" way of doing the game, rather than having to endure a story line I may or may not care about at all. Sadly, I doubt we will ever get a proper top-down GTA again ever.... This sort of gameplay also offers much more freedom to the player.
Correction: They returned to this style with Grand Theft Auto Advance first, which was released in 2004 (would be nice to see the video on that one too), then again in GTA Chinatown Wars. Overall great videos so far, glad I stumbled upon your channel, algorythm actually working properly lmao. Cheers, and looking forward to the next video
one thing to help you with enemy encounters. Just walk backwards and shoot in front of you. The enemys have to be in a certain range to start attacking so kiting them around while shooting at them makes alot of things easier. GTA 2 will always be one of favourite games.
This series has been an awesome trip down memory lane for me! Im so happy to have been able to watch these videos, and i do think you did a great job detailing what you liked and didn't like about each installment. As always great video!
11:00 You say "you piss off a rival gang and they send a hitman after you". If you finish all the missions from all the gangs in a single district this is actually what will happen in the game. All three gang will figure out that you've been working for all of them and they will each send a hitman that chases you all around the map. Consider it the final boss battle of each district.
It's not hitmen, but rather the gangs' bosses who try to kill you personally. That's the reason why the Zaibatsu gang has a different boss in each new level.
Its a perfect sequel for first game, since it added save mechanic, far more content and elements (respect, radios, collectibles, unique vehicles and many others) and enjoyable gameplay overall.
This will mean nothing to non-UK viewers, but the main guy in the 8 minute promotional video is Jack Branning (real name Scott Maslen) from EastEnders (before he became famous). Quite funny seeing him here!
Played this game a ton on the ps one. Loved the diverse missions. Especially the prison mission. I did beat the game with just the tanks also lol. Rampage thru the city and get the score high enough is not that hard if you get the hang of the tank. Great game compared to the first. Your gta 1 video made me install 1 and 2 again after a few years and enjoy them every time with alot of nostalgia.
Here is fun fact about GTA2. There was an European PC version that for some reason had some cars altered, most notably Ice-Cream Truck was replaced by Coca-Cola Truck, cop cars were also altered to look more like modern cars instead of this retro futuristic look.
We got this game rented from my local Civic Video, or maybe Video Ezy when I was a kid, probably because it was less realistically violent than the 3D GTA games. The main things I remember are killing the Elvises, crushing cars and entering a Kill Frenzy only to ask "who's frenzy and where is he?"
YES MY MAN. This was my first ever game as a kid. My Uncle had a PS1 and I would just drive The Cars on this. So Cool to see you doing a video on this.
I make it a habit to revisit this channel every once in a while as a fan for a number of years now, and it's always great to see you doing well and going strong. Bless your soul man.
I loved the original, we played it for hours - but I legit thought GTA2 was _the_ coolest game I'd ever played.. every single pixel is a huge nostalgia hit for me, thanks for the video Love and success, cousin - London UK 🙏🏻❤🍻
Gta2 and klonoa dtp are my all time favorite games. And you sir just made some of the finest reviews out there for each game. You did them great justice
As a man who spend an ungodly amount of time on gta 2 (and still do spend it) I must say that this was very nice review with absolutely fair criticism, good job sir. As for GTA2 GBC... beating it on emulator is painful, but if someone did it as kid on their actual gameboy... hats off to them. oh and CTW wasnt next 2d gta, it was GTA Advance, but that game seems to be universally forgotten by everyone and is generally not being spoken lightly of (though it has extremely satisfying driving mechanics)
They also started the GTA tradition of awesome, wacky radio stations while driving... 'JESUS MY SAVIOUR, MY FAVOURITE FLAVOUR" I can still hear it 20 years later. Also the Elvis impersonators walking around like ducks in a row, If you manage to kill them all in one go: ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING😅
I'm currently playing the PS1 version of this game. It cuts completely subway system, you can't play at night, have little worse graphics, different controls, but overall it's same playable as PC version. And if you're playing this on emulator, you can use the save states to save and load everywhere you want!
