GTA:Vice City

[Jeff in BigD]

I went over to a friend's place & we played Grand Theft Auto:Vice City. It comes out at Best Buy tomorrow. It's great & a ton of fun. Lots of teals & hot pinks to really add to the Miami & 80s feel. The motorcycles & helicopters make the game a lot more fun than GTA3.

Here are some of the actors...
Ray Liotta (Goodfellas)
Burt Reynolds
Gary Busey (Buddy Holly Story, Lethal Weapon)
David Paymer (Bounce, Payback)
Danny Trejo (Con Air, Spy Kids)
Lawrence Taylor (NY Giants)

Here's a list of some of the tracks...
Michael Jackson, "Billie Jean"
Judas Priest, "You've got another thing coming"
GrandMaster Flash, "The Message"
Laura Branigan, "Self Control"
Kool and the Gang, "Summer Madness"
Flock of Seagulls, "I Ran"
Hall & Oats, "Out of Touch"
Cutting Crew, "I Just Died in Your Arms"
Nena, "99 Luft Balloons"
Bryan Adams, "Run To You"
Toto, "Africa"
Ozzy Osbourne, "Bark at the Moon"
Quiet Riot, "Cum on feel the noize"
There's also tracks by Motley Crue, Lover Boy, Run DMC, etc. Actually I've heard there are close to 90 tracks (they're also releasing like 7 different soundtrack CDs for the game! )

This may be one game that DWs & GFs might not mind bing played alot because they're bound to love the music.

Here's the official website, which is mega cool!

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Hopefully there will be some left when I run up to Best Buy in a bit.

 

[Straycat]

Had to go to three stores but i got DS this game today, he is having a great time with it.
the previous version was his all time favorite game, this one has just made favorite game status.
I love the music - he will be flipping thru the stations and so many times now i have said 'wait, i want to hear that song'


hope u got a copy jeff

 

[Desiree]

Gosh we're still at it too!! Its really fun and so much more in depth than GTA3. Its really fun but not recommended for smaller kids for sure! Lots of violence, language, and sexual references, etc.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Unfortunately I was too late.

 

[SeaSpray]

I just saw some scenes from this game on Good Morning America. The person playing the game looks like a sniper, killing police...innocent people....blowing up ambulances....there are prostitutes....drugs.

You guys think this is fun entertainment, huh??

Just curious...How old are the kids you parents are buying this game for??

 

[Desiree]

Devyn is definately not allowed to play it or be in the room when someone else is playing it. This game is solely for Chris and myself. There is no way I'd want her to even think about playing it!!!

 

[Princess_Aurora]

DH got it the other day and I haven't been able to play Kingdom Hearts ever since

It is pretty neat though. We've both been enjoying the music and stuff.

SeaSpray, it is pretty violent and it really isn't intended for children. DH likes it because when he has had a tough day (which is like every day he comes home from work) he can come home and play the game and release some tension. It's better than people going out in RL to do it.

 

[SeaSpray]

Desiree and Princess Aurora: That's true, it's been rated "M", for people over 17 years old. Sorry, I thought some of you meant it was for your kids. I still think it's over-the-edge violent, but to each his own, right??

 

[sixcats]

There were 7 of these games at KB when I was there. DS had it on his list. I asked one of the workers and he said that aside from the language you could buy cocaine and have sex with a prostitute. Needless to say I left without it.

DS(12) was mad, and accused me of treating him like a baby. Too bad kid! Sounds like a game for 18 and over. There is plenty of time for that when he's an adult.

 

[coqui]

Hey Sixcats, if he complains, give him the money to buy a videogame and have him buy it himself. When they turn him down for not showing ID for being old enough, then he has no reason to complain.

 

[sixcats]

My luck someone would sell it to him! After a 27+ hours of labor I have earned the right to "ruin his life" Somedays it's the only fun I get to have.

 

[Straycat]

Hey Sea Spray - I'm in a brave mood today - bash away if u like.

I bought it for DS who is age 13....

like u said, to each his own. my ds is mature for his age, he has been a gamer since i put him on my old sega playing sonic when he was 3. if he was a lot younger, i would not let him play it.

we communicate very well with eachother and all gaming takes place on the big tv where i can keep an eye on things. If i ever had reason to believe that any game was affecting him adversly, then i would intervene.
We have had several discussions about how the media is portraying games as a reason for violence.
I think it is a shame, I for one will be unhappy if games that I choose to play are taken off the shelves due to this bad publicity. It is only a game.
It takes a screwed up mind to be a violent person, a game or a movie or a book or an internet site will not make the typical person do bad things.
People do comprehend that these things are for entertainment and are not reality.

Btw, many of the kids at his school picked up this game as well already or are planning to, I am not the only person that thinks this way.

Happy Halloween!

