Grand Theft Auto 2 - Sega Dreamcast

Game Review & Description

Before Rockstar Games discovered the third dimension and transformed gaming forever with Grand Theft Auto III, there was this peculiar retrofuturistic experiment that arrived on Dreamcast in May 2000. Grand Theft Auto 2 represents the awkward teenage years of the franchise, stuck between the original's cult appeal and the series-defining revolution that would follow just a year later. Set in the dystopian metropolis of "Anywhere City" at an unspecified time (officially either 1999, 2013, or "three weeks into the future"), the game blends Y2K-era cyberpunk aesthetics with mid-20th century retro-futurism to create a setting unlike anything else in the series. You play as Claude Speed, a fresh-from-prison criminal looking to make a name for yourself by working for seven warring gangs ranging from the corporate Zaibatsu to the trailer park Rednecks. The game even launched with an eight-minute live-action short film starring Scott Maslen that's worth tracking down for pure early-2000s Rockstar edginess.

The Dreamcast version sits in an interesting middle ground, combining the PlayStation's feature set with the PC version's graphical polish but frustratingly omitting the multiplayer mode that made the PC release special. The top-down perspective returns from the original Grand Theft Auto, now rendered in full 3D with improved textures and lighting effects that genuinely look better than the PlayStation port. The city is divided into three unlockable districts (Downtown, Residential, and Industrial), each controlled by different gangs with their own territories and missions. The gang respect system adds genuine strategic depth to the mayhem, as gaining favor with one faction automatically tanks your reputation with their rivals. This creates interesting scenarios where you might need to carefully balance allegiances or commit fully to one gang's cause, adding replay value that the original lacked.

Gameplay revolves around answering payphones scattered throughout the city to trigger missions, which range from straightforward assassinations to elaborate heists involving drug shipments, bank robberies, and pizzeria demolitions. The scoring system requires you to reach specific point thresholds to unlock new districts, with missions awarding far more points than simple chaos. Creating mayhem triggers wanted levels that escalate police response from basic cops to FBI and eventually military intervention. The controls represent both an improvement over the original and a source of constant frustration. The Dreamcast version has you holding A to move while adjusting direction, which feels awkward compared to modern standards. Vehicle handling remains slippery and imprecise, with even the fastest cars feeling oddly sluggish, robbing high-speed chases of their potential excitement.

The audio deserves special recognition as one of GTA 2's undeniable highlights. Moving Shadow records provided the soundtrack, delivering drum and bass tracks that perfectly capture the game's dystopian vibe across eleven different radio stations. Each area features five stations from this pool, and you'll hear them as you commandeer vehicles throughout the city (though police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks only broadcast emergency service chatter). The music closely mirrors the station-style pioneered by the original game while pushing into more contemporary electronic territory. Voice samples, sound effects, and the general audio design create an atmosphere that the dated visuals struggle to match. It's easily one of the best features the game offers, providing a sonic backdrop that makes even tedious missions more tolerable.

Critics weren't kind to the Dreamcast port, with Next Generation awarding it two stars out of five and calling it a great idea that never becomes must-play. The isometric camera angle creates constant navigation headaches, the lack of an in-game map system forces excessive wandering to find mission phones, and the ant-sized character sprites make precision aiming a nightmare. The game shipped over 1.2 million copies and contributed $33 million in gross revenue, proving commercially successful despite mixed reviews. Interestingly, the French release included a parental lock code (WFUSDFCF) that had to be entered to start the game, serving double duty as both age gate and anti-piracy measure. For Dreamcast owners in 2000, GTA 2 offered a taste of open-world chaos before Crazy Taxi perfected the formula with better controls and more focused gameplay. It's a fascinating historical artifact that shows Rockstar still searching for the magic formula they'd nail with the next entry, and a range of hints, tips, and cheats related to Grand Theft Auto 2 may be found below.

Longplay Walkthrough of GTA2

GameShark / Pro Action Replay Cheat Codes:

The following dongle-dependent codes are designed for use with the North American (NTSC) version of the game, but may work on compatible systems:

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