Bro you are the only dude I watch now. Really down to earth and knowledgeable about whatever you talk about. Also, wear that wife beater whenever you can x
I didn't see you do this in any of the gta videos, so I will mention it: You can shoot while running backwards, so you can "kite" enemies without taking damage. In gta1, the backwards movement speed is quite slow, so eventually enemies will catch up to you, but a major gameplay change from gta1 to gta2 was that they made the backwards speed the same as forwards, giving the players the possibility to endlessly kite enemies. Something else to keep in mind is the projectile-based weapons (meaning the bullets actually travel, instead of hitting instantly, the Max Payne series is a good example), so you can see and then react to bullets. With this idea that bullets take time to reach the player, being close to an enemy is dangerous because the bullets reach you quickly, and being farther away gives you time to dodge. But anyways, I loved the reviews. I am happy you were able to appreciate what these games did while considering historical context. While gta3 is the one that became popular, really all the pieces have been there since gta1, with the only difference being the camera angle.
Finally! A review longer than 15 minutes on my second favorite game of all time (only behind a Link to the Past). Awesome review! Definitely following you now and look forward to checking out more of your content.
Man I’m loving your History of GTA series! I’m 34 now and have played every game from the very first… it brings great nostalgia! For me it started with one of the first PlayStation magazine editions with a free playable demo disc for the PlayStation. GTA caught my attention very early!… & considering Resident evil was also on said demo. My mum was all too happy too let me play the heck out of GTA as the resident evil death scene disturbed her. 😂 GTA2 chase dynamics were actually really fun! (Only use mines at full speed though!) 😬
Thank you Jak, as always I had a ton of fun with your videos. Especially loved the background music in this video. GTA 2 was my first own GTA, while playing VC and SA at friends. But I was hoping for GTA Advance tho‘ :D as far as I remember, this was much more like GTA 2 than the GBC Versions, but came with features of the newer GTAs, like the star system.
Wow, I played this a lot and I had no idea you could switch the time of day to daytime. I wish I'd known, it looks so much nicer and clearer with the daytime graphics!
Every time someone talks about this game, Hot Dog Homicide! gets mentioned, it was the only mission I remembered clearly (been playing in early/mid 2000s). Wondered you didn't mention it but the people in the comments did not disappoint.
Yet another thorough and entertaining video review. Was looking forward to this one after catching the first two GTA reviews the other day. Thumbs up 👍
Nice to see you making videos again! I somehow hadn't seen any of yours in a longtime until recently you appeared in my recommended once again. Always enjoy your videos, keep them up!
Even crazier that it was bundled in with Moving Shadow mixtape CD's too apparently. Really miss that record label and really miss the relationship they had with R*
The first time I played the PC version I played it with the European map, which is a bit bigger than the PS1 map. The American PS1 map is slightly bigger than the European PS1 map. The biggest by far is the American PC map. It's similar in size to the PC GTA 1 and London 1969 maps. They're A3 size. GTA 2's map is slightly taller and thinner. I used those maps on my second playthrough and it was a far better experience. Unfortunately they're hard to find.
Great review, you showcased the games highs and lows fairly, lot of reviews i've seen of this game have been really harsh for some reason, even tho i think this game is really fun.
Great video, loved hearing about the Game Boy Color version as well! Portable oddities are always fun, would be very interested to see you discuss GTA Advance in a future video
Greta video on another great game! Have you ever played retro city rampage? its an original gta type game that was made with tons and tons of pop culture references feathered into it. a whole lot of fun i would recommend giving it a try
I will never forget that one mission in 2nd City, in that you have to steal a bus, collect civilians and bring them to the slaughter house for Hot Dogs.
This game was low key pretty advanced. Even the radio would cut with static and turn low quality in certain areas of the map as the signal became low on the radio. That still blows my mind it’s so forgotten
Pro tip for anyone trying to find the save point.
Use the van with the satellite dish on it, it always points towards the save point.
Great tip!
Or you can install the widescreen fix mod that comes with an f5 quicksave shortcut
@@s_for_short2400 my god that would be a godsend
I hate to be the guy, but this game is underrated. GTA3 was when most people learned about the franchise, but I LOTS of fun with this game back in the day.
Hot Dog Homicide is probably the darkest mission in the series. You kidnap a bus full of innocent civilians, take them to the Russian Mafia meat plant, and watched as they’re stripped naked and forced at gunpoint to walk into the meat grinder as they all scream and cry. Then you take the freshly made hotdogs out and sell them
Imagine this mission recreated in RDR2
You know... I can tolerate some very gruesome descriptions... Idk wtf to say to this...
