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dahliaexurrana-blog · 4 years

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Grand Theft Auto V and IV

I played both of these games extensively as a child. And one thing I've noticed when it comes to discussing them both in a more critical context is that many deem GTAV as having a lackluster story. Claims of it being a "cheap parody of movie cliches" with almost surreal, wacky scenarios. A lot compared it to GTAIV and point to it saying it's a gritty, dark, and very real if embellished story.

What I feel a lot of that criticism is missing is... that that's the point. I don't think it's any secret that the GTA series, excepting it's initial titles, is an American satire. But there's a lot more to it than just that. Personally, I've only ever played IV and V so I can't speak for the other entries, but looking back it's not so hard to see that while they are very different games, they're different on purpose.

IV is gritty, dark, grounded, and very "real" so to speak. At the very least, Niko's story is. It's about a foreigner looking to achieve the American dream of wealth and fame and the high life, but ultimately being smacked in the face by the reality of it all. That the dream is just that. A dream. It ain't real. Just a fantasy for most, or even worse, a scam if you're unlucky enough. He's met with a world that doesn't care, and his only 'ally' is his impoverished cousin who spent years lying to him about his life. He's a drunk and kind of pathetic... and ultimately he gets in trouble and has to claw his way out and to the top with mountains of violence, theft, and backstabbing.

It's a satire, yes, and while a parody it's still meant as a dark reflection of reality. Because in reality, there really is no American dream. Often times it's fantasy that many fervently believe in only to be crushed by the weight of everything in place that blocks that from ever really being a reality. In reality hard work doesn't actually get you anywhere, as common as people say it does. It's how much people like you, and the people that you know. Your merit has nothing to do with it as long as you have good friends in high places, many of which are more than happy to scoff and insult you rather than actually lend you a hand.

V is actually a parody on movies, but more so it's a parody on Hollywood, on the actual high life, on the big cities that never sleep and have flashy signs and questionable clubs on every corner. A satire on the modern day, on modern people, on modern lifestyles, and the absurdity we've come to accept as normal. Franklin is a young black man who grew up in poverty, in the less developed areas of LS. Raised around gangs and drugs and violence all he wants to escape it and to contribute to something he thinks actually matters. Michael is a well off overweight middle-aged white man who lives in a mansion bought with his stashed millions of stolen wealth, with his family he both loves and hates. And Trevor is well... Trevor. Like before, each of them is chasing something. Franklin wants purpose, a better lifestyle, and a way out of the insanity he's been surrounded by his whole life. Michael wants to be left alone, to have peace and quiet, a good relationship with his family, and a better state of mental health. Trevor wants money, power, control, and answers. Like before they all end up getting in trouble and have to claw their way out, this time in much more over the top fashions, with some strangely familiar stages, set pieces, actors, and scenarios all of them seemingly ripped from film. Throughout the game we're met with thinly veiled analogs of cults, overzealous SJ movement groups, gangs, corporations, and celebrities. There's an overbearing air of lavishness with a dark, almost ugly underbelly. Over the top advertisements over the radio and TV with absurd almost surreal reality shows as well as reoccurring cartoons. It's all kind of... insane.

But that's exactly the point. It's a satire. If you look at real life, while a lot of it is very over embellished, it's still a dark reflection. We live in an age where TV gets weirder and weirder, where celebrities are being called out as sex offenders or bigots left and right, where adverts plague every corner of our lives, and where legal deception is the name of the game. Where overwhelmingly, consumerism is so bloated and extreme that people will literally pay for a YouTuber's bath water, where extraordinarily dangerous scams veiled as cults further veiled as religions are left to exist and ruin the lives of others. Where the reality is that everyone really is becoming more and more miserable as depression consistently climbs, and in turn, so do suicide rates which are already alarmingly high. Where bog standard workers all hate their jobs, and are never treated as people both by their employers and their customers.

While both of them are entertaining in their own ways, with incredibly well written stories and characters, it's unfair to compare them. They really do succeed at what their initial goal is, however for each that goal is simply different. Very different, in fact, and while I think game criticism is important, GTA, as a game, is still a satire. And satires exist to give us an uncomfortable mirror to laugh at, but also to re-evaluate the current state of things, and whether we should let them persist. And to this end, both of them do a wonderful job at least in my eyes.

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