When I hijacked a helicopter to make it on time for a date, I knew "Grand Theft Auto IV" was going to teach me a lot about myself. In these two months of gaming, I learned I am vengeful, yet forgiving. I do stupid things for cute girls. And I like driving fast, I hate heights and if you're begging for your life because someone has paid me to kill you, I'll probably let you live. The learning all started earlier this summer when "GTA IV" was being hailed as one of the greatest video games ever. I wanted to help the struggling economy by being a good consumer, so I bought it. At first, I didn't understand the hype. Video game reviewers said the virtual environment was unparalleled. The game takes place in Liberty City - which is a New York City replica, except they replaced Staten Island with New Jersey. Reviewers couldn't get over how the people in poor neighborhoods did poor people things, and the people in rich neighborhoods did rich people things. They were amazed that virtual characters acted like real people. To me, it seemed like common sense. However, one day, I ran across an article online about how New Yorkers were taking out their real-life frustrations in the video game after the Sean Bell verdict. In 2006, Bell was shot 50 times by NYPD officers because they thought he was reaching for a gun outside of a night club. There was no gun, but rather a cell phone. Bell was black, so racial tensions flared up during the trial. And when a judge found the cops not guilty, some people rioted. Others participated in marches, wrote nasty letters to the police department or became bitter toward the NYPD. And some bought "GTA IV" and shot virtual bullets at virtual cops. "They just want to take their anger out," a video game store employee told Kotaku, a gaming blog. "People are upset right now." It's amazing what the game allows you to do. You can shoot cops if you want; you can go to a strip club, if that's down your alley; or you can eat at gourmet restaurants in Algonquin, which is supposed to be Manhattan. And because of this freedom, you are permitted to make choices. But the incredible part of this game isn't that you have choices - many games give you this ability. This game is special because of the types of choices you have to make. In the early part of the game, I was asked to kill a man for money. After I cornered him and pointed a shotgun to his head, he begged me to let him live. I did, and I felt like I did something right. Later in the game, I tracked down Darko, a man I wanted to kill throughout the entire story line. But when I had a gun to his face, I walked away again. If my objective in this video game was to win or have fun, I would've killed these men. Instead, it seemed like my objective was much more engrained in the virtual reality: I wanted Niko, my character, to be a good person and live a good life. It's tough to do that when the storyline forces you to wound hundreds of people and kill a few more, but I couldn't help but try.
Signs You've Been Playing Too Long
The new Grand Theft Auto video game may be pretty cool. It may have an extremely realistic setting with authentic characters and an almost endless supply of options. It may even inspire you to be more compassionate; a better man. However, there will always come a time when you need to put down the controller and go outside.
Photo by Marcin Wichary
