Sunday 5 October, 2008

In my final play of the game, I decided I would attempt to find some positive outlook into GTA: San Andreas. Vigilante mode seemed like it would be the only redeeming aspect of San Andreas, however I was mistaken, sort of.

Vigilantism in a world such as the one presented in GTA: San Andreas seemed like a very reasonable option to the corrupt police system that would take a man out of a cab and blackmail him. Once in Vigilante mode two statistics came up, Missions and Kills. I assumed that the kill count was there to be aware of how many innocent people I killed while being a vigilante, but I was wrong. Being a vigilante in GTA is just a way to get paid for killing off random people.

This is when I realized that San Andreas isn't meant to be anything but irrationally violent. Perhaps this is the gaming industries portrayal of today's society and honestly as sick as it felt, I have to admit that I was entertained. After a quick look at some cheats online I found a way to make my car invincible, and to blow up anything it crashes into. For half an hour I drove around being a ‘vigilante’ while laughing at the repeatedly unnecessary explosions.

I know in my last blog I condemned the lack of consequence in GTA, but isn't this the world that every human dreams of. Not necessarily the violent aspect, but a world where everything and anything is possible. There are an endless amount of cheats that allow you to do everything from walk on water to fly around in a jet-pack. Is it morally just? No. Is it suitable for children? Absolutely not! Does it serve its purpose? Yes. It supplies a mindless adventure for mature adults (clearly stated in the games rating system) who every now and then need to break from a world where we are constantly being reminded every action we make has a consequence. What better way to do that than to eliminate all consequence?

A mode where the player can help people rather than hurt them would have served as means to convey positive moral statements to the player. Good point.

This is a good start in analyzing the game, however in the future you should start to use the philosophies as a means to analyze the games. However, your arguments are structured well and its easy to understand your opinion of the game. Good Job.