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Postal (video game series): Difference between revisions
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{{quote|"''[[I Regret Nothing]].''"|'''The Postal Dude'''}}
Before Uwe Boll brought us the [[So Bad It's Good|magnificent masterpiece]] ''[[So Bad It's Good|Postal]]'', there was the notoriously tasteless ''Postal 2''. And before ''that''? 1997's ''Postal'', developed by Running With Scissors. It's arguably one of the most unsettling PC games ever created, and one that attracted a good dose of attention from the [[Moral Guardians]]. You play as "The Postal Dude", who believes himself the [[Only Sane Man]], and goes on a bloody rampage, shooting it out with cops and soldiers—and inevitably inflicting ''a lot'' of collateral damage along the way.
The 2003 sequel ''Postal 2'', doesn't play itself ''nearly'' as seriously. The Postal Dude is now married and lives in a trailer park, and the game covers what has to be the weirdest week of his life, as every day the simplest errands become life-or-death battles. (Cashing his paycheck? Robbers invade the bank and he gets caught in the crossfire. Returning a library book? Anti-book protesters ''[[Book-Burning|set the library on fire]] with him in it.'') There is an expansion pack (''Apocalypse Weekend'') with its own campaign that covers Saturday and Sunday of The Postal Dude's weirdest week, with new weapons and characters. A popular [[Game Mod]], [[Ascended Fanfic|included in later releases of the game]], titled ''A Week in Paradise'' backports Apocalypse Weekend's enhancements and additional weapons to the base game, as well as merging the two campaigns and adding some extra content for good measure.
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The games are not only controversial, but have also been panned by critics, mostly by reviewers who were offended by the game's content, such as Robert Coffey of ''Computer Gaming World'' who wrote that "''until someone boxes up syphilis and tries to sell it at retail, Postal 2 is the worst product ever foisted upon consumers''", a quote that has since been [[No Such Thing as Bad Publicity|included on the boxes of re-releases]]. The series as a whole has developed a [[Love It or Hate It]] reputation with its mixture of shock value and [[Rule of Fun|generally fun]], cathartic gameplay.
''Postal III'', which is built on the [[Valve
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** In a comic posted on the official site at one point detailing the immediate aftermath, the government officially blamed Al Qaeda for the nuke. Not that it was a huge stretch, since Paradise was literally ''infested'' with Al Qaeda members by this point.
* [[Kick the Dog]]: Postal Dude does this as soon as he exits his trailer first thing Monday morning. Literally. Though considering Champ's actions right before the fact (see [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9NlDT4PRNQ#t=3m10s here]) and [[Your Mileage May Vary|depending on how you perceive it]], this may fall somewhere between [[Kick the Dog]] and [[Kick the Son of a Bitch]].
* [[Kill It with Fire]]: Let's just say that the fire effects are very, '''very''' thoroughly planned.
** You can pour trails of gasoline on the floor and light it with a match when some poor sap walks near.
** There's the napalm launcher weapon, which either fires impact-detonating napalm bombs or fires [[Hyper-Destructive Bouncing Ball]] napalm bombs that spill fuel that catches fire soon after all over the place!
** The ''A Week in Paradise'' mod adds an easy to find [[Aerosol Flamethrower]] weapon.
** If you get caught on fire, which likely WILL happen if you're in close quarters with other people set ablaze, you can try to ''[[Urine Trouble|piss it out]]''.
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* [[Lighter and Softer]]: ''Postal 2'' in comparison with ''Postal 1''. It's still demented and violent, but the game has a more comical atmosphere, with less disturbing stuff.
* [[Loads and Loads of Loading]]: Postal 2 was often criticized for this. The loading is milder in patched versions, though.
* [[Ludicrous Gibs]]: '''AND HOW!'''
** ''Apocalypse Weekend'' adds dismemberment; people can have their limbs sliced off and still live, bleeding and crawling in pain. With the scythe, you can cut their torsos in two and watch some organs spill out!
** The ''A Week in Paradise'' mod takes it up a notch by having NPCs to run around screaming with their arms gone, while making the gore even more detailed.
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* [[No Badass to His Valet]]: The Postal Dude's wife.
* [[Nuke'Em]]: {{spoiler|In the ending of ''Apocalypse Weekend'', the Dude grabs a nuclear warhead from an Army base after he's detained as a terrorist. He sets it up at a rival game company, and it takes out Paradise as he and his dog Champ drive away.}}
* [[Our Zombies Are Different]]: The Mad Cow [[
* [[Pacifist Run]]: Difficult, but possible with skill and patience. You're rewarded with an endgame message saying "Thank you for playing, JESUS!". Impossible to do in ''Apocalypse Weekend'' and the ''A Week in Paradise'' mod, however.
* [[Police Brutality]]: The in-game police seem to enjoy beating the crap out of random civilians just for the hell of it. Their methods of dealing with actual crimes could also come off as overkill.
** While they'll allow you to sit still and be handcuffed, the NPCs do not get that option - the cops ''will'' kill them. Seems to be a trade-off, as they'll let NPCs walk around clearly carrying weapons with no problem, but if they see you draw one they've already got their own drawn and aimed at you.
