Retro Gaming 90’s- Grand Theft Auto II: (1999)

Sometimes its was a hard to believe that the Grand Theft Auto series has been around for over two decades. In fact, Grand Theft Auto II has been around since ’99 and was released for game systems such as the PS1, Dreamcast and Microsoft Windows. It should also be noted that Grand Theft Auto II was the final installment within the series that provided players with gameplay from a top down perspective. Even though, Grand Theft Auto II is among one of the least popular installments within the entire series it was still a pretty solid action-adventure game at time. Grand Theft Auto II did not really have a in-depth story mode like its successors which were all 3D action-adventure type games. However, players were allowed to engage in various activities such as completing missions and taking on jobs from crime syndicates while earning respect for completing assigned tasks. In terms of gameplay Grand Theft Auto II was pretty similar to its ’97 predecessor; but it included a brand new game safe feature which made every more convenient for players in terms of gameplay. In Grand Theft Auto II players were expected to earn as many points as they possibly could while reaching a set score for each level.

The arcade like gameplay for Grand Theft Auto II was pretty unique for its time; but if GTAII was released sometime between ’94-’96 for the PS1, Microsoft Windows or even Sega Saturn it could have been a much bigger deal. Despite, Grand Theft Auto II receiving a mixed reception for critics the concept and vibe of the game was a pretty decent action-adventure title; that nicely reflected the vibe of American society during the late 90’s. Also, Grand Theft Auto II was the game that preceded the legendary GTA III title for the PS2 which came out in 2001. The idea of a 3D remake of Grand Theft Auto II from a third-person perspective sounds pretty cool in theory. But since GTA II was not heavily story driven like its successors from the 00’s it might not be as much of an attraction. Either way, Grand Theft Auto II is a game from ’99 that really gets talked about as much. While seeing GTA I & II from a top down perspective was pretty interesting during the 90’s; Rockstar found the perfect gameplay perspective for every game within the series from Grand Theft Auto III onwards.