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Platform: PC

Developer: Running With Scissors

Publisher: TBA

Genre: Shooter

ETA: Fall/Winter 2002

Postal 2

No longer content to wreck havoc in the 2.5D world of Postal, Running With Scissors is preparing a fully 3D upgrade of its controversial game using the lovely Unreal Engine to render the buckets of gore and odd sights of its socially irresponsible series.

Along with the switch to the Unreal Engine, Postal 2 becomes, naturally, a first person shooter.  This means that it will have to compete with the big boys, and it might just have the muscle to do that.  Lots of love (hate, maybe) is going into every element of Postal 2’s design, a fact readily apparent in the early screenshots and movies which reveal cool lighting effects and new, exciting ways to kill enemies and innocent bystanders.  The most impressive element in the early demo is the use of gasoline.  In one section, the player walks through a level spraying gasoline from a can.  When the can is out of gas, he ignites the trail, and beautiful, realistic flames tear along the ground completely immolating an elephant and a high school marching band.  The chaos is truly wonderful.  It is this kind of thing that will help Postal 2 separate itself from the pack come fall.

Some of the sights promise to be more surreal than they are exciting.  A quick trip to gopostal.com reveals the anachronistic presence of former TV star Gary Coleman as both a villain and a playable character in P2.  Does this make any sense?  No.  Is there any reason that a player should be looking forward to a “playable” Gary Coleman?  No.  Are we still pumped about it?  Heck yeah, we are.

On top of the surreal presence of Coleman, Running With Scissors promises more of the same multiplayer mayhem that made the first game a hit.  Looking back at Postal, despite its obvious anarchism and celebration of violence, it is hard to imagine what all the fuss was about.  The graphics were blocky and unrealistic, not even on par with most of the big studio games of the time, and it should have been impossible to look at the cartoon-like characters blowing each other to bits and think it in any way reflected reality.  Now, with the help of the Unreal engine, RWS should be able to stir up some real excitement in its multi-player battles, and they just might stir up some new controversy.

They seem to be anticipating the controversy.  The gopostal.com site features press releases announcing upcoming products like T-shirts and action figures.  Even cooler is the tease that soon they will be selling metal Postal road signs that have bullet holes shot in them by the Postal 2 development team.  The site certainly drips with rebel attitude.  The question may be, in the year following 9/11, do we have the ability to be shocked by any work of fiction: film, novel, or videogame?

Regardless, the more important question will be “Is this game fun?”  Early looks have been promising, and I’m willing to bet that RWS’s irreverent attitude will carry over to the player and Postal 2 will be one of the fall’s most enjoyable offerings.

- Tolen Dante