Read an intellectual essay on it here. Do any of you play this game? Is it as fun as it sounds? Is it art? Does it corrupt your soul?
Grand Theft Auto
Read an intellectual essay on it here. Do any of you play this game? Is it as fun as it sounds? Is it art? Does it corrupt your soul?
USUPhilosophy 
I played a little bit of this game shortly after it came out, but my husband played all of it. I was often around and saw the developing storyline. I later played older versions and the difference between the two is quite striking. The characters in the previous incarnations seem to do things for personal glory, fun, or other self-centered, pleasure-based reasons. Niko Bellic starts as a naive man who wants a chance at a new, better life who gets pulled in through obligations to family. I found myself greatly disliking the first 3 incarnations – they became repetitive, boring and unoriginal.
The game is engaging. I’m not entirely certain I’d deem it “fun.” It was enjoyable to play, but not in the same sense a racing game, Halo, or any of the Wii games are. It engages the player on a more personal level – you feel pulled into Niko’s life and choices and often feel conflicted at points where you must choose, or where the actions you have led Niko through lead to a sad or tragic event.
As an avid Halo player, I greatly enjoyed the storyline through all three of the games, the continuity and the overall gameplay. However, my short time playing GTA IV produced a much more personal reaction. Halo was a game that generally produced a “yes! I did it! I defeated the aliens”-type reaction, whereas GTA IV often left me with a feeling that while one thing was over, more was to come with dramatic consequences I couldn’t foresee through Niko’s perspective. Stealing a car could get the police called after you, as could killing a prostitute or even a bad guy. While meditating or committing a crime in GTA IV presented itself with a slight rush of anxiety over getting caught and the potential ramifications. Halo was a simple bad versus good scenario where the enemy was always the enemy – there are no shades of grey. GTA IV presents every shade of grey, but very little in the way of black and white.
The article articulated the storyline of GTA IV very well and pointed out the meanings and overall entrenchment of Old vs. New throughout the game.
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