Want to know the ultimate irony of all this?
Years ago, a PSA used a driving video game (Outrun) to educate people on drunk driving. They showed people how being drunk seriously effected how well you could play a driving video game, and by extension, a real car.

+ Watch video

Sofox

@Dullshimmer: A privatized sector requires a continually increasing level of funds to satisfy stockholders.
Therefore, they need not do their jobs, but instead, provide information that will keep people coming back to them, regardless of quality.
Hence, instead of hearing about the world, you hear about whatever will get you to listen to them, fear being one of the best methods.

Palladium

@Darkest Daze: Okay then, cheers. I was just thinking if it was anything like the Fable drunk effect, or being really tired in Bully, it wouldn't be all that bad.

Krondonian

"The Grand Theft Auto IV Drunk Driving story fits perfectly, and we will see versions of this for two months, if not more."

This is the sad, but true reality of American journalism. I don't know why it is so popular to beat subjects like this into the ground. I always thought the idea of news was to inform people so they can be educated about the world. Not trying to sensationalize every little thing into an end of the world crisis.

Dullshimmer

@Krondonian:
It blurs everything, messes with the camera horribly and if you're driving, causes the car to go everywhere. Also, as soon as you sit in the car, the cops are after you. It's not enjoyable at all.

Walking drunk in the game is also a pain, and not fun at all. Calling a cab is the best way to remedy the situation.

Darkest Daze

don't drive drunk...end of story. why is this so hard for people to do.

celebrities take a taxi, HIRE SOMEONE

anyone who drives drunk is a fucking moron and shouldn't be on the road sober or not.

nevergod

You can also take a cab. It's not like you're forced to drive drunk.

MrLahey

You know, I'm really scared by how many people have said that driving drunk in GTA is harder than driving drunk in real life.
...
How many people here have driven drunk, and how many won't now that they've played GTAIV?

Palladium

@Clamchop: So it inverts the controls/adds effects/fucks up the camera?

...and I don't want to know how you can make that comparison...

Krondonian

@Krondonian: Driving drunk in GTAIV is harder than driving drunk in real life.

Clamchop

"Why is it valid to assume that all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world, but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message?"

Because they think were idiots who cannot tell the difference between a fantasy setting in a video game and the real world because it has HD graphics

D Mitsuki

@Krondonian: I actually got a headache driving around drunk.

mike566

I haven't had the pleasure of playing GTA IV yet, but I was wondering if the effect was anything like that of Fables.

Because adding a blur filter really doesn't seem to give any valid representation of drunkenness. And to be honest, I don't really see how a videogame can. As the player is (well, supposed to be) sober whilst playing, are you not just thinking, 'hey, this is annoying, I can't control Niko properly'?

Krondonian

this is why I dropped journalism for communication...all they do is spin, spin, spin, and then they'll get dizzy and not know what they're talking about...like now...

JGab

@Scazza: Aha! Fast like lighting, and moving through the shadows!

bangbangblah

See you guys later, I'm going to scratch my head and magically learn how to fly a plane, UPSIDE DOWN!

mike566

One could add that Niko and whenever you're hanging out with will admonish you if you get behind the wheel drunk--telling you you shouldn't be driving and such. Every time.

--sigh--, I hate sensationalism.

GundamAC197: Proud new Wii60 Owner!

I suppose we'll hear of children rushing out to be Republicans once they realize there is a TV show called "Republican Space Rangers" in the game.

DarkDragonDave

"Why is it valid to assume that all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world, but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message?"

What a marvelously written message. Now I see why you are there and I am here Owen.

slomo788

So, the fact that I can get drunk and go raiding means I shouldn't do that in real life?

NerD!!!

There really needs to be like some even ground struck between gamers and politcians. It really strikes my nerves when they say we use them as training devices.

Well mr.cop, you kill people for a living, I make fake money for killing you.

If only there could be some international...town meeting sort of thing...to get politicians to actually play these games on the level we play them. Then we could get some freedom

maskedaprentice

@bangbangblah: Stupid Ninja...

Scazza

Because then it wouldn't be newsworthy in the US.

Scazza

"Why is it valid to assume that all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world, but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message?"

