The Video Game Critic

[QUOTE=Alienblue]
 ... but Christopher Walken will probably win, and that's when the Robots Take over (you DID know C.W. was a robot, of course!)[/QUOTE]

Alienblue, your posts are the bomb.

To comment on an earlier post in this thread: Yes, I'd be 100% OK with a game in which the premise is to topple the US government. Such an expression of speech is rightly protected.

However, I would most likely be highly critical of this hypothetical game. Remember, the right to free speech not only means that someone can create something highly controversial, but it also means I have the right to be very critical of it, if I choose. I think this aspect of free speech gets forgotten, i.e. the Dixie Chicks getting mad when their fans start smashing their records (after criticizing the government).

Another great example of this is is the Columbine RPG, which was removed from some indie games festival. The folks running that festival are getting slammed by the other contestents and in the game development world in general. As I see it, however, everybody was correct. The people running the convention have the right to refuse an entrant: its a private, non-government enterprise, so they should run it as they see fit. However, the other entrants, many of which removed their games in protest, obviously have the right to do that as well.

My comment regarding the Mercenaries game was simply expressing surprise that one would find taking out one of the most vile governments on earth to be a bad thing. Again, maybe the game does this in such a way that the regime is replaced by another communist totalitiarian regime, which of course would render the whole thing moot. Yeah, I'm sure actual North Korean citizens wouldn't be too thrilled about the game, but they literally don't know any better. Unless they escape into South Korea (via China), they really don't have any context (other than starving to death) about their situation. North Korea is a prison state, and my heart aches for those people. 

-Rob

My point was that many people around the world (myself included) regard the US government as no better.

My point was that many people around the world (myself included) regard the US government as no better.

[/QUOTE]

When there's nothing left to say, that's all that remains.

Hey, I have heard of Columbine RPG. It was mentioned in the Columbine shootings. Anyways, Christopher Walken aint running for President. It was all a lie that started in 2005-06. I do not understand of how the government knows about a kid or a teenager killing a person, and then there is probably a game and the someone form the government comes or someone who hates games and want to ban it. Jack Thompson probably wanted to sue Sony, Take Two, and Rockstar for Bully. How could have known it was bad if he hadnt played it? Basically, he lied. Let's go back to 1992-94 when Night Trap was getting blamed. The government said that you had to rape and kill women. It is not true because I seen videos of the game and you dont rape them, you save the women. Boy, did that stir hot water. That is another thing the government lied about. It is obvious that they never ever bought a Sega CD, and play Night Trap. I was kind of wondering of saying something to the ones who came up with replies. Are any of you near Washington D.C. or Florida, or where any of the government game haters are? I think you should interview him or her and also bring a video camera all charged up and recoreded so that there is proof.

Hey, I watched Game On on CNBC on Martin Luther King Day. They had something about the government trying to do stuff with games. You know what year it was when the first controversial game came out? 1976, not 1992. Death Race came in 76 and you had to kill people but the graphics were different to today. Now to 1992. The arcade version of Mortal Kombat was known to be very violent, ripping heads and spines off, spikes at the bottom. Sega and Nintendo told Acclaim who was porting the game to have it less violent than the Arcade one. Sega let blood in, Nintendo did not. Night Trap was not mentioned in the segment. They told about Doom and Columbine. Then on to Grand Theft Auto. Devin Moore said Quote "Life is a video game, people have to die sometime". That is what I think he said. That "Hot Coffee" mod was done by a hacker I think. San Andreas gets the AO rating. The government then responds to it. Then Hillary Clinton, that old woman who needs a new face, puts a bill to protect children from games. Can't the government just leave us ALONE! Can they focus on other stuff like the war or something important than video games. The government has got to stop butting in on a controversial game. I mean, we have games that sell well and there will always be violence on the streets, stores, malls. The government cannot stop violence.

For this week, I am coming to my senses. I got bad news, VGC and other readers. In the newspaper for Monday, Hillary Clinton is DEFINATELY running for President. I don't know but I think it will be bad for all gamers if she tries to put up another and another set of video game bills. Now to Jack Thompson. I read this in www.next-gen.biz. Thompson is now starting to put his thing of banning GTA IV. GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas have been released for Xbox and PS2. He is trying to ban GTA IV for Xbox 360. Thompson was critcizing Bill Gates by an email for having Rockstar releasing the game for Xbox 360 at the same time for PS3 and maybe the Wii for this year. It just occured to me: Why is he criticizing the Xbox 360 version and not either PS3 or maybe if it comes to, the Wii. Microsoft is a good company who makes computers and games and I am not sure why Gates would be criticized by a game hater. Grand Theft Auto has sold a lot since 2001 and most have been over 10 million copies because of the gameplay. Thompson is probably trying to get Gates to court about the Xbox 360 version and saying to Gates about bringing his lawyers to court. What has Bill Gates done? NOTHING! He is a good man and has done nothing to get criticized. And here is another thing about the government Senators are trying to push bills in to restrict sales of violent games to minors. Thank goodness games have free speech. 

To find out about Clinton, look in your Monday January 22nd paper.

To find out about Thompson, go to www.next-gen.biz. Go to the keyword at the top right and type Jack Thompson and click search. Look for it on the first page of Thompson and find "Thompson Rallies against GTA IV." Hear about what he said.

When it comes to political fears video games really is at the bottom of my list.