Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3)
common sense media says
Murder, sex, drugs, drunk driving. Not for kids.
parents & educators say
- 34% say language is an issue
- 30% say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this game isn't for kids in any way. This new version is as controversial as its predecessors, letting you lead a life of crime, shoot police officers, drink and drive, and have sex with prostitutes. It features pole dancers and lap dancers at a men's club and is laced with profane language that pushes the envelope (much of it peppered throughout the over 100 songs played on car radios in the game). The star rating given to this game is based on the quality of the gameplay within the context of adult gaming and isn't an endorsement of the violence within the game.
Educational value:
None.
Positive role models:
You play as a gangster who has no regard for society's rules. You can cause mayhem and violence wherever you go. You can hire hookers, use them, and then kill them. You can shoot police officers.
Ease of play:
This is a wide open world to explore, with adequate controls.
Violence:
As with past GTA games, players can kill other humans, including police officers, or drive into pedestrians on sidewalks and parks. There is gang warfare, beatings, drive-by shootings, and bloody deaths all shown in gory detail.
Sex:
This is a game that earned the ESRB rating of "Strong Sexual Content." While the game doesn't show women completely nude, it gets close, with women appearing in pasties, g-strings, and the like. You can get a lap dance at a gentlemen's club, where the woman is shown with her legs over her head spread eagle. You can gain "health points" by having implied sex with a prostitute in your car, where you hear what is happening and watch rhythmic actions of the couple from a distance, but don't actually see the act. Two scantily clad women can "entertain" you, and before they climb onto your lap, they gyrate provocatively and mimic the motions of having intercourse with each other. You can also have sex with your girlfriend at home, where you can hear but not see the specific act.
Language:
Pushes the envelope for graphic language including many instances of "mother f--ker," "f--k," sh-t," "assh-le." You can hear prostitutes offer to "suck your c--k real nice," as well as other explicit sexual references.
Consumerism:
Game offers more than 100 songs in the GTA IV soundtrack (heard over the in-game radios) and they can be tagged within the game by using the in-game cell phone. If the player is registered at the Rockstar Socil Club, they will then be offered a link to purchase the song from Amazon.com.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Players can get drunk (and drive) in this game, but their vision will be blurred. They can drive around with pot-smoking characters.
More on Grand Theft Auto IV
Review It
Based on 93 parent & educator reviews:
- 34% say language is an issue
- 30% say there's too much drinking, drugs, or smoking
- 30% say sexual content is an issue
- 29% say violence is an issue
Most useful reviews by all members
yetijones
adult
adult
Understand the Logic Behind It
People, people, people, you have to understand one thing about this game first before you write anything in reference to it: this game is meant to be a harmful outlet in a harmless setting! What I am trying to say is that the game is supposed to be violent because that is what we are as humans: VIOLENT, FURIOUS CREATURES. Why do you think children fight over toys? Why do men lie and cheat and steal? It is the crater to our morality, our innate human nature, the primal instinct to serve the id, the "selfish" center of the human psyche.
You must realize, that Grand Theft Auto IV is only playing on the fact that this id is one of the most controlling factors of our lives; our own primeval instincts usually serve to be the most useful (anyone heard of fight or flight? The base center of human survival?). Essentially what Rockstar Games is doing is allowing us to use GTA IV as an outlet for our uncontrollable human nature; so why is it bad for children? IT IS NOT (if said children can distinguish this as a harmless, fantasy context rather than reality). Children need an outlet for their own primal selves as well (kid punching a pillow: releasing his anger, preparing himself for the next hour, and a new day). Letting out violence is what we as humans must do in order to survive, and what better way than staring at a box, a harmless screen comprised of billions upon billions of triangles, colors, and scripting codes, where all of our violent intentions can come true, so that we can fully release the tension, the blinding furies of life?
Grand Theft Auto IV is an excellent game, and once you start playing it, you do grasp one major concept: everything we do has consequences. Say for instance, you break into a car on the game: well, the alarm was set, and goes off, and a cop happens to notice this. You have two choices: you could either run, and have the cop follow in pursuit, where you are likely to be caught by some means of governmental force (i.e. search helicopters or even the S.W.A.T. force), or you could stay put, get arrested, and follow through your sentence (which in the game is called getting "BUSTED," where you lose all your possessions, a large portion of money, and are siphoned of all your time for the next couple of days [in game time, that's quite a while]).
So really, are we dealing with the next "killing sim" as some parents like to call it? Or has Rockstar finally provided such an imaginary context in which we can express real and tangible emotions and outbreaks of our own humanity, providing we can discern the imaginary from the real (which is another case of perception of it's own), finally producing a resolve to everything we experience throughout our lifetimes? The message is there, but it can't make you listen to it. That's up to you.
