Tuesday, Apr. 29, 2008

Too Raw?

Debut of 'Grand Theft Auto IV' drives debate anew

From the rocket-propelled grenade that shoots down a police helicopter to the punch in the face delivered to a former friend, the depictions of realistic violence in the newest "Grand Theft Auto" video game are raising fresh concerns.

And gamers can't wait to play.

The release of "Grand Theft Auto IV" is such a big deal that, as with the Harry Potter books, retailers will hold midnight release parties Monday to mark the title's arrival.

But a firestorm of controversy surrounding the phenomenally successful game series has struck. Facing renewed complaints that the game's violence is inappropriate, the Chicago Transit Authority late last week removed advertisements promoting the release from its buses and trains.

The tussle over "Grand Theft Auto" is partly a debate over its value and partly a discussion about how to keep children away from a title that everyone agrees contains subject matter they should not see.

"People think video games equal kids, and that if it's just a game, it should be fine," said Robin Burke, a game development professor at DePaul University. "But the idea that a game is made for a mature audience, we (as a society) don't have our arms around that yet."

Indeed, even though games have clear ratings, like movies, they often are ignored by parents and sometimes by retailers. A study last year from MediaWise and Harris Interactive found that 72 percent of parents didn't understand game ratings. Worse, 37 percent of parents said they rarely used those ratings when buying a game.

Some critics want to ban stores from selling games such as "Grand Theft Auto" to minors, though that approach was found unconstitutional. Others wonder what possible redeeming value there is for anyone to play a game in which a joystick is used to simulate murder.

Jeff Smith, a 30-year-old information technology professional, said games such as "Grand Theft Auto" are an adult form of entertainment, an elaborate, increasingly sophisticated, action-packed fantasy world.

"As gamers get older, into their 30s and 40s, they want more adult games," he said. "Gaming is a good way to blow off steam. It's almost a type of voyeurism, a peek into the lives you see in film. Mobster movies (such as 'The Godfather') are big because it's a peek into that world.

" 'GTA' is like that, but it takes you an extra step," he said, noting that gamers have "unbelievable" control over what they can do.

"In real life, if you had a bad day trying to catch a cab, there's nothing you can do. But when you come home, you can punch a ('GTA') taxi driver in the face and take his fare money."

Rockstar Games, the maker of "Grand Theft Auto," offers the same mobster movie comparisons, arguing that they are creating a fictional universe for adults such as those seen in "Goodfellas" or "The Sopranos." But because the venue is a video game, perceived as a child's toy by some, they get pilloried.

"If this was a movie or TV show and was the best in its field, you'd give it loads of awards and put those awards shows on television," Rockstar Vice President Dan Houser said in an interview in Variety magazine. "What is it about the medium you don't like? Because maybe we should challenge those ideas. ... To us, it's a way of experimenting with nonlinear interactive story lines."

Rockstar has provided only minimal details of "Grand Theft Auto IV," but here's the story line, according to an early review by the Times of London on its Web site:

Gamers play the role of Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant lured to Liberty City (New York in disguise), who must "climb the greasy pole of the underworld." Players will face choices, experience seaminess and have access to 15 weapons, from a brick to a military-grade rocket.