Unfortunately it's because that wouldn't be deemed "newsworthy."

bangbangblah

@TheStarterWife:

"...wearing a leather jacket with track pants..."

*Snaps fingers in vague "z" pattern* You tell 'em! Mmmmmmm-hmm! *neck-roll*

:p

ShaggE

Hell, do they actually know how hard it is to drive properly when ur drunk in GTA4?? Honestly driving drunk is way easier in real life! (Dont ask...)
And who in their right mind would play the game and then re-enact that kind of shit?
I cant drive straight for 5 seconds when drunk in the game, crash my car into a cop car and get arrested... Sounds like fun in real life? Not to me...

last_emp

With all the crimes in GTA (car theft, murder, manslaughter, drug use, solicitation, wearing a leather jacket with track pants)it is amazing how the DUIs are managing to get all of the press this time around.

TheStarterWife

@Darkest Daze: I disagree. Walking around drunk is a blast. It's Euphoria's big shining moment in the game. It does suck when you've only got a scrap of health, though. *Falls on face... dies... fuck*

My next experiment will be getting drunk in the game while being drunk in real life. :D Will they cancel each other out? Will the funky camera make me vomit? The answers to these questions and more, in the next installment of "I Need a Life!"

ShaggE

This is your life!
The Movie
rated U for everyone

Coming Soon...

This is your life!
The Video Game
rated M for mature

_Hayko

Just saw the news clip and the ignorance in it is mind boggling. The police officer figured that a person who mastered driving drunk in the game would take the next logical step and assume they could also master driving drunk in real life -_-.

golguin

@Hylian: I think its because deaths caused by drunk driving are much higher than ones caused by shotgun related head trauma. ;D

Seriously though yeah drunk driving is a rather high leading cause of death / accidents that is by far easier to cause than firearm related ones.

Witzbold

@AryzonaBay: There was a mission in Vice City stories where Vic gets knocked out and breathes in cocaine fumes and has to drive a van high on crack... and it amazingly makes the driving even worse than normal, if that is even possible.

Ellipses253

So it's ok to blow someone's head off with a shotgun, but it's not ok to drink an drive?

Hylian

Wasn't there a drunk driving segment in Vice City? Or was it that Miss Cleo got Tommy Vercetti got high? Anyway I remember a real similar mission to the "drunk driving" gameplay in GTA IV. Same sorta thing - camera is shaky and lots of motion blur. Why didn't anyone make a stink about that then?

AryzonaBay

I guess I'm about due to go slug it out with some turkeys after having beaten many many turkeys to death in Turbo Turkey Puncher 3000 on DOOM 3... Oddly enough, I still haven't done that and that was a couple of years ago when I played that "turkey murder simulator".

Vipre77

You make a great point in that last paragraph, Owen.

I'll add to that: what about the good actions? How many times have gamers saved the world and fought in the name of peace, justice and other positive values?

Surely, if we can be steered towards crime, murder, drug trafficking and prostitution by a game, then we can also be influenced to do "good" things by other games. What about Okami's underlying environmental message? Or Shadow Of The Colossus's tale of love conquering all? Ratchet & Clank's vibrant defense of Lombax-robot unions?

Hmm, I wonder why the media never cover the positive aspects of the videogame culture, the solidarity that sometimes exists between gamers, initiatives like Child's Play, married couples who met through brutal online FPS sessions, etc. ?

Antiterra

"Why is it valid to assume that all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world, but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message?"

It isn't.

Why not try some real solutions like bringing back Prohibition or even making cars illegal? The latter would also reduce our energy needs and the money we save not buying gas could go into things like paying off debt, buying more video games, and generally bolstering our flagging economy.

Or maybe we could just blame foolish behavior on fools?

Eieio

@_Hayko:
"This is your life!
The Movie
rated U for everyone

Coming Soon...

This is your life!
The Video Game
rated M for mature"

This isn't necessarily applicable to this particular case but it isn't without merit to rate games more harshly than other media. I feel that it stems from an inherent bias in the medium (this bias does not have to be intentional). All games convey some conflict that the player becomes a part of. Then, from the players perspective, there is my character, me, with what I am doing and I believe, generally presented in a positive or at least understandable light, and them, the enemy, with its evil or at best sympathetically misguided goals. And I, my character, is not a bad guy, despite whatever bad things he does.

