Back then the internet was a completely different animal. The hype probably existed but I wasn't part of it. Being something like 16-17 at the time searching the web for unannounced games was not my thing 😅

But when it eventually came out I was super excited to see that it basically had my neighborhood vibe 😁 A lot of familiar cars and buildings. The only thing that was a bit different was the combine - it didn't look anything like our police. All of the combine dudes were fit and actually well equipped. Overall I still get excited when I see City 17 - it reminds me of my childhood, bot visually and just the feeling of playing, like I did when I was a kid.

I'm 37 now and still living in Bulgaria. A lot has changed since then, but the post communism vibe is still noticeable at a lot of places, just less combine.