I was kind of surprised to see IGN put the video up, but then I realized that they are now owned by News Corp; they may just be giving Fox some fodder. If you remember the fiasco about Fox’s criticism of BioWare’s exemplary RPG Mass Effect, then I’m sure you can see why Fox would want to be more careful this time around and criticize things that are, you know, actually in the game. Sex in Mass Effect is handled with both taste and beauty; probably the only criticism that can be leveled at the game is that while there are straight, lesbian, and inter-species relationships for players to pursue (it’s a science fiction game), there is no gay male relationship.

One thing the IGN video assumes is a knowledge of the franchise. It’s entirely possible to go through the game without ever picking up a prostitute and then running her over after the deed is done; the choice to do so must be made by the player and the fact that it’s available is part of the game’s premise, that being to provide a partly satirized sandbox in which a single-player storyline is available but in which the player can do whatever he or she wants within the framework provided. I’m not sure if the single-player story ever requires you to get a lap dance, but what I’m driving at here is that the people watching the IGN video without knowledge of the GTA franchise are likely to assume that this kind of footage is core gameplay. It’s nothing of the sort; it’s optional gameplay that can easily be avoided simply by not perpetrating the acts portrayed. The GTA series isn’t like the Final Fantasy games or others which railroad you along a fixed path.

Also note that the game is rated M-17+; there certainly isn’t anything that can be done in it that is worse than a Restricted movie from the perspective of graphic violence, nudity, or sex. And there are content tags stamped right on the box:

Intense Violence
Blood
Strong Language
Strong Sexual Content
Partial Nudity
Use of Drugs and Alcohol

I say all of this as someone who has never owned or played a game in the GTA franchise, although many of my friends have so I’ve seen plenty of gameplay. While the idea of beating a police officer to death with a giant purple dildo seems amusing in a sort of twisted way, the games in the franchise haven’t really appealed to me so far. I tend to skew toward games with stronger storylines (hello, Mass Effect), but I’ll be watching for story reviews of GTA with some interest, since sandbox gameplay does appeal.

I own one of the earlier GTA titles and it’s quite fun to play. It can also be played without killing innocent people, ie you can play it by only killing the bad guys, granted you have to save a lot to do this.

There will always be a new evil to traumatize the youth of this world, because they just don’t know any better.
( I wonder how many children started a war? [how's that for over-the-top? ] )

(Violet as ‘admin’ on this computer)

Why do they have to mix sex and violence? One is natural and healthy, the other is just wrong and damaging to malleable young minds poisoned with testosterone with no outlet for it.

An old hippy