The most in demand and raved about new release, perhaps even more so than the iphone 5, is the release of the new Grand Theft Auto V. Scrolling through instagram, I couldn’t help but notice that practically every other picture was related to the game. Its popularity is overwhelming. I’ve never actually played the game but have heard it raved about time and time again. Chris Suellentrop offers his opinion of the game in his article “Grand Theft Auto V is a Return to the Comedy of Violence”.
Suellentrop introduces his article by discussing the diminishing controversy over the game. He states that the controversy over Grand Theft Auto games have “begun to seem like sepia-toned oddities from another age”. Suellentrop seems indifferent to the violence and sexual content of the game, aside from his statement about how “disturbing” it is to witness the game being given to preteens. But he seems to have no problems with it in general. His opinion about the game is overwhelmingly positive. He is brutally honest and does not undermine the aspects of the game which used to stir up so much controversy. Based on his declaration that “while the franchise has lost the ability to shock, it remains the most immersive spectacle in interactive entertainment” I gathered that he views the game as one of the best out there based on its genre and is obviously very impressed by it. He acknowledges the fact that society has become accustomed to the specific “type” of game that is Grand Theft Auto.
The article maintains an enthusiastic and admirable tone. A direct statement Suellentrop makes about the game is that it is “the best plotted, most playable, character-driven, fictionally coherent entry in this 16-year-old series.” The article continues with a more in-depth description of the game. Everything that’s said has an underlying tone of positivity. Other than the bluntness of the former controversial issues (use of drugs, the criminal occupation of characters) this article parallels a successful advertisement.
The concluding paragraph says, “Video games tell their own lies to their players: you’re powerful, you’re smart, you’re important, your problems can be solved if you just keep trying. And Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most beautiful, seductive lies yet uttered by our youngest creative medium.” (I would just like to comment that one of the things we mentioned when naming types of arts was “lies”)
I would say I’m a bit wary about this article. It praises the game constantly and as I read it I feel like I’m being sold the idea of Grand Theft Auto V. BUT. Knowing how highly others have talked about the game I’m not that skeptical. Of course, it is written from the point of view of a male and the target audience of the game is teenage to adult males. So a women would’ve possibly had a different opinion and may have focused solely on how demeaning they believe the game is and how it reflects badly upon society. Unlike Suellentrop who focuses on the dynamics of the game, the story line, and all things that make it interesting. I believe this article reflects Suellentrops true personal opinon about the game.
Works Cited:
Suellentrop, Chris. “Grand Theft Auto V is a Return to the Comedy of Violence” New York Times. 16 September 2013. Web. 19 September 2013.
One of the most interesting parts about this article is the fact that Grand Theft Auto has lost its ability to shock people. When GTA, the game’s acronym is catchy, first started making the rounds in my school and camp, I remember my friends and I being flabbergasted that a video game could produce such graphic content. The portrayals of killing, drugs, and sex are so over the top in the game, it seemed amazing that it would be allowed to be sold, forget about the fact that it could be sold to twelve-year-olds.
Having played the game, however, I must admit that it can take up an hour of one’s time as easily as any other activity. The missions in the game are complex and challenging, and the cars, boats, and helicopters are extremely fun to speed in. The fact that the game is on its fifth version speaks volumes about its ability to please its costumers. I do think you made a great point about how women would perceive the game differently than men. It can be viewed as a chauvinistic game for good reason. I agree that the fact this game is so popular reflects poorly on our society in general.
With so much explicit and offensive content stemming from a meaningless video game, it would seem that people should ignore this amateur form of entertainment. Ironically, the game just keeps gaining popularity.
Grand Theft Auto V has surpassed the $1 billion sales mark in just three days following its release, and if that doesn’t say something about the franchises’ popularity then I don’t know what does.
When the GTA series first appeared in 1997 people were shocked at the explicit and offensive content. Nowadays, it has not only become widely accepted, it is even extremely popular. Violence has been regarded as a form of entertainment for our society for a long time and this video game is no different. But how much violence is too much?
The violence in GTA ranges from a prolonged torture session in which one can tug out the victims’ teeth with pliers to beating a prostitute to death after having sex with her. Granted, most people can differentiate between the virtual world and reality and wouldn’t attempt any of this in real life. However, it still plants rather “crude” ideas in the players’ minds. Take for instance a question posted by a player online about the upcoming GTA V in which he inquired whether or not players would be able to rape women in the game; “I want to have the opportunity to kidnap a woman, hostage her, put her in my basement and rape her everyday, listen to her crying, watching her tears.” Maybe this is just a one in a million sick, perverted player or maybe this idea came to light as he was playing an earlier GTA game; II? III? IV?
There are plenty of violent shoot-em’-up games out there (eg. Call of Duty) but the additional content in GTA V is what bothers me. The dehumanization of women, and the endless possibilities of “needless” violence has taken it too far in my opinion. But video games have been ruled as a form of free speech so, what can one do?
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/09/grand-theft-auto-v-how-evil-should-a-video-game-allow-you-to-be.html?utm_source=tny&utm_campaign=generalsocial&utm_medium=twitter
I remember when I was young how my older cousins would play Grand Theft Auto, I thought it was exciting yet a bit scary. Being so young I was used to playing little fantasy with a lot of cartoon violence. Grand Theft Auto was mind blowing to me because of the limitless things you could do and how evil the characters were. I am not surprised that the author would rave about this game, because it is a loved series and most people love to see violence in their video games today.
My cousins were wise enough to be weary of playing the game in front of me, they knew they were a little young to be playing such a game and they took care to avoid letting me see. While they were concerned with how much violence I would see, today virtual violence is more acceptable than ever.
I’ ve played GTA V and I find it pretty fun and entertaining. What I find funny about reviews and what other people say is that they think that GTA V has lost it’s edge in shocking players. There is no shock from the game because we ourselves made it’s first game, all the way back in 1997, normal. We went from “oh my G-d, theres raping, stealing, and killing in this game” to “man I can’t wait till I rape that female character, steal her car, and then kill her with it.” I believe that is why the author, Suellentrop, was very honest about how great the game is. He doesn’t want to waste time writing about a topic we have already resolved our minds around. Instead he wants to talk about the game, and it features and story line, just as he would any other game. We may not like the games sex, violence, and drugs, but that’s why the game is for mature, 17 and over, people who are old enough to understand what is real and what is not. At this point we should stop nagging the developers for creating a game that is bad for kids, and we should be telling parents to stop their kids from playing the game in the first place.