With the release of GTA less than two hours away here on the west coast (and already having occurred in Liberty City’s real-life counterpart), gamers across the country are acquiring their copies from midnight launches at their local Gamestop or Best Buy. As might be expected from a game of the GTA pedigree, this game has barely hit the street but there has already been widespread ballyhoo from various Christian and family groups and certain activists who shall go unnamed regarding the game’s potential for debauching our children and training them in a “murder simulator.” The press embargo on GTA IV was over on Sunday, and since then a flood of reviews and legal gameplay videos has hit the web for widespread perusal. These publications were the world’s first chance, at large, to see what kind of game GTA IV was going to be through the presentation of major media sites like IGN and 1UP before its official release. Given the storm that is already surrounding the game, though, and without impugning the editorial acumen of the gaming media in general, I wonder: did the whole truth about this game come out?
In general, this game has already received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Sites and publications seemingly universally love this game, awarding it full marks for its renovation, innovation, and overall excellence in all areas. Having not played the game yet, I must reserve judgment until I’ve had a chance to buy it and play it for a week or two before I can verify any of the praise that this game has received, although I’m honestly quite sure that most of it is well-deserved. Nevertheless, as related by Kotaku, Variety’s Ben Fritz calls into question the practice of “exclusive” reviews such as the one that IGN was allowed to post a day early and whether or not these reviews are unduly influenced by this special privilege. Given that every other media outlet is gushing about the game, however, I’m willing to give the exclusivity issue a pass this time and believe that IGN’s 7-page review is the balanced and objective piece of journalism that it should be.
Having skimmed IGN’s review on Saturday and a smattering of others on Sunday, I originally planned to try and avoid any news of GTA IV for the next couple of days in order to avoid any spoilers. An article from Ars Technica, however, caught my eye today courtesy of the little Google News plugin on my iGoogle homepage. For those too enthralled (or uninterested) to click the link, it’s basically an article by Ben Kuchera detailing how the previously unnamed activist has found fresh examples for his talking points against GTA IV courtesy of...IGN? Apparently, among the media mass-released regarding GTA IV is a little gem that IGN titled Ladies of Liberty City. (NSFW) I proceeded to watch the video in the comfort of my own home tonight, and frankly I’m appalled that the IGN editorial staff posted this or most of the other videos featured on their website. The video is a series of scenes following Nico as he searches out sex for sale throughout Liberty City. It begins with some tasteless scenes of Nico pulling up next to provocatively-dressed women and honking at them, only to find that they are not, in fact, streetwalkers. Presumably disgusted with this [sarcasm]false advertising[/sarcasm], he pulls out a gun and shoots them or runs them over. The video only gets worse as it goes on, showing Nico hiring the services of various women and then killing them to retrieve the money he spent on them. There is no way that anybody who watched only this video could come to any other conclusion than that this is an antisocial, dangerous game that deserves an AO rating, not Mature. But IGN put out a balanced and fair written review, right? Maybe this video was an anomaly. I proceeded to check out the Video Review, in which reviewer Hilary Goldstein praises the game for “the real star of the game...Liberty City” in its detail and open nature, GTA IV’s improved combat system, its engaging single-player and “ridiculous(ly good)” multiplayer. Fair enough. The selected scenes for the review are for the most part well-chosen at illustrating his points, and he makes a point of mentioning the violence, explosions, and “ladies of the night” along with the tongue-in-cheek humor in the very beginning of the review. Therefore, I don’t understand how 90% of the other videos that IGN has posted fail to explore the things that he enjoyed about the game and instead focus on what was guaranteed to cause a shitstorm with the conservatives and possibly even moderates out there.
The other videos on IGN, by and large, all feature Nico gunning down any number of people. Occasionally these people are other gun-toting individuals who need to be rubbed out as part of the main storyline, but for the most part Nico is running around causing havoc and killing off cops. Why, why, why? There could have been videos showing off the game’s incredible amount of detail in regards to electronic media like TV shows or the internet, where Nico can spend hours of his time (and yours) watching shows and surfing personal ads. They could have shown off some of the various areas of Liberty City on foot or by air, comparing the landscape to the actual city of New York. They could have given us a more well-rounded look at the multiplayer modes than just one video featuring a bunch of guys running around pounding the crap out of each other with metal baseball bats. Sensationalism should not be a main selling point, particularly when it comes to a series with as much historied touchiness as this one, and especially not when it comes at the expense of a well-balanced and deeper point of view.
I know that I’m a relative nobody out there in terms of writing about games on the world wide web. I realize that I probably don’t have the credentials to criticize any of what’s been posted thus far on GTA IV, especially given that I haven’t even played the game yet. For all I know, maybe the game really is just the orgy of sex and violence that the IGN videos seem to glorify and maybe that’s the real reason GTA IV is expected to be one of the biggest sellers EVER. Granted, there will usually be intelligent people (thank you, Gamepolitics) who will try to stem the tide of hysteria and fear that others will seek to use to further their own ends. When one of the biggest representatives of the gaming media is playing Devil’s Advocate, though, in the end, who’s going to remember the game behind it all?
Comments: (3)
on Fri, May 02nd, 2008 at 03:16 PM
I was listening to a great segment on NPR about GTA 4. They had Lazlow Jones, one of the writers and radio hosts of the game, on and he said something interesting.
Jones “points to the debut of Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score The Rite of Spring.” It was a piece so controversial, many politicians at the time were asking for it to be banned. But now years later The Rite of Spring is seen “as one of the great compositions of the 20th century.” Jones believes that GTA will have a similar effect, in that people will look back and marvel at how great the game was rather than see it as the mindless killing simulator.
It’s unfortunate we’ll have to wait that long. 
on Fri, May 02nd, 2008 at 05:49 PM
Was that the same segment where they were interviewing Adam Sessler and Jack Thompson decided to call in? I haven’t listened to it yet, but I heard about it.
Oh, and for anybody who actually wants to see the “Ladies of Liberty City” video, bad as it was, IGN is no longer hosting it as parent company MTV noted that they may have crossed a line. It’s still floating around the internet, though.
on Fri, May 09th, 2008 at 03:58 PM
Guys, I remember just very first GTA. It was not just a game – it was a symbol, icon, leader and a beacon for online rebels like me. I feel real freedom playing it. Now GTA IV - to me it is the best game I`ve ever play. The most incredible thing here except freedom, its a feeling that this world is indeed alive, not by itself, but together with me. It responds to me. Graphics is great, physics is almost perfect. And, I can just live in this wonderful city, to gather secrets from it, the chasing police, to perform various tasks, relax in cabarets, watch TV and so on and on. Virtual reality is already very close. Yes, I`m crazy : )
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