* [[Precision-Guided Boomerang|Precision Guided]] [[Machete Mayhem]]: ''Apocalypse Weekend'' gives the dude a machete. He can hack off limbs up close or toss it with the [[Secondary Fire|alternate fire button]], at which point it will fly back to his hand!
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* [[Save Scumming]]: [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] with a side of [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|fourth wall demolition]] if you use the quicksave key frequently.
* [[Secondary Fire]]: Many weapons have it, though not all.
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* [[Throwing Your Sword Always Works]]: Can be done with the [[Secondary Fire]] of ''Apocalypse Weekend'''s melee weapons, though in the case of the machete it [[Precision-Guided Boomerang|will return to you after a while]]. [[Subverted Trope|Subverted]] if an armed character sees it coming and blocks the thrown weapon with his/her own weapon.
** Also subvert-able in that throwing a sledgehammer at a cow from behind can actually cause the thing to get ''[[Ass Shove|stuck up its anus]]''. Dogs can also catch machetes in their mouth without getting it chopped off, as well.
* [[
* [[Wide Open Sandbox]]: At the start of the day, you're given three or four errands and then left to your own devices. You can even choose to do some errands in different ways - for example, the bank robbery mentioned at the very top of the page? You can sneak into the vault and steal the money yourself while the intended robbers and police are fighting each other, and then {{spoiler|sneak out through a secret passage behind a bookshelf}}.
* [[Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?]]: The Postal Dude's name really ''is'' "The Postal Dude". Pay a parking ticket in the second game and the cop says, "And let that be a lesson to you, Mr. The Dude." His dad's gravestone is also labeled "T. Dude Sr."
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* [[Batter Up]]: A nail-bat, even. [[Secondary Fire]] tosses the bat at an enemy, [[Bloody Hilarious|where it sticks fast.]]
* [[Bland-Name Product]]: Various stores and restaurants, and the "Thegways."
* [[Charged Attack]]: How the [[Stuff Blowing Up|rocket launcher]] works. The longer you hold down the left mouse button, the further the rocket will go before detonating. [[Too Dumb to Live|Try not to just tap the button.]] The [[Secondary Fire]] is a [[Homing Projectile]] instead.
* [[Custom Uniform]]: Ever so slightly. If the dude goes the "good" path and thus has to wear a variety of police uniforms and suits, he keeps his happy face and Christian cross buttons, as well as his [[Fingerless Gloves]].
* [[Difficult but Awesome]]: This installment's [[Obvious Beta|rather loose physics]] has made using [[Machete Mayhem|the Machete's]] [[Precision-Guided Boomerang|alt-fire throw]] much more difficult, though it still kills enemies damn quick.
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* [[Obvious Beta]]: The game does have some glaring glitches. Certain Steam achievements are bugged and don't unlock. The AI for certain NPCs are still primitive or broken. Certain computer builds make the game crash constantly.
* [[Press X to Not Die|Press X To Get A Rabid Cat Off You]]
* [[Regenerating Health]]: Gone are the [[Heal Thyself|health pickups]] of earlier installments, though some of the Postal Dude's lines would seem to imply that health packs were [[Dummied Out]] at some point.
* [[Secondary Fire]]: A lot of weapons in this game have it. The [[Machete Mayhem|machete]] returns from ''Apocalypse Weekend'' with it's [[Precision-Guided Boomerang|throw-and-return]] alt fire. The Pepper Spray's alt-fire turns it into an [[Aerosol Flamethrower]], while that of the Catnip Spray causes [[Fantastic Drug|the Dude to inhale it]] and go into psychedelic [[Bullet Time]].
* [[Shout-Out]]: Many in the [[Cosmetic Award|achievements,]] including ones to [[The Matrix]], [[Judge Dredd]], [[Repo Man]], and various action movie actors.
* [[Straw Feminism]]: According to the "Hockey Mom Leader" anything even remotely pornographic is in fact a worldwide conspiracy to objectify all women.
* [[Stuff Blowing Up]]: You've got grenades and a rocket launcher. Have fun.
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* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Drive-by shootings ''on a Segway!''
** Given that the only weapons usable while riding one are the taser and pistol, it's not that awesome. The Dude repeatedly [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades this fact.]]
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** Chainsaw Badger!
* [[Wide Open Sandbox]]: Seems to be returning to this after ''Apocalypse Weekend'', with more of a focus on making mass-murder [[Pacifist Run|optional]].
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== Movie ==
* [[Author Avatar]] / [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]: Vince Desi himself - director of Running With Scissors - eventually reveals himself to fight Uwe Boll for the latter making the very movie you're watching.
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* [[Nazi Gold]] - Quoth the Bollmeister himself: "Someone has to spend it!"
* [[Plot Armor]] - Exaggerated and Lampshaded
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Third-Person Shooter]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Wide Open Sandbox]]
[[Category:Postal]]
[[Category:Video Game]]
[[Category:
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
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