Grand Theft Auto 4 and me

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I bought Grand Theft Auto 4 the day it came out. After a week of playing it (ok, actually I’ve only had a couple of hours to play it all week) I think I might return it.

Why?

Because of the rampant violence? No. I don’t think I own a game that doesn’t involve putting digital bullets in a digital person.

Because of the prostitutes and strip clubs? No. You know what I’ve discovered? GTA4 is a lot like real life. If you don’t go to the strip clubs or look for hookers you don’t experience either of those. So I don’t. Yes, I actually avoid the digital strip clubs and ladies of the night.

What does interest me about the game is the storytelling (yeah, that’s the modern version of “I just read it for the articles”). But seriously, I really am amazed at the world they’ve created and the way they use it to tell a story. The story is on par with the great crime movies. I actually find myself liking main character Niko Bellic. Sure he works for the underworld but he’s doing it to help his cousin who owes the wrong people money.

The real problem I have with it is the controls. They’re just not intuitive in any way whatsoever. Not at all. When I play online and manage to get a kill it seems more like an accident than actual skill. Rockstar Games has created a massive open world with a billion different options. But by doing so I don’t think they spent enough time making the most important part really great. I guess it’s hard to map all those different options to a few buttons on a controller.

And for the record, this game was not designed for kids. No kid should ever play this game. It’s on par with a rated R movie.

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