I’m at about 10 hours in according to the game; so this isn’t a full review.
As a Christian minister for 13 years I have seen many things; some great, some awful. I’m currently reading a book by Randy Alcorn simply called Heaven. Let me tell you, reading a book on Heaven while playing a game based on humanity’s current hell is an odd but thought-provoking experience. And the hell that the game portrays is a convincing one. GTA IV is cynically and broodingly spoofed from today’s real-world crises and is incredibly well imagined and artistically rendered. From a technical and gameplay standpoint – it’s actually pretty amazing. I’ll save the other praises for the actual review (yep there are parts of the game that I like).
I don’t advise you to go there however – I can’t. It’s the American-Dream-Nightmare come true in 3-D. And the content is really, really rough. This game grabs the M rating by the throat and squeezes it into submission. It’s only by the thinnest strips of clothing possible that the game doesn’t venture into AO territory. I don’t really get all that offended by R-rated movies as long as there is some depth in them (”Saving Pvt. Ryan” vs. “Saw”). But honestly, I was not prepared for the degree of, or the amount of, content I have experienced so far in the game – more on that in a minute.
Getting to know Niko:
Niko Bellic is a tormented soul, wracked with memories from the past that bring him pause in his pursuits. He acts like he is trapped by the world and the rampaging guilt, anger, addictions, and love of money that seem to make it go round. He knows that the things he’s doing are wrong but so far, at around 10 hours into the dark adventure, that knowledge won’t stop him from whatever it is he has to do. He’s definitely driven by something; he must be. He came to America to escape the kind of life he is tragically plunging right back into. That sounds a lot like Hell.
And it’s a real tragedy. The character of Niko Bellic could be transformable. He looks like he wants to find some redemption, but he doesn’t – at least not yet. These tragic stories rarely have a happy ending so I’m not holding out that much hope for Niko’s tale. But there was one conversation in the game that was actually meaningful to me: one of the many bosses of the game has a wife (and he treats her terribly) that believes in God and holds onto hope. She tells Niko to not give up on either. It was a short, but refreshingly sweet moment in the game.
As a character in a linear story progression, Niko obviously struggles with the situations he is in and is given some options to be mean or merciful. So far, though, it’s only been one time that I have been given a choice to kill a target or let him go. That seems to fly in the face of what Niko usually does. I’m wondering why there haven’t been more missions that can end in mercy… (I guess that would make him a low-quality criminal or something…)
Back to the content:
I can’t really recommend the game to anyone. I’m not going to tell adults what they should do, but here is some honest critical thinking about it. There is some interesting stuff in there – but you have to wade through all kinds of junk to get to it. I was very naïve about how full of content it is and how depraved it could get. One reviewer stated that GTA is the sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll of video gaming. I think that’s being pretty gracious, actually. Here’s a quick run-down:
Language – strong and unrelenting. For a crime drama that’s pretty typical in the movies, but it gets to ridiculous levels here. Think of the foulest R-rated flick you’ve seen. This is worse (blanket statement generalization there – but you get my point). The f word alone is used to a degree that its’ shock value as the ‘king of swears’ gives way to a kind of ear-and-mind-numbing stupidity. Yeah, these are low-life characters we’re talking about here, but surely some real criminals have a broader vocabulary. Is it realistic? I don’t know. Is it necessary? Surely not.
Tasteless humor – I haven’t heard and seen this many dirty jokes since middle school. Pervasive use of slang (for body parts) and objectification makes women sound like worthless toys. It’s everywhere - Ads, TV programs, business names and bowling pins all band together to make you giggle – which is funny – because it’s not funny. Even if I wasn’t a Christian, I would be seriously disappointed in the ‘humor’ as being senseless locker-room-quality stupidity. They package it up as genius-level satire and all the critics seem to agree with that; and while I see the satire in some of it, it still seems juvenile.
Sex – I’ve seen footage of the worst parts of the game on gaming websites online, so I have no desire to re-visit this in my living room. This stuff is in the game.
In the opening scene of the game you see a half-naked girl beating a tied-up guy with a whip. In the tutorial for the optional activities you see scenes from the strip club. According to whattheyplay.com, there is no nudity in the game. But there is tape-for-clothing…
You can go to a strip club and order a lap dance. Apparently if you pay up enough you can have multiple girls dancing for you (if you can call it dancing – it’s more like simulated sex). That’s pretty embarrassing stuff to have in a game. I’ve heard some of my fellow Xbox LIVE players bragging about this – I just don’t get it. Most people think it’s funny. Thankfully it’s optional; but it’s still in the game.
