Is Grand Theft Auto 4 too Violent?

Games have ratings just like films, no more needs to be said really. If young kids are playing them then blame the parents not the game. As for me, i love violent and sadistic games, lots of fun finding new and inventive ways to kill people! Although GTA 4 was quite boring and extremely unoptimized for the PC. All in all i don't think there is such a thing as too much violence when it comes to games, films, books etc It just depends on the individuals perspective, if something is too violent for you then simply avoid it.

reply to post by beezzer


You let us know when he gets HALO for the PS3. That would be a conspiracy theory to end all conspiracy theories, right there.

As for GTA4? Kids shouldn't be playing it. Parents should be parenting.

That includes violent TV shows, like CSI, Burn Notice, and all of the rest of the cop / lawyer / doctor porn that makes up the majority of tv programing.

But Grand Theft Auto has many life lessons to teach our young...

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I actually got burned by this series a few years ago.

It was one of the earlier versions that a friend's wife's kid was playing; there was a bar you could go into...only one door which provided a funnel point, lots of solid cover and clear lines of fire. Her son had the cheat code for unlimited ammo and I used it with the mini-gun to bring about a max star conflict with the army.

Then the SHTF.

Until I sat down, she had never actually watched the game. She had never seen her son picking up hookers and then killing/robbing them 'after'. She had never watched as her little darling beat people to death with a baseball bat or happily drove his car through a crowd.

The console was a digital babysitter, and this was the game that kept him quiet.

I watched him playing for a while before taking the control, there was nothing I did in the game that was new (except that he couldn't survive long enough to have the army come after him). All she saw however was that I had corrupted her precious little baby and taught him to be a psycho.

The rating system on these games is there for a reason. It was demanded by Tipper Gore's group along with the advisory stickers on music. They never gave any thought though to what thier demands would actually result in.

1) With age restrictions/recommendations, game designers (and musicians) no longer have to worry about walking a fine line. They can create whatever they want knowing that there is a warning label that parents are supposed to take into account before purchasing the product.

2) Content can now be specifically designed for a particular segment of the market without any intention for it to be accessed by another segment.

The games really aren't my cup-of-tea, but if an adult wants to play it fine. As long as the behavior stays on the TV and doesn't spill into the real world. What it boils down to is the now all too familiar idea that parents need to be parents. They need to take an active role in thier kids lives instead of pawning them off on whatever gets them out of thier hair.

Concerning my friend's wife, she exploded on me and just kept running in increasingly more vicious circles until I loaded game after game that SHE had bought him and showed her what type of behavior her son had been engaged in for years. My actions may have been inappropriate, but ten minutes with me versus years of slaughter and murder through her had no real impact on her innocent little muffin.

To all the younger male readers of this post...FYI

Proving that a woman is wrong/at fault during an arguement does not improve your situation in any way at all.

I can play it in Thailand, but not buy it legally.

Anyone want to gift it to my Steam account?

I've always loved the GTA games (Even on top down GTA 1) and miss being able to support the developers and play as Nico....ah well I can wait till I leave Thailand to play it.

-m0r

Hmm this game isn't very graphic nor realistic.. Just a puff of blood when shot, no blood/wound on body, no puddle of blood on the ground. Old school Doom at least has that. And I am also sick of this anti violent game madness. I have played the most violent ones, watched The Terminator when I was like 6, yet I have a clean record, I have not shot anyone, haven't been in a fight since I was 14, (I am 30 now). Games and movies do NOT make a person violent, the said person in question who commits an act of violence was sick in the head to begin with, and would have done it regardless, because, well, he is sick and screwed up.


Deebo

Grand Theft Auto has always been a controversial video game. Even when I was a kid and they were just coming out with them, my mother wouldn't let me play them. Then I hated her for it because it was the cool thing to do and all of my friends were playing it. Now I understand why she wouldn't let me play and honestly I thank her for it. I see too many parents allowing young children to play games that are rated M for mature and then they wonder where they learn the bad language or seem to have picked up a bad attitude or habit. However the blame cannot be placed on the video game because it is in fact intended for adults who need things to be that graphic because it takes what they know is a potential reality... but at the same time a highly unlikely one. This game is not too violent for its correct target market.

Originally posted by GamesKillFreedom
Grand Theft Auto has always been a controversial video game. Even when I was a kid and they were just coming out with them, my mother wouldn't let me play them. Then I hated her for it because it was the cool thing to do and all of my friends were playing it. Now I understand why she wouldn't let me play and honestly I thank her for it. I see too many parents allowing young children to play games that are rated M for mature and then they wonder where they learn the bad language or seem to have picked up a bad attitude or habit. However the blame cannot be placed on the video game because it is in fact intended for adults who need things to be that graphic because it takes what they know is a potential reality... but at the same time a highly unlikely one. This game is not too violent for its correct target market.

To sit there and thank and admit your mother as a savior from these "bad violent games" shows how weak you are mentally. In your case im glad she did, you might have snapped if she didn't huh? *sigh* Your a brit/aussy I am guessing.


Deebo