Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

So after playing Grand Theft Auto I have learned two things: no. 1 "Vice City" is Miami (which I had not known!) and no. 2 if one is looking for a love it or hate it kind of game, GTA is it. Simply, the developers of this game have taken every stereotype of ethnicities, violence, gender, etc., put it into a blender and hit purée. Granted, less than an hour of the game was played during class, but an hour might be enough. Of the hour I did see a Columbian drug deal occurred; I learned my objective was to hit hookers and kill bums and that all cops are white and male. It not only ended there, but once the time came for the protagonist to visit Little Haiti and Havana, every stereotype of Caribbean lifestyle was once again evoked. The game is a double-edged sword: I want to play and find out more, but at the same time I'm afraid of what else may come flying out of this Vice City world. I do not want to be a hyprocrite and easily dismiss GTA, seeing as it is one of the biggest selling games to hit the industry, so I thought I should actually find out what the game is about. After speaking to a gamer that has completed Vice City, it sheds a new light on game play that was shown during class. This gamer (Aaron) stipulates GTA is more than simply a crusade of hooker and bum killings, but rather one that supersedes the storyline. In this fantasy world, one can live out their alter ego as a criminal, experience side missions of vigilante hunts and immerse themselves in the drug-fueled era of 80s Miami. It may not be the type of game for me, but for others, this type of game can have the same effect as the drugs they are carting: it is an addicting rush that provides a high like nothing else.