They Changed it For the PS1 version due to it Crosses the Line
Instead of normal pedestarian, it Changed to Rival gangs
Instead of Hit and Run, it should’ve been called *Grand Theft Otto.*
Little too tongue and cheek for the legal department
Grand Theft Otto sounds like that's how Jerma got his dog.
Race and Chase still playing on popular vehicle stunt crime movie of Grand theft auto
Grand Theft Otter. It’s just otters protecting their turf.
Or Grand Theft ahh-Doh!
I remember getting this game as a kid and my mother asking the guy in the shop why its 18 rated and he goes "oh its just because some of the people on the street say things like Jesus Christ" and my mother goes "oh thats not so bad" and she let me get it.
but its called grand theft auto lol
@@fatfurie Be glad Rockstar didn't go with "Grievous Bodily Harm" like they intially planned.
😂brilliant
Never forget the mission where you turn the rival gang into hot dogs
I don't recall stumbling into that in my play time but I did love the Ice Cream van bomb to blow up the loonies
I remember that one after you mention it lol. Been 20 years since i did the missions. i remember the prison one the most.
@@SquareEyedJak One of the green telephone missions for the Russian Mafia. Except @ThePPQQ1 is misremembering: you don't turn rival gang members into hot dogs... you turn normal civilans, which you pick up from bus stops first.
Possibly the only time in the entire game when I actually thought this is taking things too far.
Say WHAT?!😂 how do I play this?
@@ArCgon In pc version its humans on ps1 version its gang members
19:48 - 20:00 got me 😂. Excellent retrospective of a classic. Forgot how fun GTA 2 was
Just watched your video with the worm haha
I literally just watched a video of your pc being mollested by a worm. How are you here, you scary man?
GTA 2 is a great game honestly. It's a huge improvement over the original game. Graphically I still think it looks pretty awesome even to this day. To this day I still consider GTA III to be literally a 3D version of GTA 2. If you've played GTA 2 and then played GTA 3 in a bubble you will notice what I mean. But GTA 2 gives that being dropped into a Sandbox feel I want out of a GTA game that sadly none of them have achieved since. I don't like grand story's surrounding a premade character...
Music in this game is awesome. I love listen to GTA2 radios in my car
One of my favourite PS1 games when I was a teen.
Spent soooo many hours playing on weekends.
I loved the radio stations especially the Yakuza one.
The PS1 version was sooo inferior to the PC version.
@@illegalsmirf Didn’t matter to me back then
"Fossil & Sound"
@@AugustDreamScape Faster than sound
@@illegalsmirfThe Dreamcast version was good.
This was always an essential LAN party favorite amongst my friends. GTA2 is forgotten for its multiplayer modes, but if you're reading this and interested in retro games, give it a try with your friends.
Great memories of putting landmines for others to run into only to run into them yourself after 10 minutes, or trying to get to the tank before someone else does...
There was a multiplayer???
@@krisfrederick5001 There was! You can do a quick search on youtube for "gta 2 multiplayer" and see what it looked like.
@@krisfrederick5001 all old school games had multiplayer of some sort.
@@krisfrederick5001 yeah, it's hidden in the launcher before you start the actual game.
Got this for Christmas back in 99, I was 8, I loved this so much I remember pretending to be sick to not go to school so I can have time with this :-)
8? I couldn't play GTA until I was 16 LMAO
I was playing when I was 3 haha. On my Uncles PS1.
Still my favorite GTA game. Wish they'd remake it in 3D with OG radio stations. I have the soundtrack & still listen to it daily.
I also always loved the sorta “fence hopping” mechanic when it came to dealing with the different gangs in this game. Felt like most everything you did had consequences. It’s definitely something I’d like to see refined in a modern game where you’re a more neutral criminal with no clear cut allegiances to anybody. I feel like the closest we got it being replicated was in GTA III, where Claude does do business with all the gangs at one point, but almost all his bridges are burnt by game’s end also.
I honestly think GTA 2 is way more fun than GTA 3, not only because of its gunplay but also the mission design is more intense and creative.