You can hire a prostitute. The camera stays outside the car while three levels of service can be bought. Due to the open-world-do-anything-you-want nature of the game, you can then kill the prostitute and get all your money back. This will be shocking you on the news networks soon as videos of this so-called “refund gameplay” have been surfacing all over the internet. I have a feeling that this will get some serious political attention. Defenders of the game will say that these videos are taken out of context to get people riled up, to which I respond, “In what kind of context could you justify that?!” The message here is: sex is cheap, women are cheaper.
You can also go on dates (it seems innocent enough at first) and if the date is “successful” you may be invited in. The camera pans out to a beautiful view of the apartment building and the sky (epic moment I guess) and you hear the sound of your date yelling your name. Classy. Also, if you remember the “Hot Coffee” controversy from GTA San Andreas there is a nod to that debacle in the game. When you have a ‘successful’ date – you unlock the “Warm Coffee” (“Successfully date a girl to be invited into her house”) achievement on your Xbox 360. So Rockstar is flaunting their own controversy. The bottom line is that the sex in GTA IV is so suggestive that it would only take a bit less clothing to be considered at least somewhat pornographic.
Violence – It’s not the most violent game on the market, but it is realistically violent. In the movie “The Departed” blood spray after a headshot looks real, as does a murder flashback scene in a CSI episode. It does in GTA IV as well. When you injure a specific body part, the characters will react accordingly. Due to the new technology of the euphoria engine – people move and act realistically within their environment and make futile attempts to save themselves. It’s almost creepy. Because of the incredible quality of the animations in the game – when you hit somebody with a car and send them flying, whatever their head hits next is splattered realistically with blood and their lifeless body ragdolls to a slump. Not too much to be over the top – but not too little either, it looks exactly right. That’s why I think it’s fairly disturbing. I’m no doctor or CSI, but to me it looks real.
In an execution, which you can perform on some main characters, you can take it a step further. In one scene Niko heads to the character, shields his face from the inevitable blood spray and shoots his victim through the eye. It’s pretty rough and I’m not a squeamish guy – except when it comes to spiders. *shudders*
Now for the bigger issue (and maybe a soapbox):
Many people believe that the game is OK for kids. Parents believe it; and parents buy it for their kids. Rockstar Games will shout it from the mountaintops that this is a mature game not meant for kids to play; but kids will play it – because it’s a video game – and it’s obviously a popular one. Odds are many of the other kids at school are playing it – cue the “but Mom’s” and the “I only like it for the driving…”
As of this writing, users on the website whattheyplay.com have stated they believe that it would be appropriate for 13-year-olds to play this game (read the review then scroll down). Erm… What? 13? That to me is more offensive than the game itself. It’s not the website’s fault, but it brings to light some real issues. Even some of the most liberal friends I have agree with me on this point: GTA is not appropriate for kids. I can’t really believe that people think it is, and some of them will get offended at me saying that. Sorry. In my opinion it’s wrong and irresponsible to let your kids play this game. That’s my opinion. Where do you stand?
I guess the best thing about this game and the controversy surrounding it is that people will be talking. I would say to both sides of the argument: we need to talk it out, be rational, be honest with ourselves and each other, and get to the bottom of it. Christians and critics of the game shouldn’t ignore it, nor should they blindly bash it. Defenders of the game shouldn’t automatically jump to Rockstar’s defense in blind worship just because they made a blockbuster video game.
As I said before, there are components of the game that I like and can appreciate as a gamer; especially the technical aspects of Liberty City. The multiplayer is very innovative as well. I will cover the good stuff more in the final review, but for now I’m just kind of thinking out loud…
I leave you with questions to consider: What is the pull of the game? What is the reason kids want to play Grand Theft Auto? Is it the story? Is it the graphics? Is it the gameplay? Is it the mature content in and of itself? Where do you draw the line in what’s acceptable in interactive entertainment? Is it any different than watching it in movies? Is the rating system good enough? If the story turns out to be as good as every critic agrees that it is, is it worth playing through the junk to get to it?
I hope to answer some of these questions for myself as I get back to reviewing the game…
In the meantime you can check out these eyebrow-raising articles that are basically chats with teenagers about GTA IV:
http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/no-parents-allowed-grand-theft-auto-iv/
http://www.whattheyplay.com/features/kids-talk-about-grand-theft-auto-iv/
