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IHeartTetris's Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas (XBX)
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| [January 20, 2009 10:54:05 PM]
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As my final game log is meant to summarize Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I figured I would stop trying to figure out how to play well, and instead focus on the ethical issues within the game. I realized I had spent too much time getting frustrated over failing miserably at missions rather than focusing on my surroundings, character interactions and specific game choices. Therefore, in this final entry, I will describe some of what I discovered during forty-five minutes of simply walking around and stealing cars in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Previously, as I watched my friends play GTA: 4, nine times out of ten, their first stop was to pick up a prostitute. Therefore, this was my first decision of the game. I barely had any money or health, but I wanted to see what would happen. As the prostitute got into my car, I drove into an alleyway where the car then began to shake. Now, I don't know who goes to prostitutes for medical attention, but surprisingly, my health increased dramatically. GTA rewards players for behaving immorally, and it seems that there is no way to survive in the game without hiring hookers. I was not at all surprised that GTA's depiction of prostitutes was tasteless and degrading towards women, but, I'm not sure what you would expect.
After the prostitute left, I figured I'd leave too and find a nicer car. The logistics of stealing a car are most definitely immoral. Not only are you committing grand theft auto, but most of the time, you are also assaulting the current driver. You beat him, drag him out of the car, and take off without any police to stop you. GTA is definitely a game that values violence, and each and every character in the game thrives on it. If you are not willing to be violent, you will be bored playing GTA. Nothing will happen to you, except death by drive-by shooting. All of the missions require you to be violent to complete them, and if you are not willing to defend yourself against violence, you will die. The only resolution in this game is violence, so therefore, all ethical choices amount to violence. In conclusion, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas = Violence.
Speaking of all this violence going on, a cop car passed me without stopping as I was beating the driver to death and stealing his car. Let's discuss the police for a moment in this game. In my last post, I made a comment about the police that seemed immature and spiteful, calling police in general "jerks." This was in the context in which the police call the character "n*gger" and another character "dirty Mexican." I have been around actual police officers when they have used this language; however, there are more police men and women that only want to serve and protect, rather than go on a power trip with the gun, the badge and the car. GTA seems forgetful of these men and women who actually deserve our respect and admiration. Any cop, whether or not they were the former or latter as described, would stop and prevent an assault and theft. The cops in GTA are not difficult to fool or escape from, and therefore, violence prevails above all in San Andreas. Although GTA's portrayal of cops as corrupt may be partially correct in certain cases, it is also extremely irresponsible.
Lastly, I focused on the character himself. As far as I am aware from the scope of my game play, CJ is a young African-American who has been in trouble with the law, and is "owned" by the police as they send him to do dirty work "for" the city. His mom was also killed by rival gang members, and he is also involved in gang activity. Although I would like to say that this isn't a stereotype, because there are people of every race and ethnicity involved in gangs and corrupt politics, I would have to say that GTA's portrayal of CJ as a languid, emotionless person makes it evident that the game developers devised him from a degrading stereotype of African Americans in the "hood."
Overall, I can see the entertainment value in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. However, these problems, such as sex workers, corrupt cops, gang shootings, violent neighborhoods, and brutality in general are actual, real life problems that plague our world. Is it necessary to lessen the severity of these issues to create entertainment value? Therefore, I don't think I will play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas again. I find it more productive to study these real issues and contribute to the solution for all of them. Video games should be left to the fantasy world, as the real world issues that confront us all are already hard enough to deal with in reality.
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| [January 19, 2009 09:11:10 PM]
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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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| [January 18, 2009 06:39:35 PM]
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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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IHeartTetris's Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas (XBX)
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Current Status: Finished playing
GameLog started on: Sunday 18 January, 2009
GameLog closed on: Tuesday 20 January, 2009 |
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