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nicol1315
parent of 13 year old
parent of 13 year old
Good for Kids 12 and up
I, as a mother of one child think this is fine for children over 12. My child got this game for his 12 birthday, and I was skeptical at first. I had heard this game was horrible, but once i saw my son play this, I found it wasn't as bad as I thought. It turned out that ESRB rated this M mostly because of cheats, which allow there to be more gore and blood, make random AIs literally only speak in profanities, make many characters smoke or do drugs, and make people walk around in bikinis, even though it completely destroys your save file. Another thing is that the "strong sexual behavior" can only be found one of two ways. One, is to use the game breaking cheats, or to complete the game, then find a random object, then bring it to one of 30 predetermined places. So in my opinion, this should be rated a high T, or a low M.
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BigK75
adult
adult
It's possible to be 14 and be above this game.
Yes there is a lot of violence, cursing, blood/gore, drugs, sex (partial nudity), pretty much everything bad you can put into a video game. The thing is, you can be 14 years old and above all that, so long as your moral values are in check. As long as you know that you shouldn't run away shooting at cops chasing you, that you shouldn't have sex w/ prostitutes, that you shouldn't do or deal drugs, and that you shouldn't steal or blow up every car in sight, you can play this game. Basically the player needs to grasp the fact that the stuff in this game needs to stay in this game and not leak out into the real world. It's fun to be bad sometimes, that's why you play the game, but does that make it right and should you do it in real life? As long as you know the answer to that question is no, then you can play this game.
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Bipolarbill
adult
adult
Inapprioriate, yet misunderstood.
First off, let me start by saying I first experienced the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series at the age of 6, and haven't stopped playing it. And as a high school student, I can also tell parents that anything your child experiences in this game, is nothing he/she isn't accustomed to after elementary~mid-junior high, depending on your area. Which happens to be a lot of areas. In GTA, you will not have a single play-through without hearing the 'F word', or go without violence. Just like walking through the halls of an average American middle/high school (give or take the violence). I am in no way saying that this is appropriate for younger audiences. Though, my bottom line is, if you're going to shield kids from this game, don't send them to public school. Unless they have trouble differentiating reality from a game. I think the game is okay for 10+ so long as it's made clear who the bad guy is. I'm no psychiatrist, but I personally believe if I were to teach a child good morals, that this game would only cause he/she to lash out less in the real world, because they are doing so in a safe, non-repercussive environment. The game is fun, and not appropriate. That is why kids like it. But then again, anything you see on GTA is reported only a bit less graphically in the news. Everyday.
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HALOHALOHALO
kid, 11 years old
kid, 11 years old
GET ANOTHER GAME!
I HATE THIS GAME!
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jfreighgiuhg
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
GTA IV ROCKS!!!
First of all, there is no sex in the game. I don't consider rubbing a woman on the street sex. Also, this stuff happens in real life, so banning this game will stop all this violence from happening? This game tells the story of immigrants struggling to find themselves in America. This game is edgy but the game shows kids that life isn't all peachy. Newsflash, life is hard and bloody!
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ellcar_fairjudge
parent of 9 year old
parent of 9 year old
Fine for anyone who comprehends real-life "right" from "wrong"
The Grand Theft auto series does not MAKE people "go bad". This game does have gratuitous amounts of violence, sex, drugs, etc. but it is FICTIONAL. I let me 9 year old play this while I'm in the roo because he understands its not real. He knows that violence and crime in real life has [major] censequences. Since playing this game, he has had NO negative life changes whatsoever. A game is NOT real life, get over it people and take some darn responsibility for what you do and stop blaming things that have NO effect on the utmost VAST majority of people who experience it.
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Frazeb
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Great game for kids who know right from wrong
This game may inspire a few psychos, but any sane child will know this game is fictional and any crimes are wrong.
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HAK
adult
adult
The Game
This game is good. And mabey it could be a good lesson CRIME DOESN'T PAY!! And secondly parents should stop yelling at its creators its just a game. third chances are the same damage could be happing to your kids at SCHOOL. I went through this But the damage is done. 4th Tell Johnny not to kill that person, NOT to smoke crack, NOT to have sex with a prostitute. Just stop blamming it on the creators.
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willBEE
parent
parent
Fine for 10 and up, not really too violent...
It contains way too much swearing, but it proves to be a very fun and unless your kids are stupid, very un-impressionable game. You can walk around a live city full of people and drive cars around. The cheats are also an entertaining way to fire up the gameplay. There is no graphic gore, although blood splattering in some cases. When we did a questionaire on kids in a class aged 10-11, 88% put this on their games that they own list. Believe me, they weren't little hoodlums or murderers, they were mainly intelligent young people who were not swearing or beating each other up at breaktimes. So I conclude with: This game should be fine for your 10 year old or upwards and is not really that violent.
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sniperking134
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
...Wow
Best Grand Theft Auto yet, but its still to violent for people 18 or younger... NOT!
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Celtic1962
parent of 11 and 15 year old
parent of 11 and 15 year old
Lots of fun for mature gamers only
Unless someone has been completely in the dark about video games, they should already know that the GTA games are highly inappropriate for children. Violence, profanity and sexual situatuions are just about non-stop and the protagonist, while he might initially be relustant to get back into crime, goes all out once he does. The game is extremely fun to play for mature gamers that completely understand that just about everything in this game is not to be attempted in the real world.
