h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I missed the earlier versions of this game, but GTA III and Vice City (on the PS2 and PC) are amazing games (even the NY Times agrees). I wrote a long review of both for a gaming newsletter, but to summarize, both games make the player feel absolutely free to do whatever he or she wants to do. Yes, there are missions, but you don't have to do any of them to have fun. OK, there are limits, but not nearly as many as previous games. If you can put up with the violence, hookers, etc., this is about as good as it gets ... so far.

Agreed.
Oberon2001

I don't like that game. Yes, it is fun and has a good story, but video games affect one's thinking almost as much as the music one listens to while sleeping. I prefer to play Nintendo games, which are ridiculed as being "kiddy" and "not dark enough" because they are "family friendly" and appropriate for all ages. What do you gain from lowering the brightness on your tv and on the story? It may be more realistic, but games are supposed to be surreal.
>8^B

*waves at 0b3r0n*-you aced me

I am going to have to agree with nerd here.-sort of- first of all I would like to ask you to read this to see what I think about video games affecting your mind http://penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-08-11. That said I do think that GTA 3 is a little overrated and hype-based, the destructivness caught lots of peoples attention and distracted them from the fact that gta has little more freedom than your typical modern adventure game.

My perspective is probably not representative of most gamers. I prefer sims and racing games mostly, and don't play many adventure games. I got GTAIII and Vice City based on all the great reviews I read, and I really am impressed with the sense of freedom. But maybe the other adventure games are similar, I dunno. And since my wife & I have no kids, I can just ignore the "controversial" aspects and enjoy the exploration. It works for me, but I can understand that it will offend others.

Yeah the "freedom" is great if freedom involves having to drive over the speed limit and having to steal cars. If you are looking for freedom, there are better games than gta 3

i don't like that link
they generalized it all as nintendo, while in truth nintendo is the most family friendly game designer out there
>8^B

Yes, they did. But that wasn't really the point. I agree that nintendo is much more family friendly, what with myamoto making all of those terribly clever games.

yes, he is quite brilliant
i just dun like how the parents blame nintendo cuz of name recognition
>8^B

Just ignorance, My parents still tell me to stop "starin' at that dern' video screen"

I have to say it - GTA was the best game I ever bought. From the first time you load the menu screen and get a nice throaty rev out of your speaker, to the excellent soundtrack (anyone remember the song that played in the pickup? "The menfolk found their women scary, cause they were so big and hairy...), the game just put a smile on your face.

Sure, you get points for mowing down pedestrians (a fact left out of the entry on grounds of taste and decency, I'm guessing), and even a huge bonus if you flatten a whole group of Hare Krishnas, but it's hardly the first game to court controversy (Carmageddon, anyone?). Nor the first game in which the death of innocents is widespread.

But I can't think of any other game where it was just pure fun to play for hours without focussing on any goals to achieve, or even caring if you completed the level (a task which would take a few hours of real concentration and a healthy smattering of skill...).

I think it's really important with games (very important word) of this nature to remember that they are written for a mature audience. If minors end up playing them, that's the fault (and sole fault) of those responsible for their care (even if a shopkeeper has knowingly sold inappropriate material to a youngster). You wouldn't blame Ridley Scott for a child's nightmares if they saw Alien at the age of six, so let's not look for scapegoats outside the home if kids grow up thinking that stealing cars or shooting police is acceptable or excusable behaviour. Make sure they receive any media with suitable guidance and context and there won't be a problem.

And now I'm off to wear some very embarrassing clothes because I once watched Saturday Night Fever. Who can I sue?

Nobody is arguing that games that are rated "mature" are innapropriate. What I do think is that if your idea of mature is laughing maniacly while shooting old ladies in the knees for hours, you deserve this game and you should play it to your hearts content

Sorry, maybe my grasp of English isn't as good as I thought but I don't remember claiming it was big and clever in any way to get enjoyment from that game. I stress again that it's not harmful if a rational adult can put the experience in context. But if you can't take a step back from your holier-than-thou attitude, and recognise that it's ok to enjoy media that push the boundaries of taste and decency, than that's your problem and not mine.

Zebedee -

"I have to say it - GTA was the best game I ever bought."

Out of curiosity, which version are you talking about? I started with GTA III, but it sounds like you mean the original?

- Steve K.

Yip - I bought two games that year, GTA and Jedi Knight. And as a Star Wars nut it's hard for me to think I enjoyed the former more - it's too close to call

I have to say there is a definate black humour appeal in picking off old ladies from the top of a multi-storey car park with a sniper rifle. And I don't know of any other games that give you the freedom to shoot a policeman in the face with an assault rifle. You'd be lying if you said you'd never felt like doing this at least once in real life, so GTA3 and Vice City serve a great purpose in letting off steam and granting us some newfound freedoms!

When I first played these games, I did some of that stuff just to see what the game allowed (virtually anything ). Then I tried a few missions but mostly just wandered around trying stupid stunts. This was a lot of fun since you get graded for some of them - number of flips, angle of spin, etc. But I eventually got a little more serious about the missions so I could open the whole city. It took a while, but I did it. A hint book was a big help, but it still took a number of tries for some missions. All in all, an impressive programming feat, IMHO.