So, to some degree, I feel games will always present any issue with bias and misinformation as such as won't be presented to the player like he is a third-party (or if it is, the issue is usually an afterthought).

Like I said, this isn't especially relevant to the drunk driving issue, but still, by presenting the player the ability to drive drunk without sharp consequence, which there isn't because I can fly out of the windshield and be alright (which is fun, by the way), it does instill this sense that the player, I, can drive drunk.

This might be especially worrisome as immersive as GTA. I also think it is more likely that a player might be influenced by the game to drive drunk that he might be influenced to murder.

We're not drones by any means. But if deny that games to affect us, we deny that they are legitimate media. Legitimate medias do influenced people. Classic examples are Clark Gable's effect on undershirt sales or, more relevant, cigarettes in old films. And it's not something we can toss aside saying that we'll just keep the kids away, because even as adults, we are affected.

Ultimately, my point is that the issue is worth considering. I think we're too used to defending ourselves from the likes of Jack Thompson that we forget that the games are fallible.

And just we because we don't consciously think, "Well, I'm gonna drink a fifth of vodka and hop in my automobile," doesn't mean that somewhere, that thought seems a little less scary.

somethinginnocuous

"I mean, if driving drunk causes things to get blurry and trippy, why wouldn't I want to do it? I get bragging rights if I pull it off. Driving drunk is like playing Halo in Legendary mode and living to tell about it. There's fun in the challenge."

Watch out for that overachieving mentality.

ChiChi_BBQ

Oh snap, I live in Savannah GA, In the game I got home without crashing into anything for once

kstrod20

gta iv shows the dangers of drinking and driving... and not wearing your seatbelt... AND going to bad websites (going to www.littlelacysurprisepageant.com at the TW@ cafe.)

Akmed

Oh and really...I drive better drunk in the game and don't crash into building and newspaper machines nonstop. IRL I dunno. I always have a DD.

Dick-Ballistic

@Krondonian:
it made me feel sick

juliopalio

Is it me or did the kinda hot blonde one seem kinda into the game and on it's side. All she had to say was "wow" and she emphasized SOME in "some police."

Dick-Ballistic

Daily show had a segment about GTAIV which showed the perspectives of the majority gamers.

It's got a subtle, indirect way of saying FU to the latest media bandwagoners on the reality of the game and the gamers that play it

Fyren

Ironically, I always call a cab whenever niko takes a friend out for drinks.

Its a lot faster to take taxi...

StagnatedLives

Microsoft have to implement a way to stop youngsters getting games like this. I know it's supposed to be down to the parents to police it, but most parents don't give a shit. Raise your hand if you've played COD or GTA with a gamer who's clearly just hitting puberty. There must be a way to stop younger gamers playing age rated games. For the good of society and gamers trying to enjoy a mature title online, there must be something that can done through software.

shufflemoomin

@DarkDragonDave:

That cartoon is hilarious. It reminds me ALOT of the work of John Kricfalusi (sp?) of Ren & Stimpy fame.

robinandtami

I'm a little disturbed by the comments stating "It's easier to drive drunk in real life". Maybe that's because my brother was hit by a drunk driver and died en route to the hospital. He was revived, but did not walk away unscathed...he received a lovely artificial hip before he even turned 21, and will forever walk with a serious limp.

Personally I think the drunk driving aspect of the game is a great scare tactic that should prevent people from attempting to drive drunk. It is amazingly difficult, and when the cops start chasing you (and they will) it is pretty hard to get away. The only better way to handle this is if your companion flat-out refused to get into the car with you.

Islandkiwi

This reminds me of 2 Live Crew's debacle. Pure sensationalist BS.

Nexus6

i actually found it educational, and logically decided from it that driving drunk was stupid, as i ended up running into a cop, and unable to escape from his lvl 1 area of annoyance, ended up in the ocean (along with my car), along with the person i went to the bar with.

roflwaffles

Oh and on the news story they can take away my drunk driving I can just go beat cops with baseball bats.

deathtastic

@shufflemoomin:

Responsible parenting is the best way to prevent determined youngsters from getting cigarettes, porno mags and beer. It's also the best way to keep determined youngsters from playing mature video games.

robinandtami

When you are drunk Niko says "I shouldn't be driving" and it's really hard to drive. It is in no way promoting drinking and driving. It sure is fun trying to walk around drunk though.

