Grand Theft Auto 2 Lives, Sort of, Inside of GTA IV

Grand Theft Auto 2

Grand Theft Auto is back. The cars are faster. The streets are busier. The bad guys are nastier. The police are angrier. And now, the FBI and the Army are getting involved... Seven ruthless gangs are involved in a ruthless power struggle and it is up to you to make a name for yourself. Respect is earned, not given.

The last numerical installment of Rockstar's open-world crime franchise has proven to be a goldmine of really awesome mods on PC. We've seen everything from giant megaladon sharks to Transformers to the Back to the Future DeLorean in Liberty City.

And there have been self-referential mods, too, with a GTA IV to GTA III conversion seen in July. The mod above continues that trend and travels even further back in time, replicating the top-down view of 1999's Grand Theft Auto 2 inside the RAGE engine that powers GTA IV. The switch from top-down to the game's normal camera is a nice feature. Work on this mod has reportedly stopped, though. That's too bad. It would've been a nice way to enjoy nostalgia and franchise evolution in one fell swoop.

Footage of GTA 2 powered by GTA IV's RAGE engine [Strategy Informer]