(Images: 'Grand Theft Auto IV' hits the streets)

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Gaming double standard

First, so you know - I'm a female web engineer in my forties, and while I only occasionally have time to game, it's been part of my life since the early '80s. It seems to me that there is a double standard in evaluating electronic vs. other games. Electronic games can show behavior that in non-electronic games can only be written or played with pieces, cards, etc. There are many classic games, including board games like Risk and Monopoly, that turn what in real life would be incredibly destructive and callous behavior (taking over the world, charging extortionate rent) into the goal of the game. But because it's hidden by cards and gaming pieces and not discussed in the context of the game, it's not offensive.

GTA is perhaps getting flack for being more open about what people might do, and allowing them to do it. While violence is needed to progress the game, it's primarily against criminals. Gratuitous (meaning unnecessary to game progression) violence against protitutes, etc., does not progress you in the game and can actually be detrimental. In some ways GTA is better because it is honest about its violence.

If you're old enough to watch Scarface or The Godfather, you're old enough to play GTA. You may be offended by some portions of it, or not - but that comes from you, not the game. The game, like life, simply offers a range of behavior from which you choose what you find important.

Posted by: alexfiles   Posted on: 05/07/08 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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