GTA:IV

[Listener]

I don't know if anyone here plays GTA:IV, but if you're interested, here's a story we did on it last night/this morning:

http://www.11alive.com/life/article_life.aspx?storyid=115064

(I am the Producer credited on the piece; if you'd like my services for writing PR or marketing materials, PM me or e-mail me through the site.  My rates are very reasonable. )

I personally do not plan to play it because I don't have the time (21-month-old baby and all), but anyone who does, feel free to use the thread.

[stePH]

I don't know if anyone here plays GTA:IV, but if you're interested, here's a story we did on it last night/this morning:

http://www.11alive.com/life/article_life.aspx?storyid=115064

(I am the Producer credited on the piece; if you'd like my services for writing PR or marketing materials, PM me or e-mail me through the site.  My rates are very reasonable. )

I personally do not plan to play it because I don't have the time (21-month-old baby and all), but anyone who does, feel free to use the thread.

I played GTA III and a good deal of Vice City (unfortunately the one fault in the PC port was loss of analog control for the helicopters so I gave up while trying to complete the Vigilante mission), but didn't know IV was out yet.

The game, which releases to the public Tuesday, has drawn the usual ire from concerned citizens worried that the game will cause kids to pick up a gun and start shooting.

Only jackasses like Jack Thompson and those every bit as mad and stupid as he is really believe that.

[Listener]

The game, which releases to the public Tuesday, has drawn the usual ire from concerned citizens worried that the game will cause kids to pick up a gun and start shooting.

Only jackasses like Jack Thompson and those every bit as mad and stupid as he is really believe that.

I saw something on Digg today that 20% of people believe video games cause kids to become killers, and they're the vocal 20%.  I don't have the link or I'd post it.  Sorry about that.

[Darwinist]

The game, which releases to the public Tuesday, has drawn the usual ire from concerned citizens worried that the game will cause kids to pick up a gun and start shooting.

Only jackasses like Jack Thompson and those every bit as mad and stupid as he is really believe that.

What a pile!  My kids play games like Call of Duty, Rainbow Six, etc. and are pretty much A students.  When do the games kick in and turn them in to Columbine kids?  Giving your kids attention and keeping track of their activities does wonders - some of these dirtball parents should try it sometime. 

Hell, in the early 70's before cool video games my buddies and I used to play war every day with our plastic machine guns and pistols.  We were always putting guns to each other's heads and  "blowing heads off".   I didn't turn out to be a crazy violent psycho killer (yet).

[Heradel]

Only jackasses like Jack Thompson and those every bit as mad and stupid as he is really believe that.

I think either God has died or hell has frozen over.

[Troo]

No, he has to know his enemy.

Smack dat bitch, yo!

[Chodon]

I'm on the fence about the video games / violent kids debate.  Obviously it is not the only factor regarding kids flipping out in violent ways.  However, there have always been psychos willing to hurt children.  The worst school mass murder was not committed by a child who played violent video games.  However, I think if there is already a kid with an unstable home life, mental issues, and no parental involvement violent video games can be an escape from reality that will sometimes blur the line between the real world and fantasy.  Grossman has written some interesting stuff on this, about half of which I agree with. 

Do I think this means we should ban all violent video games?  Hell no!  The problem is with parents that are not involved with their kids teaching them the difference between right and wrong.  These video games are just one of many factors that could turn a kid into a killer.

By the way, the way I bought GTA:SA was by essentially ripping the last copy from a kid's hands (~10 years old).  He and his mom were in line to buy the last copy.  I pointed out to the mother that the game revolved around hookers, drugs, and crime.  She told her kid to put the game back, so I took it.  Sucker.  I'm just shocked that the mother had no idea what she was buying for her kid.

[stePH]

By the way, the way I bought GTA:SA was by essentially ripping the last copy from a kid's hands (~10 years old).  He and his mom were in line to buy the last copy.  I pointed out to the mother that the game revolved around hookers, drugs, and crime.  She told her kid to put the game back, so I took it.  Sucker.  I'm just shocked that the mother had no idea what she was buying for her kid.

Beautiful.   

[Void Munashii]

I don't know if anyone here plays GTA:IV,

  I want to be playing it, but my system got a bad case of red ring. It's supposed to be back to me on monday, assuming MS has repaired it like their email to me said they did.

  For now it is little consolation that I can flip through my "Art of GTA IV" book until I can actually play.

  *sob*

[stePH]

I just realized it's currently available only for X360 and PS3.  I still have to wait for the PC port.

[Troo]

The problem is with parents that are not involved with their kids teaching them the difference between right and wrong. 

I couldn't agree more.

Some people are just wired up wrong, and some have poor moral standards. I would suggest that it doesn't take much to trigger such a person into performing an act that most would find reprehensible, be it a video game, a film, a book, or the voices in their head. That doesn't make the media at fault. In the case of genuine mental instability it doesn't make the parents at fault either.

But when it comes to kids forming packs and beating other people into the hospital, then I'm afraid I do hold parents accountable for failing to teach their child the difference between right and wrong, good and bad.

