Sunday 19 September, 2010

GTA San Andreas Day 1
I originally played GTA San Andreas when it was first released. I enjoyed it but I did not think it was a magnificent game. The story revolves around CJ as he comes home from the East Coast.
CJ arrives in Los Santos and he immediately is in trouble. Cops pull him over and accuse him of being a cop killer. They drop him off in a gang territory and he scrambles home. When he does arrive home, he begins to reminisce but is nearly attacked by Big Smoke. Later he visits his mom at the cemetery and he encounters old friends and family. There is some hostility because CJ has been away for five years. Things get even worse when Ballas spot the Grove street gang and begin to shoot. CJ and his crew race home to safety.
CJ is portrayed as a product of his environment. Things do not go well for him when he arrives. He lets on that the lifestyle is the reason he left. CJ can not escape his past. Corrupt cops threaten to frame him, rival gangs want him dead, and his old crew questions his loyalty and manhood.
The racist banter in the game surprises me. I never really noticed it when I first played the game. Cops commit some racial profiling, they insult a Mexican cab driver, and the word “nigga” is used frequently by the crew. Resident Evil was accused of being racist because it was set in Africa. GTA San Andreas must have been given a hard time too I assume.

"CJ is portrayed as a product of his environment."

Really? That makes it sound like he has no choice, or free will in his actions. Isn't the point of the game that CJ is able to become someone, even if it is throught crime?