I'm upset at what "the man" has done to the franchise of my childhood. Back in the day, we had Grand Theft Auto (that is, number 1). It was a top-down perspective game in which, as a criminal, you did missions for the "scum of the earth". The glamour of it lay in the gameplay: stealing cars and driving fast which inevitably led to crashes. However, the main goal of the game was fulfilling the missions. Grand Theft Auto 2 was just a sequel with the same concept. Then came Grand Theft Auto 3 with its whole media-circus.

That game became the game for people to criticize; it was absolutely disastrous for children and so on, so forth. I believe that the reaction was unintended and most importantly unanticipated by its creators; they just converted the game to a 3d perspective, made it shiny and invented a backstory which fit the setting they had created. Again, the prime elements were the gameplay; it really wasn't over-the-top beautiful, but the radiostations were awesome, the missions interesting and it proved to be quite an enjoyment to play. Then came the media, and I think the media have caused disaster to the franchise in a much different way than they expected: they made the game famous and appeal to young kids looking for "forbidden thrills".

Okay, off-topic for a moment: has anyone else noticed that in the past few years (read: after the Hot Coffee incident), an "M for Mature" rating is no longer something that's just on the box, but it's something that is part of the game? Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude for instance, was not M for Mature just because of sexual content, but also because of the completely random swearing. My friends and I still make fun of Gears of War for the random "fucks" in there, and Kane and Lynch has more senseless swearing than Jay and Silent Bob could dream of. Swearing is not bad, please don't get me wrong, but the swearing in these games is so incredibly forced; the scriptwriters worked hard (or very little) on making as many opportunities for swearing as possible. Is it necessary to swear occasionally? Yes. You stub your toe, you swear. So: bullet in the face, swearing. "Fuck that hurts", for instance, would make sense. Inserting fuck in a completely random fashion to fill the swear-word quota is a senseless practice.

Why do they do that? It's simple: Grand Theft Auto proved that your sales can soar if you outrage the media and parents! Grand Theft Auto is now a posterboy for violent videogames, and thriving off it! Many millions are made, and to be quite honest, I always felt that was only fair. Yes, in Grand Theft Auto 3 et al. you can kill prostitutes and steal money, you get sexual references and you can be the most despicable gangster ever to walk the planet. But that's not the point of the game. That was the point in Carmageddon (which, for reference, I enjoyed). The fact 14-year olds started buying the game en masse is not the game's fault, it's the media attention.

So, in conclusion: M for Mature sells, and sells well. And what have they done to my Grand Theft Auto franchise?! They release this video.

I'm sorry, I cannot even find that funny anymore. Now they are selling the M for Mature rating, and they have turned their product into that which the critics always said it was: a senselessly violent game. The release of this video is not an accident, and is only aimed towards young teenagers whom are now supposed to get so excited that they will do anything to get this game. And lo and behold: they do. Remember that saying: "There is no bad publicity"? The saying is not entirely true (Vista, anyone?), but in this case, it holds true. All the concerned mothers have only caused their children to get more intrigued! I doubt anyone of you, dear readers, remembers their mothers' warnings about certain things as anything more than a hidden form of advertisement.

Seriously, if this is what Grand Theft Auto IV is about, I'll gladly skip the game. Why did they release -this- video, and not one showing off gameplay, or the graphics (which are quite sublime, really)? Why not show the many vehicles, or even just the new weapons in the game? Why not show the introductory movie telling the story of why this Russian mobster-guy is now going to go out and do all sorts of missions? Why not show action-scenes, like the helicopter scenes or boat-races of Vice City? Because that doesn't appeal to their target audience: Young teenagers.

It's rather silly, but they are using their M for Mature rating to sell to those under that "magic-18" age. Oh, and on a personal note: Gangster rap? Seriously? You have got to be kidding me.

Editor's Note: I've just found a list of the "10 most swearing-est games". Have a look at it, and find the games that have sold really well. Found one? Any? Just one? 

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