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Jan 19th, 2009 at 21:11:10 - Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas (XBX) |
Today was my second consecutive day of playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. After messing around with the controls yesterday, I was able to concentrate on more of the game play during today's half-hour session. However, though I had a better handle of the controls, it did not make up for my lack of video game knowledge.
I started off deciding I was going to do the next mission. I hijacked a car no problem, and started driving towards my destination. (Note: The map is VERY confusing...I had to keep asking my boyfriend where I was supposed to be going. He seemed to think it was very clear and that I was just plain blind. I'm not sure a white triangle as opposed to all these other red markings on the map means "MISSION HERE"). I was supposed to go pick up a moltov cocktail and burn down this gang member's house, because the corrupt cops in the diner told me to do it. I picked up the moltovs just fine, and headed off to the mission thinking, yeah, okay, I got this. I started throwing them into the house, set the house on fire, and as I was ready to hightail it out of there, people start shooting at me. I did not even make it to my car before I died. These missions are incredibly hard to accomplish without a gun to fire back with...was I supposed to already have one?
Discouraged, I hijacked more cars and drove around discovering stuff around the city. I stepped into a Tattoo parlor on mistake, thinking it was another mission. Figuring it was a waste of money, I left and went to restore my health with two burgers at a restaurant. After I left there, I thought, "I need a really fast car to get away as quick as possible from that mission. I need to park right up to the house and get in the car right after I throw my last moltav." Well, after running after a few nice cars that left me in the dust, I tried waiting around for a nice car in the middle of the street. Once I found one, I drove it into a river. Fail. Fail. Fail. Thirty minutes over.
Okay, so I am not great at playing these sorts of video games. The car swerves all over the place, I never know where somebody is shooting from, and instead of reacting, I just sit there and twirl around because I can't figure out the controls in time. However, I can talk about the morals of the games. Number one: Corrupt cops. I know how cops can be real jerks. I don't think they were stereotyped at all; I think what they said, and how they said it, is pretty damn accurate, being the stepdaughter of a white cop myself. Number two: I stole a car right in front of the cops, and they did nothing. I hit a cop car, and they were on me in a second. It seems GTA is trying to make a point, and perhaps overstating it. Number three: All the people in the "hood" seem to want to shoot me. I cannot, at any time in the game, be out of my car, because I will get shot. No one has morals in this game, and therefore, it is impossible to play morally. Forget morals when you're playing GTA, because that's not what the game is about. The game is about intentionally breaking your code of ethics and having fun while doing it. At least it's just a game and not life.
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Jan 18th, 2009 at 18:39:35 - Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas (XBX) |
Though I have played GTA IV in the past, I have never played GTA: San Andreas before today. Logistically, I found the controls and the driving of the cars to be difficult to master, and therefore, did not get very far in my game play today. However, I should mention that I usually stick to games such as Super Mario, and although I have sat and watched my friends play GTA many times, I have never gotten to play much myself.
As for the storyline of San Andreas, I am on the fence about whether I consider it to be moral or immoral. I agree with past gamers that the drive-by-shootings and getting blown to bits outside of my own home for accidentally mistaking another's home for mine is a bit distracting and over the top. However, there are movies that follow this exact story line (Boys N The Hood, anyone?), and while I don't think kids should be watching these sorts of movies, I don't believe that they shouldn't be made. It's the same with GTA.
Today, my game play was relatively tame (aside from the whole getting blown to bits because I was confused as to which house as mine in the "hood"). I admit, I stole cars right away, shot a cop right away, and didn't hesitate to disobey traffic laws and run pedestrians over. When my first mission was to get away on a bicycle, I was surprised and disappointed; wasn't this a shoot-em-up game? Was I not some big tough gangster, and I was running away from the shooters on a stolen bicycle? Today's game play made my character, CJ, seem more like a blunt middle schooler than a gangster come home to avenge his murdered mother.
Admittedly, it took me a long time to get used to the controls. I stole and drove a few cars around, I punched people, etc. This was the majority of my half-hour of game time, unfortunately. When I started the mission, I actually failed the first time to get away on my bike. The second time, I felt like I was getting used to the game and am interested to see how the missions progress as I delve deeper into the game.
As for the stereotypes within the game, I agree that it's also very apparent and pretty degrading, especially during that first encounter with the cops. Black on black violence, police brutality, and racial slurs all rolled up into one scene...well, if that's how you want to start the video game off, alright...perhaps it will lead somewhere but otherwise, I deem it unnecessary.
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