Rockstar should make a new futuristic GTA
@@Teh69thSpartanAnd not a gta game about nowadays failed society,i hope at least gta 9 would have an HD version of the Anywhere City
They will not make a remake of GTA 2 , because they are two busy counting the gta 5 online profits. 😢@@Teh69thSpartan
It will be a sad day when GTA 6 is released because after a few days people will ignore the story and just play the online gangs vs police or heist modes.
"Three weeks into the future" isn't meant to be taken literally. It's an old expression that means 'its the future lol'
2 is easily my favourite. The 3D ones have been awesome but there's just something about 2, multiplayer especially, that is just 100x more fun. A bit of whimsy goes a long way.
I loved GTA 2 back in the day. Even then I dreamed of game where you can do "anything". And that is what GTA 2 really was.. a sandbox to do whatever you want. Of course it was very limited to today's standards but back then it was amazing, at least to me.
GTA 2 might be one of the best in the series if we're being honest with each other
It built as well ontop of the 1st game as Vice City built on the 3rd game. Both masterpieces.
yeah...this game blew me away. I kind of liked how simple it was.
Thank you so much for this Video! In my opinion, it's one of the best games of all time and even compared to the other GTA games, I think part 2 is just sensationally good. This is especially evident in the fact that it's from 1999 and it still works awesome today and has aged very well.
Rockstar did an amazing job with further polishing the diamond that they found with the concept of the original GTA.
Jak, you summarized it really good:
Rockstar's first good choice was making the experience more like a video game and arguably less like real-life (but actually more playable and much less irritating) by adding a health bar, the ability to replay failed missions; and figuring out that finding weapons and power ups should not be such a big deal for the player and thus scattering them aplenty on the map, including always right near the payphones with the missions.
Second thing they did brilliantly was making the city feel even more alive that GTA1 did: taxis and buses actually work (and that's regardless if the driver is an NPC or the player), radios have DJs with some personality plus ads for places that actually exist in the game ("Crazy CJ's, home of the Mad Burger. You'll be insane to miss it!" - says perhaps the most memorable one, spoofing the Mad Cows Disease scare of that era... and then you blow the building up).
Last but not least: rival gang members who attack each other on sight, car thiefs and pick-pockets not affiliated with any gang do their thing too. If a policeman is nearby he tries to stop them. It really felt like this is a real-life simulator that you can just leave running and things will happen. Like the player is just one small pedestrian that the game in no way cares more about that all the other NPCs.
What can I say? Back when it came out, this one young boy (that is now almost middle aged), quickly declared it his favourite game of all-time (dethroning GTA1). It might no longer be, but it still holds a special place in my heart... and on my hard drive, where it stays pretty much permamently since 1999. I just can't front on this title. It was super fun back then and still is fun today.
"All you had to do was swallow the damn brains, CJ!"
"Oh .... burger off."
😊
"Have you you ever considered death? I know I hadn't until a friend pointed out that it comes to us all. "
One of the funniest parts of this game is the Ice Cream Van tune. It used to send me into hysterics as a child.
I wish Anywhere City and its retrofuturistic theme was recreated in some 3D installment of series. This game has unique atmosphere and for that remains my fav in the series. I like Industrial area the best, as it takes that atmosphere up to 11.
And yes, 6 heads in this game is BRUTAL. Only one comparable would be GTA3 with how quick military can mow you down with their OP minigun like M16s.
As for kill frenzies, never bothered. When you die, it's better to reload save as you lose all your weapons, so extra lives aren't that important IMO.
Thats why i dont like gta 6,to be set in Vice City,we already digested the concept of Vice City in:GTA VC and VCS and also in the original Scarface movie and also there is a Scarface videogame
The gta 2 concept is something very misterious and exotic,and difficult to visualise due to the game lack of story and character development
I wish Rockstar will make an GTA game set in the HD version of the Anywhere City with a more detalied map and with a much complex story,the retrofuturistic theme would fit for vehicles like Opressor mark II from gta online
0:52 The guy in the GTA2 intro movie is actor Scott Maslen. He currently plays the character Jack Branning is British TV soap 'EastEnders' and has done so since 2007.
I like how you can play each gang, and at the end of the level when all missions are done, all gangs will send assassins after you which you can kill and win that way.
Okay, that intro with footage of the streets and city loop of Melbourne was an insane montage. For how uneducated on GTA2 I came into this video, I'm baffled I haven't heard more about it compared to GTA1 or the 3D titles. What a wild episode Jak, top tier stuff.
