Issue date: 4/28/08 Section: News

Media Credit: MCT Violent activity in video games, such as "Grand Theft Auto" can lead to more aggressive behaviors, according to National Institute of Media and Family.

CHICAGO (MCT) - From the rocket-propelled grenade that shoots down a police helicopter to the punch in the face delivered to a former friend, the depictions of realistic violence in the newest "Grand Theft Auto" video game are raising fresh concerns.

And gamers can't wait to play.

The release of "Grand Theft Auto IV" is such a big deal that, as with the Harry Potter books, retailers will hold midnight release parties Monday to mark the title's arrival.

But the firestorm of controversy surrounding the phenomenally successful game series already has struck.

The tussle over "Grand Theft Auto" is partly a debate over its value and partly a discussion about how to keep children away from a title that everyone agrees contains subject matter they should not see.

"People think video games equal kids, and that if it's just a game, it should be fine," said Robin Burke, a game-development professor at DePaul University. "But the idea that a game is made for a mature audience, we (as a society) don't have our arms around that yet."

Indeed, even though games have clear ratings, like movies, they often are ignored by parents and sometimes by retailers. A study last year from MediaWise and Harris Interactive found that 72 percent of parents don't understand game ratings. Worse, 37 percent of parents said they rarely used those ratings when buying a game.

Some critics want to ban stores from selling games like "Grand Theft Auto" to minors, though that approach was found unconstitutional. Others wonder what possible redeeming value there is for anyone to play a game in which a joystick is used to simulate murder.

Rockstar Games, the maker of "Grand Theft Auto" has provided only minimal details of "Grand Theft Auto IV," but here's the story line, according to an early review by the Times of London online: Gamers play the role of Niko Bellic, an Eastern European immigrant lured to Liberty City (New York in disguise), who must "climb the greasy pole of the underworld." Players will face choices, experience seaminess and have access to 15 different weapons, from a simple brick to a military-grade rocket.

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