Vorlage:Infobox CVG Postal is a controversial computer game made by Running With Scissors and published by Ripcord Games in 1997. In 2003 there was a sequel, Postal², that is perhaps better known than the original. Uwe Boll has bought the movie-rights to the game.
General information
Postal is a 2D shooter with mainly isometric, but also some top-down levels featuring hand-painted backgrounds. Gameplay and interface are similar to first-person shooters of the time in most, but not all counts:
- Movement is always relative to the orientation of the player character ("Postal Dude"). The player therefore must always be aware of the direction the character is facing, which can be difficult on the isometric maps.
- There are eight weapon slots, each with a fixed amount of maximum ammo. The default weapon is a weak machine gun with unlimited ammo.
- Contrary to first-person shooters, however, the goal is not just to stay alive and reach the next level, but to kill a given percentage of the armed NPCs on the map. Only then the exit to the next level is activated.
There is no plot as such. The presence of a moving van on the first level suggests that the Postal Dude has been evicted from his home and is therefore "going postal", but no background story evolves during the game.
An add-on to the game called Special Delivery was made in 1998 which featured four new levels (department store, shanty town, earthquake zone and nudist resort), new characters, new sounds, new modes of play (co-op and a refined deathmatch). Original and Addon were released together as Postal Plus in 2001 and ported to Linux by Loki Software.
Controversy
- A trademark lawsuit was filed against Running With Scissors by the United States Postal Service, and dismissed six years later.
- In Germany, it was put on the index of media harmful for minors by the BPjM on 1998-06-30.
- In October of 2006, PC World named Postal as a "runner-up" for "The 10 Worst Games of All Time", calling it "Extremely violent even by the standard of extremely violent gaming". [1]
System requirements
Windows
As stated on the box.
Minimum
- Pentium 90
- 16 MB RAM
- 2× CD-ROM drive
- 256-color SVGA (640×480)
- 16-bit Audio Card (Sound Blaster 16 or 100% Compatible)
Recommended
- Pentium 166
- 32 MB RAM
- 4× CD-ROM drive
- 256-color SVGA (640×480)
- 16-bit Audio Card (Sound Blaster 16 or 100% Compatible)
Linux
As stated on the official Postal Plus help file.
Minimum
- 133 MHz or higher CPU
- 16 MB or more of RAM
- 24 MB or more of available hard drive space.
- Any Video Card (with at least 256 colors at 640×480 resolution)
- 16-bit Audio Card (Sound Blaster 16 or 100% Compatible)
Recommended
- 300 MHz or higher CPU
- 64 MB or more of RAM
- 24 MB or more of available hard drive space.
- Any Video Card (with at least 256 colors at 640×480 resolution)
- 16-bit Audio Card (Sound Blaster 16 or 100% Compatible)
External links
- Go Postal: The official website
- Postal Plus: Loki Software port to Linux
- An article about the dismissal of the lawsuit at GameSpot
- Vorlage:Moby game
- Interview with Vince Desi