Read this...

...and tell me what you think. (Maybe this could become a weekly feature or something!)

A Letter to Niko Bellic about GTA V

Having played about 30 seconds of my brother's GTA III for PS2 and not thought all that much of it, I don't feel like a good person to comment on the newest gaming sensation that's already made over $1 billion in less than three days. But for those that have, what do you make of this article that I found a few days ago? It's long, but it'll take less than the 17 minutes that my last video took to watch, so go for it, and let me know what you think! :D

I personally haven't played the game yet, but I'm actually typing this now as my boyfriend is playing. Needless to say, I've gotten my dose of GTA:V in the past few days.

I see my boyfriend, being of a similar persuasion of Tom Bissell when it comes to their addictive personalities, not always knowing when to stop, and not knowing how to moderate their behavior, enjoying the same kinds of things when it comes to the game's mechanics. Nick's not running from the cops (unless mission mandates), he's not shooting police helicopters from the highest building in Los Santos with rocket launchers, and more than once I've caught him just following the daily activities of one randomly picked citizen.

Did you know that each individual in that game has a routine? They get up, they go to work, they get out, meet their family for food, go home, etc. Every single one of them follows a preordained path that changes from time to time, as easily as the weather (say, on the weekends when they don't go in to work). I just asked Nick, and his biggest complaint about the game is the driving mechanic, chiefly the fact that he can't use a blinker light to indicate to other drivers when he's turning.

We've laughed endlessly at Trever's redneck, perverted, brokenness and the despair of having lost everything-- all while objectifying and romancing every man, woman, and object. We've philosophized about Micheal's pathetic attempts to win over his dysfunctional kids and earn back his estranged wife. And we've mourned over Franklin's desperation to separate his new white collar life from his old gangbanging ways.

There is more to GTA:V than you'd initially think. And even the most objective driven gamers (and their passive girlfriends) can't help but to find an undeniable charm that transcends the mold most video games are subject to.