GTA V - it wants to have its cake and eat it

Does Grand Theft Auto V deserve a 10/10 and how does its writing compare to shows like The Wire and Breaking Bad? A reader gives his view.

I've always found GTA problematic on a number of levels, the awkwardness of vehicle handling and shooting, the linearity and repetitiveness of some of the missions, the sheer boredom of both. So I waited until GameCentral's review before purchasing the latest version. While I'm writing this before playing GTA V, I can comment at least on the amorality of the characters and some of the acts the player is invited to commit in the series. Context is everything but consider what I think is a reasonable comparison, that between the GTA universe and the HBO series The Wire.

Both aim for social realism in violent, corrupt, and complex urban environments. Both depict graphic acts of ruthless and unjustified violence. Both centre on characters, of which there are many in The Wire, that are easy to dislike. But there is a crucial difference. In The Wire many of the characters are conflicted and the influence of their social environment, the disadvantages and discriminations they suffer and not least the effect their socialisation into the brutal and antagonistic world of laissez-faire late capitalism has had on them, are central to the text. The quality of the writing in The Wire is exemplified by the gang leader Russell 'Stringer' Bell played by Idris Elba who wouldn't be out of place in a novel by Dostoyevsky.

Without giving too much away for those who haven't seen the series, Stringer Bell commits despicable acts of treachery and violence yet by the end of season 3 it's not difficult to sympathise with the position that circumstance had placed him in, not least his efforts to escape that position through self-education and by embracing the 'entrepreneurialism' of the corrupted political and business elites. While painting a similar world of violence and corruption, GTA - at least the ones I've played - by contrast, appears to revel in the ruthless enterprise and violence of the lead characters. Rather than invite the player to question the social environment in which the lead has to make a living as The Wire does, it invites us to embrace it and in this dog eat dog society profit from it as best we can.

There is a real missed opportunity, especially given the immigrant status and 'minority' ethnic backgrounds of the central characters, to add depth by showing them to be conflicted as they commit criminal acts in circumstances not of their choosing. The same game could essentially be played out by confronting the player at given moments with the kind of discrimination people from such backgrounds, particularly in the United States, face, and the difficulty of going against the grain of the criminal world they are embedded in.

As with some of the greatest films of French New Wave and Italian Neo-Realism or the contemporary films of Ken Loach, Michael Haneke, and Lars Von Trier, the player could be taken along an emotionally charged journey of moral ambiguity in which they are forced to negotiate situations that are largely determined by their socio-economic class, ethnic background and/or nationality from which, as with Stringer Bell, they cannot individually escape no matter how talented, hardworking or entrepreneurial they are.

This would be the real breakthrough for video games and it is such a shame that GTA, which does so much to create a realistic depiction of a divided, corrupted, and unjust society fails to make this giant leap (from the point of view of video games) in storytelling. Given how much the game cost to make, there is no excuse for crude storytelling and characterisation. The budget was available after all to employ the kind of talent behind the renaissance of American television. Judged accordingly, GTA is adolescent but more importantly complicit in embracing neoliberal ideology by both rewarding and celebrating ruthless self-interest and violent and thoroughly corrupt enterprise.

We need though to distinguish between the knee-jerk morality police writing for tabloids, their chief interest it seems in selling copy by manufacturing trivia, scandal, moral panics, fear and prejudice and critiques that centre on the discourse and ideology of video game texts and the values, or lack thereof, they either leave unquestioned or at worst promote. These issues are not specific to video games, nor do video games in isolation influence us to the degree that some appear to suggest.

They are a small part of a more general culture industry that is itself a product of the political economy that all of us are socialised into. This is where our concerns should be focused. Popular media can play a role in this regard by focusing on structural factors and drawing attention to the institutionalised violence, injustice, inequality, and oppression that so often goes unnoticed or is masked and distorted.

If video games such as GTA are silent in this regard they are, as suggested, complicit in this more generalised mystification. Only when video games such as GTA operate at the dialogic level of celebrated series such as The Wire, Sopranos, or Breaking Bad can we truly call them mature.

I want to conclude by emphasising the importance of gameplay as the principal criterion by which the quality of video games can be determined. Context and storytelling are crucial aspects of the GTA universe, though. As with Call Of Duty, these aspects cannot be ignored. And while my concerns will not stop me from playing GTA V, it is important that reviews factor these issues into their analysis and critique. Accordingly, until such issues are addressed, I really do not think a perfect 10 is justified.

By reader Luma

The reader's feature does not necessary represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. As always, email gamecentral@ukmetro.co.uk.

Source: Metro