5:10 in short .. its like *mercenaries playground of destruction* with the gang/faction loyalty system
It's a good day when there's a new Square Eyed Jak video
It is
Dude, I’m new to your channel and I have to say, you have of the most authentic, energising and entertaining personalities of anyone I’ve seen making this kind of content. So many people play a kind of character when they’re in front of the camera. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but it’s so refreshing to see a person cut out the nonsense and speak articulately and passionately about the things they love - and the things that give them the shits! And not to shit on anyone else, but it’s awesome to hear a proper Aussie accent without some kind of weird affectation / exaggeration that some of the more popular Aussie TH-camrs seem to feel they need to put on. My only regret is not finding you sooner. Keep doing what you’re doing my man, I look forward to coming along for the ride!
My childhood game right here, I played it non stop for years on ps1. It was the greatest in the top down series, and with the 8 minute movie I always wished it was a show or movie 😢
This one is by far the best part of the classic GTA games. It resulted too hard for me to overcome back then in my childhood, so it's one those check boxes I'm still looking forward to be checked!
Your video on the first game really blew up. Good for you man, you deserve all the success.
So many awesome features that need to come back. Love upgrading the car with oil slick. Getting chased by the pigs and leading them in to my gangs territory who slaughter them. Need to re buy thisb
theres a mission in this game where you collect some gang members and turn them into hotdogs then sell the hotdogs to their fellow gang members.
Fun fact: in GTA2 you are playing as Claude Speed who may or may not be Claude from GTA 3.
Also yeah, GTA2 is among my favorite childhood games. The gang mechanic was incredibly immersive and it's a shame there's really not been anything similar since, even outside the GTA franchise.
This game was My introduction into the GTA series and one of my favorite PS1 games as a 6 year old best game in the series to start with in my opinion, if you wanted a head start to your criminal Enterprise that is : )
It's like after this game rockstar hit gold with GtA 3 and said "y'know what let's never change up our game design ever and innovate only visually and we'll remove a bunch of stuff people love"
To be honest, GTA 2 is my favourite in the series.
I am much more a fan of the whole "arcade style" way of doing the game, rather than having to endure a story line I may or may not care about at all.
Sadly, I doubt we will ever get a proper top-down GTA again ever....
This sort of gameplay also offers much more freedom to the player.
Correction: They returned to this style with Grand Theft Auto Advance first, which was released in 2004 (would be nice to see the video on that one too), then again in GTA Chinatown Wars. Overall great videos so far, glad I stumbled upon your channel, algorythm actually working properly lmao. Cheers, and looking forward to the next video
one thing to help you with enemy encounters. Just walk backwards and shoot in front of you. The enemys have to be in a certain range to start attacking so kiting them around while shooting at them makes alot of things easier. GTA 2 will always be one of favourite games.
This series has been an awesome trip down memory lane for me! Im so happy to have been able to watch these videos, and i do think you did a great job detailing what you liked and didn't like about each installment. As always great video!
I always appreciate your intros and how you make them look like the opening of the game. Excellent, cheers!
GTA 2 was z best of all GTA big facts...love Di birds eye view
11:00 You say "you piss off a rival gang and they send a hitman after you".
If you finish all the missions from all the gangs in a single district this is actually what will happen in the game.
All three gang will figure out that you've been working for all of them and they will each send a hitman that chases you all around the map. Consider it the final boss battle of each district.
It's not hitmen, but rather the gangs' bosses who try to kill you personally.
That's the reason why the Zaibatsu gang has a different boss in each new level.
Its a perfect sequel for first game, since it added save mechanic, far more content and elements (respect, radios, collectibles, unique vehicles and many others) and enjoyable gameplay overall.
This will mean nothing to non-UK viewers, but the main guy in the 8 minute promotional video is Jack Branning (real name Scott Maslen) from EastEnders (before he became famous). Quite funny seeing him here!
Wow, Jak. Great moves. Keep it up. Proud of you.
Played this game a ton on the ps one. Loved the diverse missions. Especially the prison mission. I did beat the game with just the tanks also lol. Rampage thru the city and get the score high enough is not that hard if you get the hang of the tank. Great game compared to the first. Your gta 1 video made me install 1 and 2 again after a few years and enjoy them every time with alot of nostalgia.
