Grand Theft Auto IV as a test of Christian conscience (Christian review of video game GTA4)

theknightshift.blogspot.com ^ | 4/30/08 | Christopher Knight

[lowbridge]

Mario Kart Wii versus Grand Theft Auto IV

Mario Kart Wii just came out and I got it for Lisa for her birthday. And then Grand Theft Auto IV went on sale two days ago, and I picked up a copy from the local Wal-Mart that afternoon. Suffice it to say that in between the work we both do (and now my being involved with a production of Children of Eden) Lisa and I have been compensating for outrageous gas prices by doing a lot of virtual driving lately.

Right now on Amazon.com, Mario Kart Wii is the #2 top-selling game (after pre-orders for Wii Fit) followed by the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto IV.

So... which one is the better game?

Now that I've gotten used to the controls (although still struggling to maintain my convictions as I wrote about yesterday) I'm certainly enjoying the deep narrative - especially having to choose when faced with moral quandaries - that comes with Grand Theft Auto IV. However when it comes to sheer fun, Mario Kart Wii is the hands-down winner. This is also best-handling Mario Kart game to date: when using the Wii Remote with the Wii Wheel, driving a vehicle in this game feels like very convincing and realistic (at least if driving through psychedelic landscapes filled with giant mushrooms is your idea of "realistic"). There's also the fun that comes with multi-player competition in Mario Kart Wii, in a way that I can't see a game like Grand Theft Auto IV ever providing.

So if you've somehow wound up with both a Wii and either an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, and have enough money for one game and don't know which one to get, I'd suggest going for Mario Kart Wii. Definitely a lot more sheer fun in this one, without the moral conflict... unless you genuinely feel bad about throwing turtle shells at your opponents :-P

http://theknightshift.blogspot.com/2008/05/mario-kart-wii-versus-grand-theft-auto.html

[KoRn]

I’m no religious person, but I would think if someone is so fragile in their faith to the point a video games could be a corrupting influence, they have MUCH worse problems than the video games themselves...

[dawn53]

Wow, is the writer an adult, and if so does he have a “real” life?

Actually he lost me when he used the phrase “a reasonless war”...and I assumed he was talking about Iraq.

[Inyo-Mono]

I can’t even imagine wasting my time playing a video game in the first place.

[Ilya Mourometz]

Right; likewise I think the reviewer above is a bit overboard in seeing a video game as some sort of moral litmus test. I’ve played GTA III (for some reason IV is not available for PC) and I was actually quite impressed. What the social critics (none of whom ever play games, apparently) don’t get is that GTA is a groundbreaking series because of the non-linear gamplay. You can do very bad things in GTA, or you can spend the whole game trying to do cool stunts in cars and motorcycles, or play dress-up. It’s no more “amoral” than the Sims.

[beezdotcom]

I’m no religious person, but I would think if someone is so fragile in their faith to the point a video games could be a corrupting influence, they have MUCH worse problems than the video games themselves...

You may have a point - but I prefer someone secure enough in their faith who might play the game in moderation, and then really not feel the need to blather on about it. Whenever someone feels compelled to make such a lengthy case as this, I really wonder who they are trying to convince.

[aruanan]

You can do very bad things in GTA, or you can spend the whole game trying to do cool stunts in cars and motorcycles, or play dress-up.

Sort of like life.

[LibFreeOrDie]

I have to wonder also: there are a lot of people in America who cheer for the war in Iraq, or even war in general. Too many of those are professing Christians. They cheer for war, I've little doubt, because they themselves have never had to face meaningless death. Deaths in a foreign land are just a statistic to them, and if "one of our own" is hurt or killed then all too often I only hear something about "prayers for the family".

Who wrote this crap?

[aruanan]

They cheer for war, I've little doubt, because they themselves have never had to face meaningless death. Deaths in a foreign land are just a statistic to them, and if "one of our own" is hurt or killed then all too often I only hear something about "prayers for the family".

These people don't see past their own lives. They don't bother to realize that God has blessed others with life too, deserving of as much opportunity to seek Him out as anyone else. To such people, a reasonless war in a foreign land is like a video game. And they don't particularly care to understand that those killed in the real world are neither a high score or flickering sprites that quickly vanish when shot.

It sounds as though his reason has already been subverted.

[lesser_satan]

Did you ever use the cheat code to get the tank? If you do this in conjunction with the low-gravity cheat, you can turn the turret around and fire the cannon, and the tank will fly.

[nerdwithamachinegun]

It’s just not out for PC yet.

I’m really enjoying it on the PS3. Some of the ignorant comments of my coworkers are almost as funny as the random dialog on the streets of Liberty City.

[lowbridge]

Did you ever use the cheat code to get the tank? If you do this in conjunction with the low-gravity cheat, you can turn the turret around and fire the cannon, and the tank will fly.

I did that. Used that cheat to get across the broken bridge just so that I could explore that other side.

[utherdoul]

I’m sorry I just had to weigh in here about him using the subject of the Giants Drink. I did not get the impression that he was crushed after winning the game, rather if anything he was relieved that he broke out the vicious suicidal cycle as opposed to giving up like most students had previously.

but on the GTA IV, I’m very tempted to pick up a copy and swipe my brothers 360 rather than wait until it comes out for PC like I have with the previous few.

[Illuminatas]

Wow, does the phrase it is just a game mean anything?

Let’s see....

Listen to metal, check.
Played D&D as a kid, check.
Dig the zombie movies, check.
Gambling, check.
Love my Gin & Tonic, check.
Think O&A are hilarious, check.
Play and enjoy GTA, check.
Dont take myself seriously and piously, check.
When the end of the world comes, Im gonna pop some corn and make a drink and watch it on tv, check.

Yep Im going to hell. Thats ok I wouldnt know anyone (or like them all that much) in heaven anyway. According to this guy anyway.

[butterbattle]

"But the depiction of this world and its denizens is so convincing, that it's almost impossible to completely disassociate myself from having empathy for these people."

Wow, really? Seems like you've been playing waaaaaayyyyyy too much video games.

Yes, I felt the same way when I was playing Halo 3. Those aliens are so realistic. I couldn't detach myself from the situation. One time, there was a single grunt running away from me, screaming. A wave of compassion rolled over me, and I was going to let it go, but I accidentally pressed the trigger and blew up the poor creature with my rocket launcher.

Shocked, I stared at the TV and began to cry. WAAAAAAHHHH

[Yaelle]

bookmark

[lowbridge]

Halo 3 is for the little kiddies.

Real men play Call Of Duty 4.

:-)

[arderkrag]

Yes, I felt the same way when I was playing Halo 3. Those aliens are so realistic. I couldn't detach myself from the situation. One time, there was a single grunt running away from me, screaming. A wave of compassion rolled over me, and I was going to let it go, but I accidentally pressed the trigger and blew up the poor creature with my rocket launcher.

It's more fun with the Grav Hammer, and UT# is out now, so I said goodbye to Halo.

[arderkrag]

Erg...typo - UT3.

[LongElegantLegs]

Note to the author:

For $59.99 you could feed a family of 4 for two weeks. Stop pontificating about amorphous moral theory & hop to it, then.