Karazzin

@shufflemoomin: I understand the online problem with 10 year olds cussing at you. But If A persons parents allow their kids to play their games then they should have every right to. I would have been mad at age 16 (you have to be 17 where i live to buy gta) If I wouldn't have been able to play because some asshat thought my 16 year old age voice was annoying.

deathtastic

@shufflemoomin: There IS an easy way: parental controls. They take a few seconds to set up and they are password-protected.

Granted, a lot of parents don't know about parental controls, but if they can't get involved long enough to find out about such a simple and straightforward thing, then the influence of videogames isn't the kids' biggest problem...

I still think that nothing (be it hardware-based parental control or strict enforcement of age ratings in stores) can replace parents spending just a few minutes with their child to know what they are playing, and deciding whether it's right for them or not.
Again, if a parent can't spare a few moments for their child, the kid's got a much bigger problem than videogame violence.

Antiterra

So... what if I'm getting drunk and playing GT5?

00000000

@Karazzin: I fully agree. I also, on accident, noticed that after going to the Comrade bar with Roman, I went into the diner across the street, after which we were sober; kind of like how you do things in real life, actually.

Chef

Oh, there can be a field day by the media if they use this story as a jumping off point...

"to anyone who hasn't beaten a hooker to death with a baseball bat, it exaggerates the effects to a degree that i'm sure would scare someone from ever trying to really beat a hooker to death with a baseball bat, so it's actually helping their cause."

AlKusanagi

There are an unfortunately large number of people (even my own mother, sadly) who think that *showing* something is the same thing as *endorsing* something. If a movie shows a murder, that movie is assumed to be *in favor* of murder, no matter how the story treats the event and its consequences. Obviously the same cognitive defect is being repeated with respect to games.

It's this group of short-sighted literalists who keep *any* truly adult topics from making their way into the media, or even from being discussed in a rational manner. And unfortunately, the news media love them because they can generate a "controversy" at the drop of a hat. And then they have something to throw feces at for the next news cycle.

erlik

I might agree with his last point, actually. Well, to a much milder degree. Calling it a deterrent isn't very accurate.

A lot of people will "get it," and the message it's about, that drunk driving is pretty damn stupid. For more people however it's going to be a cheap thrill, a sort of "heh heh, look what I can do." Much like...well, much like a lot of the stuff in the GTA series. I know plenty of folks who will want to do it for the laughs, and because how crazy it is, and completely miss out on any message it might have.

Now, I don't think it's going to induce them to drive drunk. Specifically, I don't think it's going to change their propensity or lack thereof towards drunk driving one iota.

Interestingly, as I think on this, it's generally the more...I want to say "casual" gamer types, but not PopTop casual, the gamers who are in the closet about it and don't come to sites like Kotaku - who are the ones who do this. Actual gamers get the point.

Slatz_Grobnik

The Gaming industry should really sponsor a TV station that encourages
gaming, and flame those who thinks games are bad. Kinda doing the reverse of what current TV stations are doing now.

Gaming Reporter asks:"Hello Mr. Politician could you sit down and play a round of GTA IV for me please?".

After playing a while...

"So Mr Politician, do you feel an uncontrollable urge to kill the policemen that is guarding you now? Go find a hooker to get frisky in a car? Drink driving and knocking down innocent pedestrians while shooting an UZI in the air? No? I thought games turn people into mindless zombies? Here is a free copy of GTA IV, try playing it for a few months and lets see what happens eh? Thank you for your time Mr.Politician"

Banedon38

if you tried to drive a car with your character while YOU'RE drunk wouldn't it basically create the same effect that everyone is so fearful of?

if so obviously people should not be allowed to play games drunk!

demonknightinuyasha

Am I the only one who in high school had to wear those 'drunk driving' goggles that made everything beyond blurry and then had to drive a golf cart through a series of traffic cones while the other students laughed at you while you failed miserably to prove drunk driving is not only wrong but nay, bitchingly hard? Isn't that pretty much the exact same thing the game does?

