Gearheads of War

I find it almost surreal that the most controversial video game would share a name with North America's most famous fault line, and not because of the earthquakes it can produce. But because a fault line is fundamentally a giant crack - and that's precisely what this game unveils, a giant, media forced crack in our logic, morality and way of life.

While the game is indeed violent, I'm forced to repeat a question posed by one of America's most famous villains, Larry Flint; that question is, "What is more obscene, sex or war?" To this day no one has been able to answer, but I don't think anyone had too. For better or for worse America has made its choice perfectly clear. There has been numerous other games that have raised this question - Doom, BMX XXX, Mortal Kombat just to name a few. However, San Andreas has suckered punch us in the gut with our own hypocricy all the while rubbing our nose in exactly how twisted of a society we've become.

In the game, players are allowed to create some of the most atrocious acts of violence known to man. You can chop down innocent bystanders with  Uzi's, propel a rocket into police stations, beat down prostitutes with baseball bats, run over rival gang members on a whim, assassinate drug lords and much more. All of this is presented in a fully realized 3-D enviroment and all of these acts are actually rewarded and praised.

There was a couple other entries in the series before San Andreas arrived, and strangely none of them caused so much as a stir. CNN wasn't running hourly debates on the "Violence in video games" and your issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly or Game Informer wasn't plagued with articles of Jack Thompson or Hilary Clinton trying to ban the latest video game because it features a 3-D model of a nipple.

When San Andreas was released on the PC, someone with a bit too much time on his hands stumbled across some code that was never meant to be stumbled upon. When the "Hot Coffee Mod" featuring an, albeit, crude sex mini-game - the world was then thrusted into an uproar. Politicans demanded an investigation, the ESRB changed the games rating from "Mature" to "Adults Only" and several retailers, including Wal-Mart was taking the game off its shelves. From the reaction, you'd think the world was on the verge of a nuclear holocaust and that if our children got ahold of this game, they'd be converted into rapist and serial killers as if possessed by demonic forces.

Overreacting? I'd say so. It's time for America to face its own hypocrisy. It's time we look at some of the bigger issues and perhaps look in the mirror at our own morale hypocrisy. Rather than being concerned over the garbage video games some developers shove out, lets take some responsibility for ourselves and our family. It wasn't Doom or Marylin Manson that caused the Columbine Shooting, it was the parents lack of interest and total neglect towards their childrens lives. Feed them, cloth them, then throw them to the wolves? I think that's a far bigger issue than some crude animated porn.

Firstly, politicans, parents and various other "activist" have no right to complain about the game. It's rated "Mature" for a reason and if your children happen to get a hold of the game without your consent, then waddle your ass to Best Buy and file a complaint. Trying to start a "movement" will make you nothing more than a hypocrite. It's your job to raise your child as you see fit, and if a crude sex scene is too explict for your taste then make sure, as a responsible parent, they do not get a copy of this "MATURE" rated game. While you're at it, perhaps you'll do good to check their computer hard drive for the latest episode of "Mike's Apartment" and "New Sensations XXX" - if you don't know what these are, good - but I know some of you reading are just as twisted as me.

Let me make one thing clear, I do not object to either version of the game and I agree that the content is not appropriate for children. However, that doesn't make it any less sickening that America has firmly come to the conclusion that sex is more obscene than war and it's clear that our mindset from this cuts straight to the heart of many of our society's problems.

We need to ask ourselves how we can so full heartedly open our arms to virtual renditions of violence and gore and condemn a perfectly legal act, that by the way, seems to bring loads of enjoyment to millions of people every day. When you turn on your local news channel to hear about the latest drive by and gang related murder, it's mighty difficult not to wonder if our priorites are a bit in left field. It's all too easy to shift the blame if we're incapable of handling our own responsibilities.

So I come full circle and ask you; What is more obscene, sex or war?

We all knew it'd happen within the next couple days and now Gears is being mass produced as I speak.

"To hype the game's release, Microsoft Game Studios is holding several Emergence Day festivities beginning at 12:01 a.m. on November 12 (no time zone was specified). Xbox Live Gold members will be able to participate in a 24-hour leaderboard tournament, with the winner getting a Gears of War-branded guitar and a place in a worldwide Gears of War tournament in 2007."

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6160472.html