Reid Heitkamp
English 102
Mrs. Epstein
30 November 2010
Grand Theft Auto
Most video games are commonly used as educational tools. In fact, a lot of games require
players to solve problems and develop strategies. Players often learn how to become
successful at the game they’re playing through trial and error. Evaluating risks and making
quick decisions are regularly a part of video games today. Particular videogames, such as
Madden, can certainly help players gain knowledge of the rules of football. The video
game The Sims, for instance, is another game that can help one learn to manage a virtual
person’s life. When I was young, I played each of these games. Madden taught me the
rules and regulations of football. The Sims taught me life lessons, such as making sure my
“Sim” ate properly, or making sure my “Sim” went to work on time. These games have a
positive effect on their players. However, games such as Grand Theft Auto, are popular
because of their violence, but have no educational value because of the various
wrongdoings a player can perform within the game. In the end, I believe Grand Theft Auto
has a negative effect on society’s youth for it may reinforce behaviors such as violence
against others, drug and alcohol use, and other highly antisocial activities.
Grand Theft Auto is a videogame series that was released in 1997 and has currently
released four upgrades of the game. The game moves through a complex storyline in an
imagined world of organized crime, in which the object of the game is to complete the
missions. You can put the story on hold to test a cop’s response to an event by killing
simulated pedestrians or even take a trip to the local bar to drink away your troubles. These
are just a few detours the gamer has on the way to completing the game. Although a player
can at any time put the story on hold, there’s always a set of missions to move the story
along whenever you feel like it. Missions included in the game involve drive by shootings,
robberies, setting explosives off, committing crimes to become “wanted” by the cops,
carjacking, picking up prostitutes, and so on. A player can drive off with a prostitute, have
sex with her in the park, set her on fire, and watch her die a horrific death. All of this is
possible and is very hard to believe any person would like doing this for entertainment, but
