Grand Theft Auto 2 (PC)

So, the game that launched a thousand tabloid moral crusades returns to our screens once again. In case you had your head under a rock on Mars when the first game was released, the original Grand Theft Auto saw you controlling a young hoodlum trying to make a name for himself with the Mob. Missions involved stealing cars, killing cops, assassinating rival gang members and generally partaking in badness. Thus, the Daily Mail lovingly handed DMA Design a dream-like PR campaign on a platter, and the game shifted units like a demon.

So, it's back, but the world has moved on and tabloid hate campaigns now have more important things to complain about, like Carmageddon and the internet. Without the initial shock value inspired by the first one, it seems DMA will have to pay for their PR this time. So, looks like it'll have to stand on its merit as a game, then. Shock horror.

Fortunately for DMA, it's rather good. This is one of those remake-type sequels, where the original game design has been revamped with two year's worth of hindsight and the graphics have been updated to use new technology. The top-down action of the first game remains intact; once again, you steer a little sprite around a birds-eye-view o the game world, answer payphones to apply for missions, and then do whatever the shady gangster on the other end of the line tells you. This nets you money; save enough money, and you advance to the next level. Simple? Not a chance.

For a start - and new in this version - the city is carved up between rival gangs who all hate each other. Work for one gang, and their arch-rivals will all start shooting you on sight. On the other hand, kill lots of members of one gang, and their enemies will decide you're the best thing since the Uzi machine pistol, and allow you more lucrative missions.

Then there are the police, who'll do their damndest to nail you if they catch you running over pedestrians or carjacking innocents. In this version, they've got backup - avoid apprehension for long enough, and they'll call out SWAT teams, the FBI and eventually the army to come out and teach you that crime doesn't pay.

The much-criticised lack of a game save feature from the original has been amended, but it costs money to save so you can't do it all the time and that makes the game much more nervy. The enemy AI is much improved too - the police no longer have eyes in the back of their head, for example - but it's not quite perfect. More entertaining, TV-style voice-over commentary has been added. The graphics are fabulous, in a retro, top-down, sprite-based kinda way.

The question of the game's general nastiness can leave a bad taste in the mouth of the puritanical, but then, again it has an 18 rating for that reason. If this sort of stuff easily offends you, don't buy it. If you're sure it won't turn you into a homicidal car thief, then go ahead and buy it. You'll get a great game and a good laugh, especially in multiplayer mode.