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Monday 18 January, 2010
It is strange how this game encourages different behaviors. Your character in this game initially starts out with a white t-shirt and jeans. But your fellow gang members criticize your for not ‘representing’ the gang and wearing green. I went to the clothing store and even though I had my choice of selecting kind of clothing I wanted, I choose a green hoody and baggy jeans. The first thought that came to mind when I stepped out of the dressing room was “now I really look gangsta”. I had my choice of any color and style of clothing but at this point in the game I wanted to look like the other characters who I had been spending most of my time with.
Before I took on the next mission of the game I decided to build up my character a bit. I spent some time wondering the streets, beating down people for money and collecting weapons. I didn’t think twice about my actions. I was doing stuff gang members are expected to do and such actions are rewarded in the context of this game.
After I built up a nice arsenal of weapons and collected some cash I decide to take on the next mission. I had to go into rival gang territory and shoot them up in several drive bys. I failed at this mission several times. The first attempt my car blew up because not only did I take damage from my reckless driving but also from gunfire. The next attempt I learned the closer I drove to the rival gang members, the faster I could gun them down. But after I made my runs I had a wanted level of two starts and the police cars then began to chase me. At this point my car was on fire and the police would drive their cars into mine. It wasn’t long until I was overwhelmed and my car blew up.
I was then brought back to the hospital with half my money gone and all my weapons taken away. I was furious. Not only did I fail the mission but all the people I killed was for noting. On top of that I still had to complete the mission. So what did I do? I went back out onto the streets to kill more people for money and weapons.
This game not only encourages what would be considered illegal activity, but you can’t advance in the game with out. The characters in the game are based off of stereotypes so you come to expect how they would react when you interact with them. You become desensitized to violence as you massacre and entire city to collect money and weapons. Any negative consequences from these actions don’t act as a deterrent or show why these actions would be considered wrong outside the context of the game. Instead they provide the challenge of the game. That becomes the very reason you will either enjoy the game or be feed up and disgusted by it.
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