GTA IV brings back the fun and controversy

Let me cut right to the chase for those who don’t already know – “Grand Theft Auto IV” is killer in more ways than one.

Everything that fans of the video game series have come to know and love – the violence, humor, superb dialogue and non-linear game play – has remained intact, but a plethora of new features have been added to the mix. It’s simply a must-own video game for casual gamers and hardcore addicts alike.

That said, here’s the skinny.

In case you just landed on Earth, this latest entry marks the monumental transition of the world’s most popular and highly controversial video game franchise into the present generation of gaming technology.

As most of us already know, “GTA” sets an anti-hero protagonist (you) loose within an urban environment to cause whatever havoc necessary to elevate your status in the underworld hierarchy. Basically, players perform various illegal acts to work their way up the criminal totem pole, eventually coming out on top; previous games in the series have set the standard for what free-roaming, open-ended style game play should be.

I cannot begin to explain the level of expectation this series has made for itself, due in part to its acclaimed legacy, but also because this latest installment took so long to grace our television sets.

I am proud to say it was worth the wait. Everything about this game screams polished. The attention to depth and detail, coupled with big-budget production values that put most Hollywood blockbusters to shame, combine to form a truly epic, interactive experience.

If you’re a fan of the series, you will crap your pants the first time you careen in your stolen dump truck through a busy intersection at 100 mph, smashing anything or anyone in the vicinity. You will laugh out loud when a hot-dog cart deflects off your hood, only to level a crowd of nearby pedestrians like bowling pins. Never before has this type of reckless catharsis been so shamefully rewarding.

But underneath the surface, “GTA” is so much more than that. To label the series, as Sen. Hillary Clinton has, “a major threat to morality” and “a silent epidemic of media desensitization” would be to deny the redeeming social value these games have to offer adults.

Any fan can attest to how saturated the “GTA” universe is with social commentary and cultural satire. As can be seen on every billboard and heard in every radio commercial within the games, the world in which you play is a mocking mirror of both the beautiful and the ugly of American society.

Following in the footsteps of classic lampoon staples like “Saturday Night Live,” “South Park” and Doonesbury, “GTA” pokes fun at every stereotype found in American pop culture. From the fast food and firearm industries to religion and politics, all the elements of today’s society are targeted and exploited in an absurdly ridiculous yet deliberate way. It’s the video game embodiment of first-amendment free speech in its finest, most hilarious and perhaps most controversial form.

In the past, the “GTA” series has raised the bar of what this medium can hope to achieve. It has transcended the world of mere video games and entered the realm of a true work of art – one that, besides having aesthetic and entertainment values, delivers a poignant and relevant message to those who take the time to look.

This latest entry is no exception, and further solidifies the “GTA” phenomenon as being as much an integral part of American mainstream culture as baseball, apple pie or even democracy – ironically the same culture it so successfully spoofs.

Even so, I don’t expect to see Clinton standing in line at Best Buy with a copy of “GTA IV” anytime soon. Shame for her, since she’s missing out on one hell of a fun game.