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March 05, 2004
Respect in Liberty City
Believe it or not, I've only just now finished Grand Theft Auto 3! I had started playing it way back when, but then loaned out my PS2+games to my brother, while I got busy with the Xbox (when it first came out)... So, I never got far. This Christmas, my wife got me the <a href="http://www.rockstargames.com/grandtheftauto/">GTA double-pack for Xbox</a> and so I started playing again...
Having limited time to play games these days (prepping for<a href="http://www.gdconf.com/"> GDC</a> is crazy), I pretty much stuck to the main storyline. For example, I finished the game's story, but only "completed" 37% of the game... Anyway.
What occurred to me is just how much I worked to avoid the police. I would slow down when driving, I'd be less reckless, stop a red lights, I'd put away the gun I was carrying, etc, etc. In general, I would stay the hell away from the cops as they would just mess with my underworld activities... As should be the case.
So, is it just me, or does the game force me to "respect" law enforcement within the game and teach me that it is not a good thing to mess with the police (to the extent that they can catch you ;) This is probably obvious to everyone who has ever actually played the game.
Sadly, most critics of GTA3 have not (perhaps only seeing a random stand-alone clips of the the character beating a cop with a bat)... And, I've only ever heard <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0305/15/se.04.html">this angle brought up once in the media</a>, when CNN was interviewing writer David Kushner about violence in games.
Anyway, I could go on, but I do find it ironic that <a href="http://www.igda.org/newsroom/press_060503.php">Washington is <em>trying</em> to regulate</a> the game based on the argument that it engenders disrespect for law enforcement officials.
Oh well. Time to pop in GTA: VC and see how tough the cops are in Vice City!
Posted by della at March 5, 2004 11:44 AM
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» Fearing the cops in GTA3 from c0llision.org
Jason Della Rocca has just finished GTA3 and has an interesting take on why the game's critics have it all wrong when it comes to be so-called 'anti-social' aspect of Grand Theft Auto 3: What occurred to me is just... [Read More]
Tracked on March 5, 2004 02:02 PM
» GTA 3 from richtfilz
Noch ein interessanter Beitrag zum Thema Gewalt in GTA 3: What occurred to me is just how much I worked to avoid the police. I would slow down when driving, I'd be less reckless, stop a red lights, I'd put... [Read More]
Tracked on March 27, 2004 07:43 AM
Comments
Nice try putting a positive spin on it, but GTA3 taught me that the best way to get a sweet ride (and a shotgun, to boot) was to beat a cop to death with my bare hands and take his car. (It only pops your arrest level up to two stars, which is manageable.)
Vice City changed things by making the cop cars lame...
Sounds like you're doing 'superstitious gaming' - when first encountering a simulation-game, we assume that the simulation is more realistic than it usually turns out to be. We hide bodies when playing Deus Ex, we assume the cops will bust us for running a red light in GTA. Later we realize that nobody cares about the bodies or the red lights.
Posted by: Jamie Fristrom at March 5, 2004 11:56 PM
Actually, the easiest way to steal a cop car is to try to jack it from the passenger side. The door will be locked, but this will prompt the cop to get out. Once he's out, jack the car again: at most you'll get one star, unless you run the cop over making your getaway. :)
Posted by: Walter at March 6, 2004 12:04 AM
Jamie makes a good point about over-anticipating the simulation... When I first started, I was literally waiting there for the light to turn green - even when the cops were not around ;)
But seriously, it does make things easier to just stay away from the cops and go about your "business"...
Jason
Posted by: Jason Della Rocca at March 6, 2004 12:13 AM
Disrespect for the law. No way vice city is much harder to shake em. Jason is right you do everything to avoid getting 1 star on your screen. It is annoying and throws off the timing of the game. personally I have a phobia of going to prison so I stay away from bad things in the real world.
Posted by: Mr. Oi at March 9, 2004 12:07 PM
Unfortunately your defense of GTA3 is silly, and that silliness is symptomatic of so many apologies for this game; the cops in the game represent nothing more than an obstacle to be overcome in your crime spree. It's really strange to separate 'respect for the law' and 'respect for the cops' - or perhaps you're trying to push the tacit view that GTA3 makes an ethical argument about utilitarian attitudes toward those whose work is somehow unfair to those in your profession, i.e. crime lord?
I've never heard a convincing argument that GTA3 is anything other than an enjoyable waste of time. Even when I was playing it - and trying to argue just that! - the best rationale I could come up with for playing it was 'it's better than an action movie'. Well, isn't everything? Honestly, can you name a single way in which GTA3 is actually a superior game?
Simply having (to whatever degree) a professional vested interest in the 'legitimacy' of games isn't a reason to waste time on something as juvenile as GTA3 - neither playing it (why bother when there's /Halo/ to be had? - nor defending it. Beyond technical accomplishment (questionable), why bother?
Posted by: Wally H. at March 29, 2004 04:32 PM
Where is Liberty City at?
Posted by: Samir at April 25, 2004 09:58 PM