A Few Thoughts On GTA IV

Apparently some game called Grand Theft Auto IV just came out and it's supposed to be pretty popular or something.

No, I'm not that far out of the loop. Of course I know about the GTA series. How absurd to think otherwise. I'm well versed in this gaming legacy, read about the history of the series, played it on many occasions, even owned one of the less-than stellar entries in the lineup. And I have also been very curious about how this latest entrant would spin out.

GTA III was a pretty intense ride. Even if you hated everything about the game, and despised the nature of your actions in it, you had to admit it was something pretty special. An imaginary world where one could be as despicable and naughty as they liked? It's a hard thing to pass up, and few did. There wasn't a corner of this place where you couldn't hear about it or see about it. Explosions, carjackings, murder and mass destruction. Even a fair bit of intercourse from what I understand. People loved it....well most people loved it. Everyone else got real nervous. Thought that the culmination of pixels and code could drive decent people to some serious deviance. It's possible they're right, I don't know. I'm just not conservative enough to consider a form of entertainment some threat to our national state. Well, except for maybe TV, that shit'll kill you.

I'm not gonna take a stand either way on this new incarnation of GTA's level of ferocity, nor that of it's predecessors. We're bred from violence folks. And no matter how many forks we put in front of us for a meal, or how well we can lift that pinky while we sip tea, fact remains there's still a beast roaming free under that skin. And it's tendencies are to feed, and defend itself. Both, without the luxuries of things like Mcdonald's, are inherently violent. It's who we are.

And having some way of venting frustrations without actually stealing cars and killing people can be a good thing. Better to do it with several hundred dollars worth of technology than on somebody's child. But I know it's not for everyone. Some can't release their inner adrenaline-fueled beast through sheer button mashing. Some only get more ravenous with such things. It's a toss up.

Wow, it seems like in trying to avoid speaking on this, I ended up speaking too damn much. My apologies, I'll get back to the point.

As I've been reading the reviews and criticisms for GTA IV, I've noticed a lot of the same praise being said. It's a realistic thing apparently. True choice in things. You can make friends (simulated friends,) go out on dates (simulated dates,) and have some decent choices in how you conduct yourself. If you want to deliver pizzas and drive a cab, thus sparing the imaginary masses? Shoot, go right ahead. I'm sure they'll thank you as you conduct yourself like a gentleman through all this. Do you crave darker fare? Shit, we got that too. Just walk up to someone and start wailing on them. The good times have begun.

Sounds pretty damn realistic to me. You've got a life outside of your life ready and waiting any time you want it. And for something that is notorious for keeping people busy for weeks and even months, it has to be a far more interesting life than what you already got. You're free to do anything you like with no consequences beyond the occasional restart.

That's pretty all encompassing. Getting to pick up on women and make chums with arms dealers with the option of any minute, pulling out a weapon and unloading a few clips. It's definitely a way to see what kind of person you are. The limits of your rage, your willingness to befriend the shady, to test your ability to pick up on the type of ladies you'd never even approach in real life.

So my question is this, if you're into something this epic, where you have free reign over your decisions and decide who you are moment by moment in this fantasy world that you're engrossed in for 50+ hours..............then who exactly are you when you turn the thing off?

Think about it, you've fulfilled all the dark little tidbits in your psyche. Taken things you've wanted, gotten angry and attacked strangers. Shown the man talking on his cellphone in front of you how annoying he's really making you. What happens when those urges have passed and your back amongst the fleshies?

It makes me wonder if you spend so much time living out something dark and depraved you've fantasized about, do you miss it when it's over? The quest is, after all, as good as the end result. Do those that get their twisted wishes stare into their memories and wonder to themselves, "What's next?"

Or maybe I'm looking too much into it. Even if it is a pretty close proximity of real life without limitations, it's still not real. You may beat that computerized business man while thinking about your boss, but you'll still have to deal with him the next day. And no matter how much of a womanizer you are in the game, you'll still be going to bed alone.

So I guess something like this is simply a way to sample the freedom of choice while still trying to build the life you want for yourself. A place to be the studly badass before heading back into the world as the respectable citizen. We'll see I guess. I'll eventually give it a try myself. See what dark roads it takes my weird ass psyche. And maybe, just maybe I'll come out of it unscathed.

Anything is possible.