I finally checked my email, so I saw the posts on this game and the debate on violent content, etc. So here's my opinion after playing it for some time.
In the real world I am 36 years of age, and I am probably one of the most tenderhearted, nonviolent people you'll ever meet. I'm the guy who will give his last dollar to the homeless man in the doorway, or give him the shirt off my back. I am anti-death penalty, for several reasons. The thought of taking another human life is repugnant to me. I myself have been a victim of both domestic violence as well as criminal violence by a stranger. So in the real world, if someone were doing what the characters in this game are doing, then I'd be horrified. That being said, I love the game. I get the chance to play the complete opposite of who I am in the real world in a fictional one, with no reprisals, no consequences. How cool is that? I grew up with games like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, Double Dragon, etc. I've had GTA described to me, and there are parts of that game that are extremely graphic. I even tried out D&D when I was younger, around 13 or so, despite all the people I've heard saying how evil that particular game is. But guess what? Despite my playing games with violent content in my younger years, I'm not a cold-bloodded killer, I don't fantasize about becoming some psycho serial killer, I don't have waking dreams of mass murdering everyone around me. So my opinion is that everyone should relax a little bit and give us credit for the brain that we have, that we can separate a fictional world from the real one. And let's give parents some credit as well, that they know their children and whether they can handle a game like this. Let's all just have fun with a game that gives us good guys a chance to be bad. There's a definite appeal to letting my hair down in an alternate world, to doing things in that world I know for certain I wouldn't do in the real one. Now, some suggestions for Aaron for future releases: Several things could be included to increase the storyline, to augment your goals. For example, we're a gang, right? Most gangs nowadays are usually into drugs, weapons, some way to make cash if they're not robbing banks. So perhaps give us a stage where we can sell weapons that we get from the guys we kill that we don't need. (I've got over 300 pistol cartridges that I will never use, over 100 knives, etc). It could be a pawn shop, or it could be that we're unknowingly selling weapons to another gang, which just might come back to haunt us, or even undercover ATF or FBI. Add a stage where we can sell drugs to people on the street, and add in undercover cops, local at first, then DEA and FBI once we reach a certain level, that try to thwart our efforts. To help neutralize that threat, we could have the ability to try to bribe some cops, get them on our payroll. Another thing you should include is rival gangs. We're causing all this mayhem, stacking up body counts and cash, and in the process we're taking the glory and attention away from the resident gangs of the city, and now they want their streets back. So our next job gets crashed not only by the cops, but by members of a rival gang or two from the city. So now starts the gang war, and the battles will increase territory and unlock stages for us if we win, as well as providing us with the spoils of different weapons, more cash, and drugs that we can then try to sell or distribute amongst ourselves. And perhaps if we fight well enough, or if we sell enough drugs successfully and take enough of their customers, the rival gang might just get displeased enough to call in a big cartel to try to bring us down. And if we manage to defeat the cartel, we get one hell of a reward...smile. Also, if the shotgun is the best weapon of this first release, definitely some automatic weapons should be included in the next one. And I'm done rambling for now, lol. --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
