Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1303https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4426Well I finished the game today. Now I think I really understand what this game is about. It's not someone just making light of what happened at Columbine. I think this game is more of a criticism of how people reacted to it. What happened was bad, but the final scene doesn't really feel right. From how the game was presented, I think that the game tries to make a point about violent video games. Did thy, or did they not lead up to the violent acts at Columbine? I think that this game thinks not. What makes me think so is how the video game characters appear in hell almost sarcastically. In addition to that, the flashbacks earlier in the game give a bit more insight into the characters as to why they did it. Overall, I think this game is trying to say that people reacted badly, and that blaming video games for violence isn't solving anything.Wed, 27 Oct 2010 10:08:14 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4426&iddiary=8321https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4426Today, I made it much further in the game. I made it past the part I was stuck at in the cafeteria and made it all the way to when the boys die. When I found that they continue to play in hell, and were basically playing a video game out in hell, I began to grasp the real tone of the game. I don't so much mind the game now. At this point, it is actually amusing (if not fun) to play.Wed, 27 Oct 2010 01:46:06 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4426&iddiary=8312https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4426Going in to this game, I didn't know what to expect. I knew it would be an RPG, but not who would be the main character, or what it would play like. I knew the story behind it, almost everyone here does. As it turns out, you play as the shooters, and your objective is to set up the events of the massacre. I was not overly thrilled to find that out, and even less so to attempt it. To my relief, I couldn't even figure out how to progress the story. I was supposed to place bombs in the cafeteria, but I couldn't figure out how to do that, and I spent at least 20 minutes trying to figure it out. Overall, this game feels like an RPG, with not so interesting characters. The designs of the characters look cool, and the music is good (and based on real music). That is really all I have to say for the game so far. Maybe I will figure out how to progress it further tomorrow.Sun, 24 Oct 2010 23:34:43 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4426&iddiary=8246https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4334Today, I played through the mission in which you beat up a bunch of drug dealers. This was too much. I admit that it is fun to run around and misbehave in this game, but beating up people who have little to no connection to you, for almost no reason is too much. I don't really like this game. CJ seems more alien to me now (as I mentioned before, I was starting to connect to his character). This just seemed utterly absurd to me. Why people would do anything like that is really beyond me. I also really don't care for Ryder. The way he acts doesn't usually help the situation, it only aggravates it. I have lost hope for these characters aft this.Tue, 21 Sep 2010 23:19:47 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4334&iddiary=8111https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4334After playing this game more, I see the themes mentioned in my last log reinforced: more racism, intolerance, and strong familial ties. For most of the time, it felt like just a rehash, however I did notice one thing this time around. CJ seems much more compassionate and tolerant than his fellow gang members, who are more caught up in the fires of the gang warfare. Maybe this is an attempt at being an unbiased (or at least nearly unbiased) observer. This puts the game in a slightly different light, but doesn't make up for reinforcing so many negative stereotypes. However, CJ's tolerance stands as another hidden treasure in this game. It certainly allows me to feel more attached than I was to the character (although I am certainly nowhere near immersion).Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:59:37 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4334&iddiary=8092https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4334While playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, the first thing that popped out at me is how intolerant the people in the game are. The police who arrest CJ at the very beginning don't believe that he has lived a crime-free life for the past five years, and one of them makes an openly racist remark about how they “hate those Mexicans.” So the law enforcement are hardly shining examples of tolerant people. In addition to this, Sweet also makes several racist remarks about the Latin Americans, as he is trying to prevent Kendl from going near them. Also, when CJ gets thrown out of the moving police car, which in itself is a horrendous act on the part of the police, he is worried about a rival gang of his past. He says that they will hardly care that he hasn't been in the gang for the past five years, and that they will attack him anyway. Intolerance runs deeply in the mindsets of the characters in this game, from the police, to the gangs and comrades of the protagonist. That is the first thing to pop out at me. After playing for a while, I did notice something else. There is a strong sense of familial connection between CJ and his old friends and his family. They are there to protect each other, and even if I find their methods or reasoning repugnant, I respect that. It is a message that is buried under the racial slurs and the negative stereotypes, but it is still there. As of yet, I have just finished running from a rival gang via bicycle, and after having failed several times, I have finally escaped. I hope that there is more emphasis on the family ties in the future and less racism and bigotry.Sun, 19 Sep 2010 21:50:20 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=4334&iddiary=8076