Now, six years later, Postal 2 is here with a vengeance. Not to be outdone by anyone, Running With Scissors wanted Postal 2 to be memorable in many ways, the most obvious being that it's the first game bearing an M-rating to receive the "Intense Violence" descriptor from the ESRB. Since it's release, Postal 2 hasn't really made the news like Grand Theft Auto 3, but it's still receiving negative attention from the likes of Senator Lieberman.
But how does it play? Well, it runs off Unreal's Warfare engine and has room for you to make MODs, design your own levels and such. Next, it has the Karma system, which inflicts realistic damage on your opponents and has realistic physics for bodies hitting the ground like a sack of bricks. I guess the only thing it lacks is Soldier of Fortune II's GHOUL system, wherein the damage inflicted on an opponent is graphically represented with exposed brains, missed limbs, chunks of flesh torn out, etc.
Postal 2 is over the top, in terms of violence. Yet Running With Scissors has done something very interesting. You can complete the whole game without firing a shot. Of course, since you are going through a week in the life of Postal Dude, it can get rather frustrating and make you want to go, well, postal. This little twist really adds depth to the game, as the game is truly only as violent as you are.
The controls are easy to get used to, especially if you're familiar with Unreal. The game itself is fun, but could have used some more depth. On Monday (Day 1), you go to town and collect your paycheck, cash it at the bank, and buy some milk. Later on in the week, you're kidnapped by rednecks and have to escape from them and then on another day, you have to get (Sir) Gary Coleman's autograph. Of course, there are other tasks like returning a library book, confessing your sins, voting, getting an alternator for your car, etc.
Needless to say, Postal 2 is very inventive. In fact, this is the first game I can think of where you can use urine as a sort of weapon. Drop your drawers and shoot. Someone will end up barfing. In the end, if you want a game for novelty value, Postal 2 is it. It's a shining example of what independent studios are capable of. There wasn't a huge multi-million dollar budget and it was just a concept behind the game. And it's about time. If you've got a PC with the recommended specs, buy Postal 2. Support the cause and start on the "Hestonworld" level of difficulty.