So is this officer of the law admitting, by proxy, that that stunt they pulled in high school is absolute bullshit? Police exaggerating and lying to scare you, who would have thought?

ca$h

+ Watch video

GrapenutsRobot

People are such idiots. Why would they even think that because someone can do something in a video game, that they will attempt to do it in the real world? I'm pretty sure table tennis didn't see a resurgence in the '70s or the number of cliff-related suicides when Lemmings was released. Why would being able to drive while drunk in a video game possibly encourage people to do that in real life? It's like these people have no common sense and go into auto-pilot mode whenever something like this comes up.

lordofsword

@Dirk Dorkelson: Thank GOD. (and I don't even believe in God, but I will thank anyone else's God for you and people like you in journalism that even *try* to put across a sane message)

MeateaW

@shufflemoomin: "Microsoft have to implement a way to stop youngsters getting games like this. I know it's supposed to be down to the parents to police it, but most parents don't give a shit."

Microsoft have, they made parental controls for a reason. How else do you want them to limit it? Must have a credit card? Im 25, and I still don't have a credit card... so you'd block me out ...
The only way I can conceive of age checks *that work* (that aren't the parents responsibility) would be for Microsoft to have someone in a call centre call me up and converse with me, ask actual human questions and interpret my responses to tell how old I was.
And I guarantee you it wouldn't be flawless, it would cost more than you could conceive and when you think about the alternative... relying on parents to pay even a modicum of attention to what their kid is doing, utterly ridiculous.

Stop putting the onus on big-business, the kids or the state. All responsibility for ALL of this behavior (drunk driving/mistreatment of women/violence etc.) should be lumped entirely at the parents door. If they fail in the only job they have been given as a parent (you know .. raising the child properly), then let the state lock the idiots up to save the rest of us. (they should fine parents of juvenile offenders too if you ask me - within reason)

MeateaW

@Antiterra: I write a mainstream media (newspaper) column about games and I've written about all that stuff, save the married couples who met through FPS. I also wrote about how silly/wrong-headed this MADD thing is. It was in today's paper.

Dirk Dorkelson

This is how I see it. You get drunk in the game and can barely drive, crashing into things. You think to yourself, "Holy shit, I can barely drive in a game drunk without killing people, and I'd try this in real life behind a real vehicle?" End of of thought.

kylo4

@ owen good: Why is it valid to assume that all bad acts realistically portrayed in a game will be imitated in the real world, but it's out of the realm of possibility that those same bad acts cannot also deliver a deterrent message?

here here. been saying this all week...

PGGB

I'm trying to get better at driving drunk (in the game) so that one day I can again do it in the real world.. MUHAHAHAHA

just kidding of course

JustOneFix

Of three friends of mine who dared to drive drunk:

One got pulled over by cops; he hit the cop car. Got arrested for a DUI and put on 3 years probation.

One didn't quite learn so well. He got a second and third DUI some time later, and was jailed for nine months.

One wasn't pulled over by cops. Instead he hit and killed some guy. We think he might be out in 6 years if he's on good behavior.

(nothing to do with video games. just saying - you shouldn't expect to do anything well, especially driving, while you're drinking)

Highlander Wolf

It's odd that the drunk driving portion of the game is even an issue. I thought the media only portrayed children as impressionable morons lacking in all common sense, or have they started targeting adults of legal drinking age too? The writers of these types of articles have to be ignorant to not realize they're basically calling a majority of their audience a bunch of brainless idiots who would mimic a game.

DavidJ84

*lives in Savannah*

I was gonna make fun of WSAV and Lt. Simpkins, since I live here and have to deal with this stupid type of idea constantly, but my husband brought up a great point:

We are in the Deep South. People are effing stupid here.

You can continue this train of thought any way you want, because no amount of imagination can beat how bad it can really be here sometimes.

:p

BrennaCeDria

Doesn't anyone else think that, someway, retailers would find a way to sell GTA4 even if it was rated AO?

Would having an AO rating really stop the game from selling as much?

