We’re in trouble team.
I don’t envy the people at Rockstar: thank God it’s them not us is all I can say. They’ve really overstepped the line this time! Not only have they been encouraging craven violence by releasing a game where it’s possible to run people over, but now they’ve included a mission where you can kill an attention seeking lawyer whose only crime was to speak out against all the fireballs that Mario players have been throwing since the early 90s.
I wasn’t going to buy GTA4 on release (they haven’t made any really dramatic improvements in game play since GTA3 in my opinion, and it’s just not as interesting as Saints’ Row was), but I’m more likely to having read about a mission which indicates Rockstar North’s sense of satirical humour. No I didn’t buy Bully or Manhunt, I’m not going to, and I’m not touching Manhunt 2 with a bargepole. But if the rest of GTA4 is going to have that flair to it then I may just have to.
The most interesting point he makes (no, it’s not to be taken seriously) is when he claims that his physical safety is threatened by this.
It’s not; Gamers the world over love him too much. And those that hate him can take their time over killing him without needing to ever meet him.
Here’s to Rockstar North’s programmers, graphics artists, audio artists, mission scripters and asset integrators. Here’s to the unsung heroes: their mission and gameplay testers. Here’s to the well-used legal team at Rockstar North. And here’s to their designers; may good coffee forever sustain their satirical fires.
Above all, here’s to Jack Thompson, for providing the games industry with something that is increasingly rarely used: new material to base games on. May he continue to produce this for many more years to come. He will. He takes himself too seriously not to.
- John
Play nice. Nice and dirty 
