Postal (franchise)
Postal is a shooter game franchise created by Running with Scissors, known for its excessive violence and controversial content. Nearly each game is set in a different genre; Postal is isometric, Postal 2 is a first-person shooter, Postal III is a third-person shooter and various spin-off titles were in genres such as top-down shooter. A film adaptation simply titled Postal was also produced by German director Uwe Boll.
| Postal | |
|---|---|
 Promotional art work of Postal III, depicting some of the main characters. From left to right: Krotchy, Larry the Crab, Randy Jones, The Postal Dude, Champ, and Jennifer Walcott. | |
| Developer(s) |
|
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, Classic Mac OS, J2ME, Nintendo Switch |
| First release | Postal September 24, 1997 |
| Latest release | Postal 4: No Regerts October 14, 2019 (early access) |
Games
Main series
| Year | Title | Platforms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Postal | Android, Linux, Mac OS, macOS, Microsoft Windows | |
| 1998 | Postal: Special Delivery | Mac OS, Microsoft Windows | an official expansion adding four additional levels and improved Netcode for the multiplayer. |
| 2000 | Super Postal | Microsoft Windows | the Japanese version of Postal, featuring Japanese voice acting and two additional levels. |
| 2003 | Postal 2 | Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows | the sequel to Postal, firstly introducing a first-person perspective. |
| Postal 2: Share the Pain | an official expansion, which adds PvP multiplayer and two new areas to the single player. | ||
| 2005 | Postal 2: Apocalypse Weekend | an official expansion continuing after ending of the base game. | |
| 2011 | Postal III | Microsoft Windows | the sequel to Postal 2, developed by Trashmasters in cooperation with Running with Scissors and published by Akella, firstly introducing a third-person perspective. Upon release, the game was panned by critics and fans of the series, because of which Running with Scissors retrospectively considers the game to not fit in the general image of the series, saying "We don't regard it as the third Postal game, just a dodgy spin-off that should never have happened." |
| 2015 | Postal 2: Paradise Lost | Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows | an official piece of DLC for the Steam version of Postal 2. It tells of the Postal Dude's adventures after Apocalypse Weekend, and retcons Postal III, referring to it as a "horrible vision of a future gone wrong." |
| 2016 | Postal Redux | Linux, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch | a remake of the original Postal, featuring renewed textures and multiple changes made to adapt it to modern games. |
| TBA | Postal 4: No Regerts | Microsoft Windows | described by Running with Scissors as the "true sequel" to Postal 2. The game was announced and released on October 14, 2019, as an early access game.[1] |
Spin-offs
| Year | Title | Platforms | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Postal 2: Corkscrew Rules! | Microsoft Windows | an official spin-off and expansion to Postal 2, developed by Avalon Style Entertainment and published by Akella. The plot concerns a man named Corkscrew, who wakes up in an asylum to find that his penis has somehow been amputated and goes on a mission to find it. |
| 2006 | Postal 2: Eternal Damnation | Microsoft Windows | |
| 2009 | Postal Babes | Android, J2ME | a mobile video game spin-off developed and published by HeroCraft. It tells the story of two "Postal Babes" who must rescue hostages from their local university which has been taken over. |
| 2009 | Postal Mobile | Android, J2ME | a mobile video game developed by Ministry of Fun and published by GlobalFun. It tells the story of the Postal Dude who has to fight his way through a town filled with corrupt police officers and street thugs in order to retrieve his stolen car. |
| 2021 | Postal: Brain Damaged | Microsoft Windows | an official spin-off of the Postal series, developed by Hyperstrange[2] and CreativeForge Games and published by Hyperstrange and Running with Scissors.[3][4] |
Film
A film adaptation of the Postal series was directed and co-written by Uwe Boll. Though the film shares the title of the first Postal video game, it is more heavily drawn from the sequel, Postal 2. New characters are introduced in the film, such as Faith (Jackie Tohn), a young barista who joins the Postal Dude in his adventure, and former U.S. president George W. Bush (Brent Mendenhall).
Books
Two books were published only in Russia. In 2011 published book Postal. Реальный Чувак (Real Dude), which was written by Andrei Shlyachov and published by AST.[5] In 2012 published book Postal. Чувак и надувная свобода (Dude and inflatable freedom), which was written by Igor Gradov and published by AST.[6]
A book based on the first Postal game in the series, named after the game's expansion pack, Postal: Special Delivery, was written by Alisa Bogodarova and published on October 29, 2015 by Publish Green in the form of an Amazon Kindle eBook. The book retells the game's story and the various events leading up to it and introduces several new characters including the Postal Dude's high school friends and teachers as well as original fantasy characters.
On April 15, 2020 was published documentary book about franchise Postal - Postal, written by Brock Wilbur and Nathan Rabin, which included interview with Vince Desi and Mike Jaret.[7]
See also
References
- Romano, Sal (October 14, 2019). "Postal 4: No Regerts announced for PC, available now via Steam Early Access". Gematsu. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
- https://hyperstrange.com/introducing-postal-brain-damaged/
- https://store.steampowered.com/app/1359980/POSTAL_Brain_Damaged/
- https://runningwithscissors.com/games/postal-brain-damaged/
- Шляхов, Андрей (2011). Реальный Чувак. Russia: AST. p. 320. ISBN 978-5-17-068915-6.
- Градов, Игорь (2012). Чувак и надувная свобода. Russia: Astrel (AST). p. 320. ISBN 978-5-271-41291-2.
- Wilbur, Brock. Postal. Rabin, Nathan, 1976-. Los Angeles. ISBN 1-940535-22-0. OCLC 1111973438.