 

[ChiTownZee]

Sex with a prostitute? My daughter is only 5 so maybe this doesn't apply to me. But I wouldn't let my kid watch a movie where there was sex or prostution, so I don't think I'll let them play a game with those things.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

SeaSpray - the game isn't meant for kids. I think you'll find that 1/3 of all the games these days are meant solely for the 18-35 age group & a larger percentage of VG players are 18 & over. It's interesting that some people think video games or animation = meant for kids. It's another medium of entertainment & each subject themselves should be taken into consideration.

Would you let your kids watch violent movies like Scarface or Goodfellas? If the answer is no, then Vice City isn't a game for them. There are people that enjoy those movies & those games. I would never tell someone a movie shouldn't be available to them (given that they were an adult) & the same goes for video games. The video game stores I've been to will card for games like this.

I didn't see the GMA segment, so I have no idea how accurate they were. The point of the game is not to kill cops, you can kill cops, but they hunt you down until you're dead if you do. The main point of the game (or the missions in the game) is that you play a crook & the people you work with are crooks & the people you kill are crooks. It's like a video game version of Miami Vice or The Sopranos.

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi Straycat:

I'm not a "basher"....so.....there'll be none of that. At least, not from me. LOL I would like to state my opinions though:

I tend to agree that violent games or movies do NOT create violent adults who otherwise would not be violent. I think children are relatively impressionable, though.

I personally don't like the sounds of this particular game because there's no way in the world I'm going to let my DSs (ages 14 and 11) play a game where prostitution and/or drugs are condoned. I have not seen this game in person, but supposedly you (the player in the game) can kill the prostitute after you've had sex with her. That's not the kind of information I will be feeding my DSs' minds. I, again my PERSONAL opinion here, would not want to be in the company of anyone of any age, who thinks it's fun to play this game. I understand the graphics and music are pretty cool. I can understand that. I, too, have been online and into computer/video games before most people ever dreamed of having a computer in their own homes. My DSs also played all the old video games from the time they could hold the controller or sit in front of the computer. That has nothing to do with it, really, does it?

P.S. As the mother of two boys, who will grow up to be men and eventually dating and marrying women (who are the little girls of today, by the way), I feel very responsible as to how my sons view women in general. In as much as I am able to, I WILL control what they see on tv, which movies they go to, what music they listen to. Eventually they'll grow up and have to make their own decisions. But I don't want them getting any sick views of women while they are at the ages they are now. Children are a lot more impressionable than a lot of adults want to believe they are. Just because a child is intelligent and can reasonably understand the difference between real violence and fake violence, doesn't mean the images they're seeing now aren't making an impression on them.

Again, these are my own personal opinions, and I don't expect everyone to agree.

 

[CBRorBust]

I think you said that very well Sea Spray. And I completely agree.

 

[Straycat]

seaspray, i appreciate your point of view, it is a very sensible one, and thanx for not being a basher.


but i have one more thought on this game for you all to ponder before i leave, we live in a world where everything in this game happens, prostitution, drugs, violence, whatever.
i feel it is important that teens are not sheltered from this part of life, if we the parents arent very open about it, they will get their information elsewhere, agreed? i would rather he get my point of view on these matters than from his friends. their friends are going to play this game and they will talk about it.
this game opens a line of communication about all of these subjects in a non threatening way.
i have spoken about all of these things b4 to my son, but how many times have i discussed prostitution with him, maybe twice.
The circumstances presented in this game allows for conversations on why it is wrong, and what is acceptable in the real world.

Remember, we cannot, as parents, live with the see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil way of life. Our kids are depending on us not just to shelter them but to educate them when they are at an age that is a crossroads in their lives.

 

[ChiTownZee]

I think there is a difference between a pre-teen/teenager knowing there is prostitution/violence in the world and making a video game character have sex with a prostitute and then making the character kill her and all the while watching the whole graphic display. I think children knowing there are bad people in the world is a good thing, having them control them in video games and watching the blood spurt is not.

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi again Straycat:

You are absolutely right about parents not having their heads in the sand. Ignoring the fact that these things exist in the world doesn't help our kids deal with them at all. I think at the age of 13 they forming many opinions about the world.


Out of curiosity, I asked both of my DSs today (ages 14 and 11) if they had ever heard of this game. Both of them did know about it but hadn't seen it themselves. They both said there were kids at school who talked about it. My younger DS told me that he's not interested in that kind of game at all. He looked at me as if I was crazy for even asking him about it. lol By the way, I asked both of them using a very neutral tone of voice, I wanted to hear what they had to say. My older DS knew a little about the game, because he had heard kids talking about version 3, the one that came out last year. I don't think we can "police" our kids 24/7, but I can control what is acceptable in my own home.

I do talk to my DSs all the time about things that happen in the world. They know these things exist. Sadly, these days, we really cannot shelter our kids from things such as random violence. But I hope they feel the way I do, that these subjects aren't what I consider to be "entertainment". It's bad enough when these things are in the news, but I will not choose to willingly be subjected to them.

Straycat, I think you're probably a wonderful mother, who just happens to feel differently about this subject than I do. I hope you don't feel I'm bashing you, because that's not my intention at all