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Axzulo
teen, 18 years old
teen, 18 years old
NOT for younger ages. Possibly ok for older teens.
I have to say, this may be one of the most fun games that I've played, mainly because it's free roam, but there are TONS of things to look out for.
1) Violence: I'd say it's about 110% certain you will kill people, whether or not you do the missions. The blood isn't too graphic (nothing explodes, no limbs lost) but when the person is dead on the ground, a pool of blood is usually seen. And the player can go on a rampage killing civilians (no kids, but adults and up) and start shooting police and swat units. You can also use knives and baseball bats. And you can start people on fire with molotov cocktails.
2) Edited: They wouldn't let me put words that weren't even bad, just to tell what this game has.
3) Language: This was the biggest problem for me, because I couldn't find a way to avoid it. "F" word here, "F" word there, "F" word EVERYWHERE! I could not find a way to turn down speech at all. There's a bunch of other swearing too. The "F" word is sometimes used as a sexual term too.
4) Drinking/Drugs: There are bars and pubs around quite a bit, and you can get drunk. If you do, your character will be dizzy, and the screen too. You can drive while drunk too. There are a few cigarettes around, but there are also narcotics such as cocaine. One mission actually has you kill a bunch of other criminals, to get some stupid cocaine, and then kill a bunch of swat members.
5) Messages: I don't recall any good messages in this game. What's good about picking up hookers, doing drugs, and killing people? Nothing I can think of.
6) Role models: No good role models. You don't want your kids to become drug dealers or murderers.
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KT427
adult
adult
One of the best games of all time. PERIOD.
SUPERB GAME, but NOT FOR KIDS. I can't stress that enough. Lots of Gore, Lots of Violence and Killing, Uses of Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco, Prostitution, Lap Dances, Porn Shops, Lots of Sex and Suggestive Themes. But other than that, it's okay for kids ;)
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Turok4ever
kid, 12 years old
kid, 12 years old
terrible all you do is kill evrybody randomly
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Tantan512
kid, 13 years old
kid, 13 years old
Amazing game
This game is amazing. I'm 12 and it was not too violent for me.
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antoineisthebest
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
the best gta yet
violence=human are like that
sex=we wouldn't be born if sex didn't exist
language=everybody swear
drink=everybody taste a little bit of wine at their comunion or christmas
drug=drug is a choice taste some people made but their just plant from mother nature
so people stop saying bad thing about this game
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Joe_P_Fischer
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
A game with too much language, violence, and drugs can actually turn to be a positive game.
I've played the game, and I found it to be one of the most fun games ever. Yes, there is a lot of things involving drugs, drinking, language, violence, and a little bit of sex, but not much sex.
The Drugs: The main character doesn't once light up a joint throughout the game, and he hates drugs. A lot of people around him use it because of the high money it gets, but they do have a high price to pay in the end.
The Drinking: In the game, Niko can go to bars and drink with his friends, then become drunk. Lots of other characters get the ideas too, but it's not a major issue in it.
The Language: It's something you're gonna have to ignore. Yes, there is a lot of language, but Niko attempts to slow down on what he says to people. Lots of other people swear like crazy, one for example is Patrick McReary. He drops the F-word in almost every sentence he says, more than once.
The Violence: Another thing you'll have to get used to, but again, even Niko himself doesn't want to do it. In the game, you cannot hit any women. The main thing is, there are lots of characters that are thrown off buildings and some are even set on fire. One had both of those.
The Sex: This is something I would say you'd have to least worry about. You can have sex with your girlfriends in the game, but you don't see it at all, but you can hear them. Niko goes to strip clubs too.
Now for the good stuff.
The Good Role Model: Niko is a man who loves his cousin, but he hates how his cousin had lied about being rich, but promised they could achieve it. Niko is a Russian man at first looking for revenge on someone who killed twelve of his army friends for a thousand dollars, but has the choice of whether to kill them or not. If he doesn't, he actually feels very relieved. He doesn't like the drugs or too much violence, he tries to clean it up by doing violence to stop the evil people from smuggling drugs in the end.
The Game-play: It's pretty easy to learn if you've not played any of the GTA games. The first thing you'll notice though that the controls and camera have changed since San Andreas.
Bottom-line: I'd recommend this game for fifteen and older, but sure to teach them not to do the wrong things that others do in it.
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whodey
adult
adult
Its just a game.
Parents need to remember that video games are, well.... games. Children are not going to hire protitutes for sex or do drugs just because some thug in a game does. The content in this game is iffy, but odds are, your child already knows how this is how the world is (in some rare places). The "damage" has already been done on your child. Don't worry your child is not going to become a pot-smoking murderer. This game gives them a chance to use their imagination so they dont go out and do the real thing. In the game, it shows you how drinking and drving is bad and how a bad concious can hurt you. Just let your children get this game. Don't act like they haven't heard the "f-word" or don't know what a prostitute is. Everything will be fine.
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