"It's only funny until somebody gets hurt," exclaims Running With Scissors CEO Vince Desidiero, "at which point it becomes hysterical." Desidiero's cruel but humorous twist on the age-old admonition best captures the essence of Postal 2, the first-person shooter sequel to the notoriously violent 1997 game that put his company on the map. The original Postal was viewed by many to be overly violent--you were able to take out your pent-up aggression against all kinds of innocent bystanders in the game--and even Senator Joseph Lieberman got into the act, seeking to ban the game outright. The game ultimately sold well more than 200,000 copies worldwide, and while Running With Scissors had wanted to develop a sequel right away, legal wranglings over the Postal rights prevented the company from doing so until years later. Now, having been in development at the company's Tucson, Arizona, offices since January 2001, Postal 2 promises to multiply its predecessor's shock value tenfold, and with the new standard that Grand Theft Auto III set for this subject matter, the game has to deliver. From what we've seen of it, we don't doubt that it will.

Postal 2's particle system allows for realistic fire effects.

However, don't expect Postal 2 to contain nothing but mindless violence. "This game isn't meant to be violence only," explains Desidiero. "Violence by itself isn't fun. Vulgarity on its own isn't fun. We need to find a balance between these and various other elements to produce black humor that's enjoyable." And that's exactly what you'll find in Postal 2. The game is being developed using the latest version of Epic Games' Unreal 3D technology coupled with MathEngine's Karma software to create solid visuals and realistic, if not slightly overexaggerated, physics. And this latter feature won't just be used for giving characters a rag doll effect either. "[Lead Programmer] Nathan Fouts set my entire driveway on fire while researching the effects of fire," laughs Desidiero. "But it was worth it, because we're now able to realistically mimic the effects of flame and gasoline in the game." One of the weapons that you can wreak havoc with in Postal 2 will be a gas can, and its contents will run down walls, splash, and form puddles just like you'd expect it to do. Alt-click on your mouse, and your character will flick a match that will ignite the gas stream that you previously created, causing a small line of fire to race along the trail until exploding in a giant fireball once it reaches a puddle. "You can do so much with just this one weapon," says Fouts. "One of our favorite techniques is to run circles around people with the gas can and watch them fry."

Aiming your gun at the cops will evoke an instant response from them.

The game's impressive qualities won't end with its visuals either. The AI will be sufficiently complex, which will lead to things like characters recognizing what kinds of weapons you're carrying and then reacting appropriately. Splash some gasoline on someone, and he or she will run off screaming before you have a chance to strike your match (the person will remain flammable, however). Cops, on the other hand, can tell the difference between legal and illegal weapons you're carrying. A pistol that isn't being pointed at anyone, for example, won't illicit much of a response from nearby policemen, but if they see you with a rocket launcher--no matter how innocently you might be carrying it--they'll take you down. "Characters on the street can notice you doing something illegal, they can hear gunfire, they'll run to the nearest cops and point in your direction, they can be confused and tricked by firing your gun once and then hiding it quickly...they just have so many different reactions," exclaims Fouts. "And they behave so [realistically] that it's almost scary!" adds Desidiero.

According to the development team, what's even scarier is interacting with the game's characters on peaceful terms. If you want, you'll be able to play this game without ever pulling the trigger, and the simple act of interacting with people going about their everyday lives--like standing in line at a bank--is sure to wow, especially since it's never been tried before in an action game.