Postal 2
A controversial open-world first-person shooter with black comedy.
Postal 2 is a 2003 first-person shooter video game developed by Running with Scissors and published by Whiptail Interactive. It is the second installment in the Postal franchise and has received notoriety for its high levels of violence, stereotyping, and black comedy. The game is the first in the series to feature an open world and is played from a first-person perspective, unlike its predecessor.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Postal 2
- Developer
- Running with Scissors
- Publisher
- Whiptail Interactive
- Producer
- Mike Riedel
- Designer
- Steve Wik
- Artist
- Josh Leichliter · Geoff Neale
- Composer
- Christian Salyer
- Series
- Postal
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 2
- Platforms
- Windows · Mac OS X · Linux
- Released
- Windows · NA · April 14, 2003 · EU/JP · April 17, 2003 · Mac OS X · WW · December 9, 2004 · Linux · WW · February 4, 2005
- Genre
- First-person shooter
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Set in the fictional Arizona town of Paradise, Postal 2 follows 'The Postal Dude' as he carries out mundane tasks over an in-game week, with the player deciding how violently or passively to react. The game features a 'living world' where characters live independently, and includes cameos by Gary Coleman. The player can complete tasks peacefully or violently, and the game's tagline is 'Remember, it's only as violent as you are!'
Reader's Guide
Postal 2 received a mixed reception from critics upon release but has gained a cult following. It has been responsible for multiple controversies due to its violent gameplay. The game has received several expansion packs, including Postal 2: Share the Pain (multiplayer) and Paradise Lost (2015). It remains continually updated, and a sequel, Postal III, was released in December 2011, followed by Postal 4: No Regerts in April 2022. A virtual reality adaptation and a remake, Postal 2 VR and Postal 2 Redux, have been announced, with Redux planned for 2027.
Did You Know?
- Postal 2 is the first game in the series to feature an open world.
- The game includes a cameo by Gary Coleman, who appears as himself.
- Cats can be used as a silencer only for the shotgun, meowing after each shot.
- The official master server for Share the Pain was shut down in September 2015, but community-run servers and unofficial patches still allow multiplayer.
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