Postal III
Preview
Dark humour and enough controversy to keep the press occupied for years to come
by Ryan Cope
previewed on X360
Mum, Where’s The Post?
You are the Postal Dude and you’re just trying to get by in life as it throws one screwy thing after another at you. All you want to do is make enough money so you can survive as the global economy collapses around you. However, it’s up to you to decide how you want to do this. Feel like being a hero? Why not help out the locals by thumping pesky soccer mums who are causing trouble? Or if you’re out for yourself, why not blow a bloody hole in a granny’s head while ripping apart a terrified teenager with a ferocious badger? Sound fun? Well in Postal III you can do any of those things and much, much more.
The long awaited sequel to the highly controversial Postal 2, Postal III is still on the wish list of many gamers faithfully waiting to once again step into the Postal Dude’s boots. Said to be released in 2008, no 2009, hang on a second, it is 2010 now! Well it is been moved to 2011 anyway and the team at Running With Scissors are working hard to get this badass game delivered to you. Mike Jaret, Postal III’s producer commented on this delay: “It hasn’t so much been ‘delayed’ as it is just a recurring situation where ‘certain people’ have felt compelled to voice naïvely hopeful, but ultimately unrealistic release dates for some reason.”
Dare Me To Go Postal?
Postal III has changed from its first-person predecessor and has now adapted a third-person shooter game style. Like any sandbox game you can go about your business anyway that you want, accepting jobs in whatever order you see fit. The game gives you freedom to roam around the town of Catharsis (the town of Paradise from the previous game was destroyed by the Postal Dude himself). Mike describes the town as “a satirical mockery of American ‘culture’. It is a cynical monument to American stupidity, replete with Payday Loan emporiums, elitist coffee-snob shops, greasy fast food joints and a religious-themed amusement park.”
As stated earlier, you play as The Postal Dude, the same protagonist from the two previous games. He is a scornful ordinary man trying to make ends meet. Life’s shat on him way to many times for him to be able to put up with even the shortest telephone call from an insurance company, yet he still goes on. He’s come to Catharsis in order to earn a bit of dosh. While playing as the Postal Dude, you will have to undertake plenty of tedious jobs one after the other.
However, each simple task will always involve something going wrong and the player will have different ways to resolve the situation. You can decide to give in to your pessimistic view on life and take out your anger by mutilating anyone that gets in your way. If you choose this path then there will be a large arsenal of hilariously funny weapons to achieve your goal with, as well as wreak as much havoc as possible. On the other hand if you want to be the better person then you can use non-lethal methods to neutralize the people threatening you. Mike says “should the player choose to take the moral high road and not simply be a violent bastard, a new story path becomes available where the Dude is recruited by the local police. …Where he is then able to shoot bad guys to death at will. I know, it’s pretty ironic.” So whatever your play style, light side or dark side, you can convey your moralistic values in which ever way you want.
