While we’re on the subject of how Games can improve as a meaningful medium: above is an interesting little lecture by Daniel Floyd, a professor from the Savannah College of Art and Design, done in Zero-Punctuation style.

Found on Rock, Paper, Shotgun

After several amusing hours on the recent Grand Theft Auto game, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the game’s storytelling department had matured greatly. No longer was it about mindless criminal intents with piss poor reasoning. Gone were the static characters that simply didn’t have any good reasons for their actions(or even a good reason to live). Now we have themes of financial struggles, moral issues concerning life and death, mistakes one makes in life and how people overcome them or succumb to them.

I mentioned some of these themes in my review, but the biggest theme that seemed to circulate within the various missions and side missions seemed to be about one thing: money. After all, money makes the world go ’round, right? In the world of GTA4, however, things aren’t exactly what they seem.

One of the biggest complaints against GTA4 was that you didn’t have anything much to DO with the money you earned. Buying new clothes, paying for meals or recreational activities hardly put a dent in your wallet, and before you know it, being “poor” in the game seems like just another ironic joke. Of course for the characters, they yearned for more money. For what? “The ultimate American dream”. In other words, the characters portray a certain symptom that many people in this world have: consumer greed. But that’s what America’s all about, is it not? The Pursuit of “happiness”, which in this satirical videogame world means resorting to extreme materialism.

After the great amount of features in previous GTA titles, it certainly seems strange that they would leave out such an important aspect of managing money…unless it was intentional. I know this seems a bit of a stretch, but even if it wasn’t intentional, it still reached me as a player, and made me think about how we are all searching for money to fulfill our hopes and dreams, and how vast amounts of money will never be enough as long as we continue to strive for materialistic rewards.

Imagine how deep games could be if they could teach us in such ways.

I’d like to direct your attention to this little flash game as an example.

Yes, this game is hardly a game, but it still gives us a taste of real-world horror after realizing that there’s no turning back after a certain choice. Not even exiting and restarting the game gives you a second chance to remedy your actions. At the very least, this “game” made me realize just how we gamers take the saving/loading system for granted. The last time I’ve seen anything like this happen was in the Diablo II hardcore mode, which made me shudder to think how one’s fate is decided by internet lag more than anything.

Games have always boasted themes about how they are “deep” due to their “choice” systems. Bioshock was acclaimed as one such game, and although it is exciting to see the beginnings of a growing and maturing medium (like watching a toddler’s first steps) it’s still not enough to actually give insights into human nature in subtle ways. Let’s hope that games continue to walk further into these unexplored areas.

Grand Theft Auto 4 is a full-course meal on its own that will at least satisfy even the harshest of game connoisseurs.

Let’s begin with the appetizer. Rockstar North has done a commendable job in adding a sample of real human drama with characters that exude with an authentic sense of a “New York attitude”. As you may have already seen from previews, they are down-to-earth and generally relatable. This is why the single player portion plays like a well written novel, with themes concerning the rich and famous vs. the poor and underprivileged, morality vs. survival and other deep themes.

Visually, the game really is a true testament to the power of next generation consoles. Not only does the cityscape seem endless, but even the smallest of details have been brought to life to add an unprecedented amount of realism to the series. Details such as location-specific vehicular damage and bodily reactions to getting hit by one only add to the rich flavor of the experience.

Now we come to our main course: gameplay. The familiar mission-based gameplay has returned, and this time around, the side missions involve dating (with a side of hot coffee), and building relationships with the game’s characters. The bread and butter of driving and shooting have just had a slice of ham slapped on for good measure. The former has a tasty layer of realism, despite the slightly sour learning curve first timers may experience. Combat, on the other hand, introduces a spicy flavor of cover and blind fire ala Gears of War, resulting in a lovely gourmet meal.

The bitter hair-pulling and controller-chucking only comes in when you are forced to start from scratch if an accident occurs in the latter part of a mission, but I guess that’s what cheats and curb-stomping the flawed AI characters are for.

For dessert, we have online multiplayer. Not everything has whipped cream and a cherry on top, however. Some modes are actually simple single missions that quickly lose their flavor after completion. Rockstar could have elaborated more in the multiplayer portion; it’s a shame that there wasn’t a way to implement Kane & Lynch style bank robberies in multiplayer co-op.

The game isn’t fancy and orgasmic as the previews made it out to be, despite several improvements. Fans of previous iterations decried the missing features; for example, altering physical fitness or buying properties i.e. save points. This leads to the dilemma of just what exactly we are supposed to do with all the money we earned with our virtual sweat and blood. To really fit the storyline and the theme of “struggling for your survival in a harsh urban city”, Rockstar should have at least implemented a system of “money sinks” where you constantly need to pay rent, and basic survival needs. This way, players could actually have a sense of how desperate our protagonist’s situation is.

In the end, however, we’re still left with a solid, hearty meal that shouldn’t be missed.