VIOLENCE: Grand Theft Auto Five redefines violence in video games.
By Cole Nelson, Diversions Editor
“Visit Los Santos and Blaine County; a place for reality TV stars, paparazzi and faith healers—see for yourself…” This advertisement for the fictional setting of Grand Theft Auto Five presented on rockstargames.com may appear to be an innocent invitation to the knock-off Los Angeles County. However, I did “see for [myself],” and noticed something much less attractive.
Within 24 hours of its September 17 commercial release, Grand Theft Auto Five produced over $800 million of revenue, becoming the fastest grossing video game (as well as entertainment product) in history. Five years of hard work from the developing company Rockstar North resulted in an open virtual world that is so comprehensive and distinct that even the simplest of details (i.e. the rumble strips along a highway) don’t go unnoticed. The game provides a world that is so similar to reality and so easy to slip into that a player can live a fantasy life for hours upon hours without batting an eye.
So how does the game differ from the welcoming invitation of its website? Well, anyone who has heard of the Grand Theft Auto series is aware of the felonious activities that are offered. Anyone is able to hijack and wreck a car while speeding or take his or her nonexistent anger out with a few deathly blows to an innocent yet volatile citizen of the virtual world. However, this does not set it far apart from any other recent “shoot-em-up” video games. Gratuitous violence is nothing new to the gaming community. Why has this game become so famous among gamers and even more infamous among their mothers?
Grand Theft Auto Five follows three “protagonists” (the player can switch between each protagonist, creating a more broadened and optimized gaming experience) as they attempt six separate heist missions. The basis of the game consists of illegal and immoral activity, and only gets worse from there. Between each heist, the player is able to freely explore the city of Los Santos where the hijacking and citizen-punching takes place. While rockstargames.com advertises “security and peace of mind, […] accessible air travel, […and] fast cars at your fingertips” as if Los Santos was a quiet, elderly community, I found myself already being chased by the game’s reckless police force and not-so-discreet FIB (can you guess the inspiration there?) for injuring a stranger, hijacking a car, breaking into an airport and attempting to steal a commercial airplane within the first few minutes of game play.
In the midst of its recent popularity, the game is heavily criticized for its rendering of torture. Grand Theft Auto Five receives most of its notoriety not for the wild game play, but for a particular mission titled “By the Book,” where players use wrenches and pliers to torture a character, Mr. K, in order to extract contextual information. The brutality is followed by a counterintuitive monologue from the said “protagonist” (again, the game is misleading) about the supposed futility of torture.
I do not believe that the torture alone is what caused the controversy. Torture has been present in entertainment for years, although not directly shown; rather, it is heavily implied. It is the intense realism and practicality of Grand Theft Auto Five that brings attention to detail to a whole new level and sets a new standard for the intensity of violence in contemporary video games.
Morally sound games—such as Sims or Madden NFL—are generally far less entertaining than those that portray violence as a tolerable act and offer a vast array of weapons. However, Grand Theft Auto’s improved realism sets the course for an increasingly violent landscape of video games to come. I enjoy the thought that these heinous acts are expressly carried out through game play rather than finding a home in the slightly more detailed realm of reality. Hopefully Grand Theft Auto Five players won’t be influenced by their onscreen counterparts to act violently. I myself will stick to Tetris.
Photo courtesy of www.moddb.com