I personally don't care if it does, of course I going to buy it either way, but at least the media couldn't repeatedly attack it the series.

bliztix

Whenevr Niko gets plastered I always have him call for a LEETLE YELLOW CAR! TAXI CAAAAAAB!

Wizzard

Drunk driving in GTA is:

1) Funny as hell, and

2) Not going to convince anyone to "try" and drive while drunk.

If I ever found myself tempted to drive under the influence I would probably think back to the spectacular crashes I had while hammered in GTA, and then think better of it.

IronsUK

Why stop there sensationalist American media?

I can simulate crashing a plane into a populated area using a Microsoft's Flight sim. Outrageous!

Let us not forget that Mario Kart promotes tossing bannanas durring acts of road rage. That is littering as well isn't it?

You also never adressed the fact that flipping a car may actually result in a serious if not fatal injury. Break out the notepads, Sega is due to hold a press conference regarding Outrun's irresponsible display of recklessness at any moment!

Patient

@bliztix: "Doesn't anyone else think that, someway, retailers would find a way to sell GTA4 even if it was rated AO?
Would having an AO rating really stop the game from selling as much?"

Yes, it would stop everybody from selling the game at all, because the game wouldn't get published. When was the last time you saw an AO game released on a console? The console manufacturers don't like the AO stink surrounding their products, so they don't allow it.

The only way you'll find an AO rating on a console game is to have something released with an M rating, then somebody finds something in it that the ESRB missed, and then the ESRB is forced to re-rate it to AO.

This ends up causing the game to be pulled, and any future pressings/editions have to have the offending content removed, or at least toned down in order to meet the M rating.

Remember the hubbub and kerfuffle over Manhunt2 a while ago? They had to put filters over the executions in order to tone down the violence to M levels, or else it would have been AO, and both Sony and Nintendo refused to allow it.

See, GTA:San Andreas, The Punisher, Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy, Manhunt2, BMX XXX.

For the record, I say we go back to the days of "For play on the X system, not licensed or endorsed by Y." I don't know if they could get away with that like they did back in the NES/Genesis days, but they really ought to try. I think within a few years, once more people like me start getting in to positions of greater power, we'll see things start changing a bit.

I'm a grown man, with an expensive education and a respectable job that is vital to the health of thousands of people every day. I'm currently trying to get back in to school so I can make my way in to medical school within a few years so that I can do a more difficult job which I know I'm cut out for. If I'm okay with seeing the occasional exposed breast or murder in my video games, I shouldn't have that censored for me without my approval.

Besides, they show much more graphic content on broadcast television with shows like, NYPD Blue, Schindler's list, Saving Priate Ryan, and any number of PBS documentaries. And then there's more on basic cable with the Discovery Channel shows, most of the prime-time FX network, and half the shows on The Health Channel. Personally, I can't wait until another 5 years or so pass and we start having legislators who freely admit to having spent years being hardcore gamers and can totally understand what a stupid controversy this entire situation is.

Wow, this ran a lot longer than I had intended it to. Sorry folks. The bright side is that most of you have already read this article and won't be revisiting the comments!

ThatGuyOverThere

Anyone else have trouble hailing a cab when drunk? Its like it can't be done for whatever reason, so I just end up stumbling around until the effect wears off.

lammy742

my mom when she heard about the drunk driving part of the game, mind you she does not like GTA at all and is also a fox news watching republican, thought couldnt it be used as a way to teach people not to drive drunk. when i first drove drunk in the game i ran over like three cops then totalled the car and had to get out and tried to run away and still drunk. it was a priceless moment of stumbling and shouting cops.

stryker1800

For all the anti-stories posted around game sites to bash the media there needs to be these stories that also show people in the media sort of agreeing with us.

If you can get the footage from Tuesday's episode of Redeye w/Greg Gutfeld it was 5 people, *scary* to half of you, 5 conservatives, agreeing with us. That its the parents job to deal with this crap, not the goverment.

Rbastid

@Krondonian:
As far as I can tell:

-Adds a mighty annoying blurring effect. It made my eyes water.
- Makes the camera movement erratic.
- Niko becomes quite hard to control, stopping in mid walk, moving to the left or right, and sometimes falling over (this part is hilarious).
- If you're driving, the car won't go straight, weaving considerably
- Your input is not translated directly to the output at the car. Basically, you don't really know exactly how much you will turn with a given motion.
- If any cops see you, they'll be on to you.

all in all, the moral of driving drunk with a stoned rasta is...