I remember my cousin showing me this game when it was new. At the time, I was playing Driver but GTA2 totally blew me away.
Something I appreciated in GTA 3 was the top-down camera option. A throwback to folks who, until then, had only played GTA 1 and 2.
GTA 2 was incredibly hard as a 9 year old but damn did I love playing it, especially loved the vehicle mods.
Here is fun fact about GTA2. There was an European PC version that for some reason had some cars altered, most notably Ice-Cream Truck was replaced by Coca-Cola Truck, cop cars were also altered to look more like modern cars instead of this retro futuristic look.
We got this game rented from my local Civic Video, or maybe Video Ezy when I was a kid, probably because it was less realistically violent than the 3D GTA games.
The main things I remember are killing the Elvises, crushing cars and entering a Kill Frenzy only to ask "who's frenzy and where is he?"
6:20 Classic Rockstar humor: you saving in the church and after successful saving the preacher shouted "Hallelujah! Another soul saved!"
I used to absolutely LOVE GTA2, I remember going from GTA1 to GTA2 - it felt absolutely so so good, remember getting it for xmas, good nostalgia!
YES MY MAN. This was my first ever game as a kid. My Uncle had a PS1 and I would just drive The Cars on this. So Cool to see you doing a video on this.
Loving this GTA series mate! Nice work 🙏
I can’t wait for your retrospective on the next game and forward!
Fun fact! The actor in the gta 2 opening video is now in the UK soap Eastenders!
I’m annoyed that I’ve only just realised this
@@jordan4547 I honestly don’t think a lot of people realise!
I make it a habit to revisit this channel every once in a while as a fan for a number of years now, and it's always great to see you doing well and going strong. Bless your soul man.
Overall production of your videos just keep getting better. Really enjoying the gta series, thanks for the videos dude
The music and dialogue on the radio was great. Loved creating challenges for my brother and I, like who could survive the police the longest
I loved the original, we played it for hours - but I legit thought GTA2 was _the_ coolest game I'd ever played.. every single pixel is a huge nostalgia hit for me, thanks for the video
Love and success, cousin - London UK 🙏🏻❤🍻
Gta2 and klonoa dtp are my all time favorite games. And you sir just made some of the finest reviews out there for each game. You did them great justice
What the hell has this man done to his fingers lol
New subscriber from Scotland! Loving the collection dude and can't wait to see more!
The GTA 2 Rendition of Head Radio has to be my favorite, the Song "Southpark" is so iconic.
As a man who spend an ungodly amount of time on gta 2 (and still do spend it) I must say that this was very nice review with absolutely fair criticism, good job sir.
As for GTA2 GBC... beating it on emulator is painful, but if someone did it as kid on their actual gameboy... hats off to them.
oh and CTW wasnt next 2d gta, it was GTA Advance, but that game seems to be universally forgotten by everyone and is generally not being spoken lightly of (though it has extremely satisfying driving mechanics)
This video was soul-making. Soundshaking. Earthquaking, even.
Got this for Xmas on ps1.. loved it. Spent most my time running from cops and creating havoc like I did with all gta games
The first area of the game in the night still looks so pretty, even almost 30 years later.
They also started the GTA tradition of awesome, wacky radio stations while driving... 'JESUS MY SAVIOUR, MY FAVOURITE FLAVOUR" I can still hear it 20 years later. Also the Elvis impersonators walking around like ducks in a row, If you manage to kill them all in one go: ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING😅
That song didn't make any sense
loved it played it a lot as a kid.
I'm currently playing the PS1 version of this game. It cuts completely subway system, you can't play at night, have little worse graphics, different controls, but overall it's same playable as PC version. And if you're playing this on emulator, you can use the save states to save and load everywhere you want!
I have reallly enjoyed this series, as it speaks to me since I'm from the period when these games came out. Thank you! :D
Bro you are the only dude I watch now. Really down to earth and knowledgeable about whatever you talk about. Also, wear that wife beater whenever you can x
I didn't see you do this in any of the gta videos, so I will mention it:
You can shoot while running backwards, so you can "kite" enemies without taking damage.
In gta1, the backwards movement speed is quite slow, so eventually enemies will catch up to you, but a major gameplay change from gta1 to gta2 was that they made the backwards speed the same as forwards, giving the players the possibility to endlessly kite enemies.
