Eight hours into Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar Games, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99;EU39), I’ve stolen 17 cars, run by 20 humans and killed another 15 (some of whom had it coming). I’ve shaken down a couple of store owners and beaten up an old lady. I’ve driven while drunk and, perhaps worse, while talking on a cell phone.

I’ve additionally bowled and played pool. I’ve listened to some really cool tunes and watched a surprisingly lame standup routine by Ricky Gervais. I met a nice young lady and took her out to dinner. I bought some new clothes and got my car washed.

I haven’t murdered any prostitutes or engaged in any graphic sex acts. (Although, for the record, there’s a very brief, non-interactive S&M scene right at the beginning of the game — which nearly serves as a warning that that isn’t Pokemon.) And the violence has been relatively tame: Certainly, the number

of bodies dropped per hour is less than in the last two Oscar-winning best pictures, No Country for Old Men and The Departed.

Still, protests are inevitable, considering any game that puts the player in the shoes of a criminal is bound to be seen as perverse. It’s hard to argue with critics who find the Grand Theft Auto games immoral, considering the developers at Rockstar Games seem to revel in their nihilism. I’ve attacked Rockstar in the past for such cynical, ultraviolent games as Manhunt 2, but I’d never argue that they don’t have the right to publish them.

Just so we’re clear, Grand Theft Auto IV is not for the kids. It’s rated “M” for mature, so society under 17 shouldn’t be able to buy it. It has lots of blood, some nudity and a nearly constant stream of filthy language. And it’s very entertaining.

It’s…

Orginal post by Top Tech News