Call a cab. T's cheaper and easier. And yes, staring at the back of the driver's seat is more fun.

Grive

It's hard enough walking, let alone driving when you're drunk in GTAIV.

I don't think this particular simulation of the act is going to get anyone loaded and behind the wheel.

More to the point, trying to hail a cab is hilarious. Especially when you fall on the car as you try to negotiate the back door.

splines

I'm sorry, I didn't read the whole story... too much to do. I have to go pickup some friends, drop off some heroin and then go pickup some hookers for a party as I steal a helicopter.

GameBreaker

He's cynical because he just is- not everybody can assume the best, so why should we try to change their outlook on it just because we don't like it? He didn't attack the game, he just thinks it shouldn't be sold to 17 and under, and I completely agree with that.

leetdood

@GundamAC197: Proud new Wii60 Owner!: except Brucie, he loves some drunk driving... its EXTREMEE!!!!

Derigor

I like how none of these stories about the drunk driving in GTA ever mention that the whole time you try to find, get in, and start a car, both Nico and whoever is with him rant on about how stupid it is to drive drunk.

thelivingrobot

Here's a thought: Which is worse? Actually getting drunk, and then playing a video game wherein you drive, or your character getting drunk in the game and driving? What is the difference? What makes one worse than the other?

Siskoraban

I find it interesting that people are complaining about the drunk driving in the game. Anyone who's attempted it will tell you: it's freaking HARD. Things get blurry, the camera moves around like it's being held by someone just as drunk as the driver, and I found it impossible to get out of the intersection I was in before attracting the attention of the police with a couple of pedestrians crushed between my car and theirs.
The entire point of GTA has always been the freedom it offers. Back on the Dreamcast, I was introduced to GTA2, and I can honestly say that I wasn't impressed with GTA3 nearly as much as anyone else because it felt almost like the exact same game with less freedom and a different viewing angle. I still go back to it every now and then just for the electricity gun. I felt gleeful like I'd never felt before with that game; I would do silly things like block off an intersection, jack every car that gets stopped there, pack 'em in tight, blow one up and watch the chain reaction.
The thing is, if I were in the real world, could I technically go up to a guy in a car, punch him in the face, yank him out, and then drive it off and blow it up? Theoretically, yes (although it would be significantly harder than GTA makes it seem), but I don't. Same general principle.
In real life, I have the choice to get drunk until I can hardly see straight, and then I have the choice to drive in that condition or call a cab. Why should I be denied the possibility of that same choice in a game just because some parents are afraid that their bad parenting skills will finally find this game to conspire with and corrupt their poor, innocent little ten-year-old mind?
I have an eleven-year-old sister, and you know what I'm most worried about as an influence on her? It's not video game violence or decisions. I know what to keep her away from in the first place when it comes to video games, but violence isn't it. She knows what's a video game and what's not, which is why I had no problem continuing to watch the Ninja Gaiden 2 tech demo when she walked in and sat down beside me. Her only remark? "That's a lot of blood. Like, a lot."
Granted, I wouldn't let her play it, but if she sees a bit of it it's no harm. Buying it for her is another matter entirely.
See, as a family, we've done our job and we continue to do our job to raise her properly and expose her to the right things at the right times. What I'm most afraid of is these Disney Channel kids that children are idolizing right now. Sure, a couple of those kids turn out okay, but most of them are poisonously vapid. Miley Cyrus is appearing in a topless photo shoot for Vanity Fair or something (at the age of fifteen, no less), and nude photos of Vanessa Hudgens leaked out onto the internet last year.
True, more a trouble with girls than boys, but how about the perennial issue of parents taking their kids to violent movies? Three grade-schoolers in the theater cheering their heads off as Rambo dismembers dozens of "bad guys" with a giant machine gun is far more troubling to me than the option (the OPTION) to drive drunk in a video game.
Then again, just another day in the life of ignorant parental scapegoating of my popularly misrepresented favorite entertainment medium.

/soapbox

Mujah