Postal 2: Share the Pain
Score: 65% ESRB: Mature Publisher: Tri Synergy Developer: Running with Scissors Media: CD/1 Players: 1 - 16 Genre: First Person Shooter
Graphics & Sound: PC games are a funny thing. Unlike console titles, which pretty much need to be completed before shipping (although a few titles will certainly make you wonder), PC titles seem to ship whenever the publisher decides to ship it. This is one of the reasons I have, for years, been turned off of PC games. I don't mind a patch here or there to optimize a few things, but when you're adding things to the game and basically making the game what it should have been at launch, I have a problem. Case in point, Postal 2: Share the Pain, which is the game that should have released last year but wasn't. However, even a more 'complete' game doesn't mean it is a good one. The scenery and sounds of Postal 2 are largely unchanged, so check my previous review of the game for a quick rundown of what you may have missed. Players are still subjected to the drab, dirty rathole named, fittingly enough, Paradise. Character models still move with the stiff grace of a wooden Indian only to become rag dolls on death. To the game's credit, the environments are nice and big, but there's really not much to see. Even with a PC that is beyond the game's recommended specs (something I was missing the last time I encountered Postal 2), the game still looks subpar. Long load times, which plagued the original release, have been fixed. Sound is rather disappointing throughout. There's really no music to be found, so expect to run around in complete silence. The voice of Postal Guy doesn't really fit his character. These complaints aside, what sound you are given is pretty good.
Gameplay: Once again, Postal 2: Share the Pain puts you in the role of Postal Guy, a recently fired computer programmer who decides to implement his own form of therapy. Share the Pain expands on the game by including elements from the patch that was released a few months ago. In addition to faster load times, players will also have a chance to wield the WMD, a rocket launcher which releases clouds of gas upon impact. Two new maps, Tora Bora and Underhub, have also been included and provide nice, big areas to explore. The biggest draw to the game is the addition of a Multiplayer mode; something the original game was sorely lacking. For expanded info on the Single-player mode, refer to the link above. Compared the Single-player mode, the new Multiplayer mode is actually fun. This isn't saying much because even a tax audit is more fun when compared to Postal 2's single-player mode. Much like the original release, Multiplayer tries to get away with sticking as much sophomoric, offending 'humor' into the game without actually working on the game first. What I really liked about multiplayer was that you get to use the Gary Coleman model in multiplayer. Hell, not only do you get to use him, but he is also the most interesting player type in the game since he is half the size of everyone else. The strategic possibilities of such a small target have not gone overlooked. Other models include an ATF Officer, a priest and Osama Bin Laden. Share the Pain's multiplayer options are like stepping back into the first days on online gaming. Play modes offer little variety and nothing we haven't already seen done to death. In addition to the now standard Single and Team Deathmatch modes, Share the Pain offers two play types. Snatch is a Capture the Flag variant where the flag is actually a half-naked woman who piggybacks whoever captures her. Grab has players collecting bags and becoming stronger with each one. If the lack of any new offerings doesn't get to you, the lack of gameplay will. Lag-wise, Share the Pain wasn't the smoothest running game I've played, but it was playable. At least, it was during the times I was able to find people to play with.
Difficulty: Postal 2: Share the Pain follows a free-form structure, allowing you to make the game as hard or easy as you want. For those who didn't find the original release all that challenging, Share the Pain offers two new difficulty levels, 'Insano' and 'They Hate Me'. I found the names fit their corresponding difficulty levels well and provided more of a challenge. The gameplay found in Multiplayer also reverts back to the beginnings of online play. Very little skill can be found when online, causing the gameplay to boil down to simple blastfests. Another component that has some effect on the online gameplay is what I like to call the 'Coleman Factor'. Gary Coleman is short, which makes for a much smaller target. When you have legions of pint-sized 80s stars jumping around and shooting at you, even skilled players will have difficulty drawing a bead.
Game Mechanics: Somehow Postal 2: Share the Pain makes even me want to donate money to Joe Lieberman, Tipper Gore and every other group that has ever protested game violence. I never found the content offensive, let's get that out of the way first. What I found offensive is that someone thought players actually find some of this crap funny -- which it isn't. There are a few chuckle moments every now and again, but most jokes go over about as well as a Dubya speech at a DNC rally. I'm all for a crude joke every now and then, but I fail to see the humor in the ability to pee on your opponent. It could be argued that Manhunt (or really anything in the Rockstar repertoire) uses the same offensive behavior to get over with players, but at least it is backed up with a solid game. I also don't see why this mode couldn't have been offered though a patch, such as the Multiplayer mode in Unreal II. If you don't already have Postal 2 and have wanted to check it out, then I can see paying the 30 bucks. Granted you can buy the upgrade for 10 bucks off the Postal 2 website, but the multiplayer options offered really aren't worth that in my opinion. Postal 2: Share the Pain isn't that bad of a game and I'm sure a number of people will actually enjoy it. That seems to be the case - you either love it or hate it. I am firmly on the latter side of the fence.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
Minimum System Requirements: Pentium III (P4 1.2 GHz recommended); 128 MB RAM (384 MB RAM recommended); 32 MB video card (64 MB recommended); DirectX 8.1 or higher; 56k or higher Internet connection   Test System: Windows XP; Pentium 4 1.7 GHz; Radeon 9100 128 MB; 40 Gig HD; 640 MB RAM; Cable Internet connection
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