Have you ever wondered how much the “politically correct” phenomenon affects you? How this notion came to be and why did it spread so fast among those who value “true” democracy? What does GTA have to do to with it and why is it the black sheep of the industry it represents? The answer is easy, but you won't find it in this article.
I'm standing here after a GTA marathon. All I did these past days was sleep, eat, resume smoking (because this experience-rich game is asking for it, even if you're trying to quit) have a few fights with my wife and of course, against all odds, play GTA. I finally understood why all the review sites praised the game. Easy enough, they were probably "encouraged" to do it. I am not at all disappointed by it, as it so often happens when the hype is too high, but GTA IV shines in other areas than the ones presented by the more fortunate than us. GTA IV, much like any other title of the series, is not a simple game, but more like a manifest against the squares and the frustrated, a bible for freedom of speech and action.
Liberty City is a fictional New York, but how could have the producers depict all these ideas without turning the society upside-down? Everything you imagine or you wish to do in a virtual world you can do in there. No, New York is not the city of all possibilities, Liberty City is. There are limits, no doubt about it, but let me ask you this: Did you ever wish you could take part in a bank robbery? To get that feeling when the police are preparing to storm the premise while you're locked in with no way out? Did you ever want to deal drugs, guns, diamonds or stolen cars? To be so stoned that even the basic controls of the car look like a handful?
I was asked the other day what line of work would I choose, of all the possibilities in this world, and the first one that came to my mind was car thief. I would love to know how to bypass security systems, not being confined to my own piece-of-junk and speeding on the highway at 200 mph. To grow weed and mix it in different recipes. Unfortunately I was only able to smoke a joint on a beach somewhere, long time ago. I'm a model citizen of an aging society, and I need my GTA fix like a diabetic needs his insulin shot.
Fortunately, Liberty City is a city of freedom indeed, where police won't pull you over if you're driving the wrong way, knock-down pedestrians or crash into other vehicles. If most drivers won't even signal left turn, what's the point in waiting for the red light? No car? Pedestrian, are you? This can be easily solved, there are plenty of cars running about and you need only “borrow” one of them, although some may have owners that tend to object to your takeover, and if they don't, surely there's a police patrol nearby that will gladly explain you the concepts of property. This freedom of speech and action has its price though, and you better be ready and willing to pay it. Every action you do has consequences, and this is the whole truth, the only truth, not the one presented by the media trying to conform to the rating or grab some sales from the GTA world. Yes, you can smack harlots, drunks, dealers or other types of wrong-doers.
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