Developer: Running With Scissors
Publisher: Running With Scissors
Platform: PC, Mac
Tested on: PC
Postal 2: Paradise Lost – Review
After ten long years and a slightly disappointing Postal 3, the original developers from Postal 2 have returned to their game and decided to deliver a full-fledged expansion pack for their game. Join the Dude as he ventures back into his former hometown and messes some stuff up.
Story
After an 11 year coma and your Apocalypse Weekend escapades, you, “the Dude” are on a mission. You are on a quest to search for your lost dog, and trails suggest that he made it to your former hometown. However, the town looks a little different from what you’re used to. The town and its citizens have been transformed because of nuclear destruction and it now has a Nuclear Winter, and winter, winter never changes. Along your journey to find your companion, you’ll have to get help from a couple of factions: the towering, the miniature, the zombified and everything in between. You’ll have to use your great people skills in order to complete your search and run a lot of errands to get favors.
Since the expansion is supposed to make Postal 2 kind of popular again, the story hasn’t changed that much in its core. The game itself always had and still has a pretty low story value, but it has remained the same nonetheless. You still have the same errand running type of story, but now it actually has a purpose because you’re on a quest! However, while asking around town if someone has seen your dog, everyone seems to be very scared, so maybe he has done something really bad?
Graphics
Graphically, not much has changed since 11 years ago and that’s pretty much exactly what the developers were going for. The game seems like it runs in the same engine and it also has the same graphic style and quality that it had on its original release. It might not be as up to date as most people would expect, but people who have played the base game will not mind the graphic style at all. It will also be pretty nostalgic to most people, especially for those who played Portal 2. However, younger and more modern gamers won’t really find the game attractive looking at all, since they’re used to much better graphics.
In comparison with Postal 2, the world looks much more worn down. It fits with the post apocalyptic style and it’s nice for a change. The road is filled with cracks and there’s a lot of rubble in the streets. A lot of buildings are also partially destroyed, making it easier to explore the map and find loot.
Because of the outdated graphics, pretty much any PC could run the game. It has extremely low system requirements and nobody should have any trouble playing the game, and if you do, there’s some graphics options which can be turned down in order to provide a better experience.
Sound
Not much has changed here either. The music (when there is any) and sound effects are still the same as they used to be. Music is usually rock or hard rock, it fits together perfectly with the rest of the game and its badassness and really feels awesome while you’re slaughtering everyone. The sound effects themselves are pretty low quality, but that’s to be expected in an older type of game. The thing that’s impressive though, is that the voice of the Dude is still the same as the previous games.
Gameplay
At its core, Paradise Lost is the same old action first person shooter that it used to be. Postal 2: Paradise Lost features the same free roam errand-based gameplay. Of course, besides doing errands, you can screw around as much as you want and ruin everything at your wish.
Mechanics and controls are pretty basic, since the expansion is in line of the base game. You have the simple movement keys and mouse, combined with a couple of action buttons like kicking, using an item or unzipping your pants. The game also features full controller support, allowing you the comfort of your couch while pissing on strangers.
As briefly mentioned before, Postal 2 is an errand-based game. This means that you start your day, get a bunch of chores to do and then the day ends. Of course, there’s not a whole lot of fun involved with that. That’s why the game kind of revolves around you making your own fun. Of course you could just do what is asked of you, but this is a free roam game, so who would do that? Would you rather wait in line to buy toilet paper or simply kill everyone in the store and steal it? Right. There’s no limits to how rude you can be in the game and it doesn’t really punish you for it. You simply do what you want whenever you want, whether it’s making strangers puke, kicking them in the nuts or using cats as silencers for your weapons.
The map and areas you’ll venture into are exactly the same as the base game, the buildings and roads are in the same position but the only difference is that most buildings have different looks to them. Another difference is that you can’t start exploring everything from the start. Your map is ripped in pieces and you’ll unlock newer areas as you run more errands and have to venture further to get help.
Weapon choice is still pretty much the same with only a few additions. You have a fairly big range of guns, rifles, shotguns, grenades and even more to your disposal. You’ll have to find most weapons as you go, but they’re pretty easy to find and there’s some vending machines here and there where you can buy ammo , guns and even kevlar.
In terms of added features, Paradise Lost has provided the Dude with some extra methods of killing. You can use a revolver like in the wild west, use a lever-action shotgun or even chop people up with a weed whacker. Of course there’s also boss battles. You’ll have to fight all sorts of weird creatures and people, ranging from Osama Bin Laden to your ex-wife.
Conclusion
Postal 2: Paradise Lost is the proof that not all is lost. It’s a great addition to Postal 2 and features the same dark humor, graphics and gameplay that everyone used to love. It has a couple extra guns and items to mess around with and it also features awesome boss fights. Don’t be fooled though as this isn’t an ordinary DLC, it’s a full-fledged standalone followup for the Apocalypse Weekend from the original game. You’ll be spending a fair amount of time on the expansion, unless the only thing you do is chores, but who doesn’t like to screw around in free roam games?
Postal 2: Paradise Lost - Review,
Related Items
1 Comment
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] damage until you relieve yourself. Pissing on zombies can make for a comical scene, like in most Postal games, but this can also make everyone slip on it (including you). If you get hurt, you will need to […]