 Grand Theft Auto for PC
The world has seen its share of violent, controversial, and otherwise
inappropriate video games. I remember well the furor caused when the
original Mortal Kombat made its debut. The digitized blood and gruesome
fatality endings – immolation and various methods of head removal being
the two most popular – caused outrage amongst the more uptight segments
of the populace, such as church mothers and right-wing conservatives.
The subsequent MK games have only escalated the violence further. And
what member of the original videogame generation doesn't remember the beloved
pornographic pirate Atari 2600 game, Custer's Revenge, the object of
which was to lead a naked and cartoonishly well-endowed General Custer
through a hail of arrows to rape an Indian princess tied
to a stake?
Alas, these games pale in comparison to the game which
is the subject of this review. A game which has been banned in Brazil,
and has become nearly impossible to find in the United States. Next to
this game, Mortal Kombat seems as violent as a walk down "Sesame Street."
Grand Theft Auto is the
game that hereafter all other violence-laden games will aspire to be. A
game with an unparalleled level of graphic violence and inherent
incorrectness. In a word, this game is just plain WRONG. But therein
lies is undeniable appeal.
The object of the game is fairly simple. You assume the
role of a common street thug, a bottom-feeding member of a crime
syndicate in a big city. You begin your game on foot, running amok among
the denizens of the city. If you meet one on the sidewalk, feel free to
punch his lights out. Then, kick him while he's down. All in good fun,
mind you. Once you've beaten the innocent citizen senseless, head into
the street. Pick a car, any car. Flashy and fast, or inconspicuous and
slow. Find your mark, and make your move – carjack the bastard. Throw
the durn fool out the car, put the pedal to the metal, and make like
Raven and get the flock outta there. From there, make your way to the
park, running over a pedestrian or twelve on the way, and stop at the
pay phones. Get out of your car, pick up a phone, and receive your first
exciting – and highly illegal – mission. Whether it be blowing up police
headquarters, reclaiming stolen drugs, or simply stealing taxicabs, you
embark on a non-stop succession of criminal ventures, all the while
receiving obscenity-laden advice and continually commandeering an
endless supply of vehicles – sports cars, old beaters, limousines,
buses, 4X4s, taxicabs, delivery vans, even ambulances and police cars.
Collect various weapons along the way – pistols, machine guns, and the
like – to add to your reign of terror. Feel like randomly murdering
people? Go right ahead. Shoot 'em like dogs, run 'em down like deer, no
penalties for mass killing in this game, in fact, it's encouraged. The
more creatively you kill someone with your vehicle, the more points you
receive. And kill a cop? BIG points, baby. But don't think your crime
spree will go unchallenged. Oh, no. Before long, you'll have bacon on
your ass, first one cop, then two, on up to four and even more. Before
long, you'll be flying through roadblocks, and fending off vicious
ramming attacks from the infuriated police. If your flight from justice
has made its way to a police car or ambulance, their attacks will be
even more fierce. Fight through it if you can. I would assume once you
complete enough missions, you can advance to the next city, and continue
your one-man crime wave. I wouldn't know though, I've never made it.
This game is NOT easy.
But it's just so much frigging fun, I can't
stop playing it. Why such a purely evil game appeals to me so greatly,
I'm not quite sure. Maybe it's the deeply repressed, depraved and
demented part of my psyche that wants to live the life of a hoodlum,
living from job to job. Maybe it's the ability to wreak incredible havoc
on society (albeit cyber-society) without fear of reprisal. Maybe it's
just the devil in me. It's hard to say exactly, but the game's appeal is
unquestionable and irresistible. I won't be getting tired of this one
any time soon.
Review by Mario Speedwagon |