In other news, GTA IV is proving to be comedy gold in the Troo household 

[qwints]

Man, as soon as exams are over I'm going to buy it. It's gonna make it hard to adjust to a 40 hour work week.

[Bdoomed]

i think video games only influence those who are already so close to the edge.  After playing GTA IV, i drove home, and i must say, there were a bunch of 'what ifs' but thats as far as it went.

very fun game, they really got it right this time.  i found the other ones okay at best.

[Chodon]

After playing GTA IV, i drove home, and i must say, there were a bunch of 'what ifs' but thats as far as it went.

I TOTALLY get the same thing after I play GTA.  I think, "man, if I just drove up on that sidewalk I could blow that red light and get home faster."  Again, it's just for a second, but I think it.  Someone who doesn't have good impulse control may have problems with that.

[Listener]

After playing GTA IV, i drove home, and i must say, there were a bunch of 'what ifs' but thats as far as it went.

I TOTALLY get the same thing after I play GTA.  I think, "man, if I just drove up on that sidewalk I could blow that red light and get home faster."  Again, it's just for a second, but I think it.  Someone who doesn't have good impulse control may have problems with that.

I think that a lot more often.

[stePH]

After playing GTA IV, i drove home, and i must say, there were a bunch of 'what ifs' but thats as far as it went.

I TOTALLY get the same thing after I play GTA.  I think, "man, if I just drove up on that sidewalk I could blow that red light and get home faster."  Again, it's just for a second, but I think it.  Someone who doesn't have good impulse control may have problems with that.

Now that you remind me, I used to love Carmageddon II, where a significant portion of the gameplay was to commit vehicular manslaughter.  The three ways to complete a level were to kill a certain number of pedestrians, demolish all of the computer-controlled cars, or pass through all the checkpoints of the "race".  (I usually went for the body count.  The other two goals were usually too easy.)

[Chodon]

After playing GTA IV, i drove home, and i must say, there were a bunch of 'what ifs' but thats as far as it went.

I TOTALLY get the same thing after I play GTA.  I think, "man, if I just drove up on that sidewalk I could blow that red light and get home faster."  Again, it's just for a second, but I think it.  Someone who doesn't have good impulse control may have problems with that.

(snip)

I think that a lot more often.

I think that means you aren't punching enough virtual hookers.

[Void Munashii]

Now that you remind me, I used to love Carmageddon II, where a significant portion of the gameplay was to commit vehicular manslaughter.  The three ways to complete a level were to kill a certain number of pedestrians, demolish all of the computer-controlled cars, or pass through all the checkpoints of the "race".  (I usually went for the body count.  The other two goals were usually too easy.)

  I LOVED Carmageddon II, it was easily the best in the series (it all sort of went downhill from there). I usually focused on destroying the other cars though.

  That reminded me of Quarantine, I loved that game when I was in high school. I would just zoom around totally ignoring the missions and just killing people and blowing up cars.

[stePH]

Now that you remind me, I used to love Carmageddon II, where a significant portion of the gameplay was to commit vehicular manslaughter.  The three ways to complete a level were to kill a certain number of pedestrians, demolish all of the computer-controlled cars, or pass through all the checkpoints of the "race".  (I usually went for the body count.  The other two goals were usually too easy.)

  I LOVED Carmageddon II, it was easily the best in the series (it all sort of went downhill from there). I usually focused on destroying the other cars though.

I remember now that you had to kill all of the peds to complete the level, so what I did was kill as many as I could find, and then demolish the other racers when I'd had enough.  Or sometimes I'd just run the circuit to finish the level.

[Void Munashii]

Now that you remind me, I used to love Carmageddon II, where a significant portion of the gameplay was to commit vehicular manslaughter.  The three ways to complete a level were to kill a certain number of pedestrians, demolish all of the computer-controlled cars, or pass through all the checkpoints of the "race".  (I usually went for the body count.  The other two goals were usually too easy.)

  I LOVED Carmageddon II, it was easily the best in the series (it all sort of went downhill from there). I usually focused on destroying the other cars though.

I remember now that you had to kill all of the peds to complete the level, so what I did was kill as many as I could find, and then demolish the other racers when I'd had enough.  Or sometimes I'd just run the circuit to finish the level.

  Running the circuit was way too easy. The other drivers weren't even able to finish the race ahead of you, were they? I really liked seeing all the damage you could inflict on the other cars. It was a kick to me to see a car rolling around so mis-shapen that all the wheels did not touch the ground.

[stePH]

I remember now that you had to kill all of the peds to complete the level, so what I did was kill as many as I could find, and then demolish the other racers when I'd had enough.  Or sometimes I'd just run the circuit to finish the level.

  Running the circuit was way too easy. The other drivers weren't even able to finish the race ahead of you, were they? I really liked seeing all the damage you could inflict on the other cars. It was a kick to me to see a car rolling around so mis-shapen that all the wheels did not touch the ground.

I meant, run the circuit after killing my fill of peds.  I think I actually managed 100% kills once, on the fairground map.