Something else to keep in mind is the projectile-based weapons (meaning the bullets actually travel, instead of hitting instantly, the Max Payne series is a good example), so you can see and then react to bullets.
With this idea that bullets take time to reach the player, being close to an enemy is dangerous because the bullets reach you quickly, and being farther away gives you time to dodge.
But anyways, I loved the reviews. I am happy you were able to appreciate what these games did while considering historical context. While gta3 is the one that became popular, really all the pieces have been there since gta1, with the only difference being the camera angle.
i always felt a special spot for GTAII. It's so fun
2 - Vice City was my favorite set of GTAs.
Finally! A review longer than 15 minutes on my second favorite game of all time (only behind a Link to the Past). Awesome review! Definitely following you now and look forward to checking out more of your content.
At the time I didn't like the gangs mechanic.
But looking back on it, it was way ahead of its time
Man I’m loving your History of GTA series! I’m 34 now and have played every game from the very first… it brings great nostalgia!
For me it started with one of the first PlayStation magazine editions with a free playable demo disc for the PlayStation. GTA caught my attention very early!… & considering Resident evil was also on said demo. My mum was all too happy too let me play the heck out of GTA as the resident evil death scene disturbed her. 😂
GTA2 chase dynamics were actually really fun! (Only use mines at full speed though!) 😬
Since many of the cars look like they come from 1930, with cop cars from the late 50's, I always figured GTA2 took place in the mid 70's.
Thank you Jak, as always I had a ton of fun with your videos. Especially loved the background music in this video.
GTA 2 was my first own GTA, while playing VC and SA at friends.
But I was hoping for GTA Advance tho‘ :D as far as I remember, this was much more like GTA 2 than the GBC Versions, but came with features of the newer GTAs, like the star system.
Wow, I played this a lot and I had no idea you could switch the time of day to daytime. I wish I'd known, it looks so much nicer and clearer with the daytime graphics!
Every time someone talks about this game, Hot Dog Homicide! gets mentioned, it was the only mission I remembered clearly (been playing in early/mid 2000s). Wondered you didn't mention it but the people in the comments did not disappoint.
Yet another thorough and entertaining video review. Was looking forward to this one after catching the first two GTA reviews the other day. Thumbs up 👍
Nice to see you making videos again! I somehow hadn't seen any of yours in a longtime until recently you appeared in my recommended once again. Always enjoy your videos, keep them up!
Well I've been the entire time, never stopped. TH-cam is a bit shit
@@SquareEyedJak Yea that's the algorithm for ya, I'll keep the bell on this time!
Woah, I never knew there was already a GTA movie in 1999!
Even crazier that it was bundled in with Moving Shadow mixtape CD's too apparently. Really miss that record label and really miss the relationship they had with R*
Also, I notice you didn’t talk about the online for any of these. It’s a blast, still works. I’ve had some fun
I'd love to see you try and cover the Multiplayer content in GTA2, it's so much fun and chaotic!
The first time I played the PC version I played it with the European map, which is a bit bigger than the PS1 map. The American PS1 map is slightly bigger than the European PS1 map. The biggest by far is the American PC map. It's similar in size to the PC GTA 1 and London 1969 maps. They're A3 size. GTA 2's map is slightly taller and thinner. I used those maps on my second playthrough and it was a far better experience. Unfortunately they're hard to find.
Fun fact, the main actor in the gta2 movie has a role as a detective called Jack in Eastenders here in the UK.
San Andreas had a prequel of sorts, showing events shortly before the game takes place using in game graphics
Great review, you showcased the games highs and lows fairly, lot of reviews i've seen of this game have been really harsh for some reason, even tho i think this game is really fun.
Id forgotten just how much this game had in Height levels. like using stairs and jumping roof tops.
Great video, loved hearing about the Game Boy Color version as well! Portable oddities are always fun, would be very interested to see you discuss GTA Advance in a future video
Greta video on another great game! Have you ever played retro city rampage? its an original gta type game that was made with tons and tons of pop culture references feathered into it. a whole lot of fun i would recommend giving it a try
I will never forget that one mission in 2nd City, in that you have to steal a bus, collect civilians and bring them to the slaughter house for Hot Dogs.