Video Games – Others

To wrap up the segment on gang influenced video games, I am going to quickly run threw a few which are far less popular then the Bully and Grand Theft Auto Series, but can be as equally negative.

25 To Life – released in 2006 to terrible reviews, this is a third person shooter (you see the entire character before you, unlike “Doom” which was previously discussed).  The game allows you to switch between play as a police officer and a gangster.  It also allows online play.

The Warriors – released in 2005 (also by Rockstar Games) and is based on a 1979 movie of the same name.  The game centers around the popular “gang rumbles” of the 1970’s and is centered on fighting.  The use of weapons and spray painting graffiti is also a factor in the game.

Crime Life: Gang Wars – released in 2005 also to negative reviews.  The game is based on gang turf wars with large scale fighting.  The plot centers on the main character wanting to join and then climb ranks in the gang.  Fists, pipes, bats, and guns are the weapons of choice, and killing is the point.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel – newly released in July 2011 to mixed reviews, the game is questioned by some for glamorizing drug cartels.  Although the main characters are DEA and FBI agents, the game centers around a drug cartel, local street gangs, sex traffickers, and drug houses.

 

Ride to Hell – the game has not been released as of yet.  It has been in development for several years and its anticipation is growing.  It is basically a Hell’s Angels game.  A Vietnam Veteran returns to society, has trouble conforming.  It is a time of sex, drugs, hippies, and motorcycles. 

And this concludes the brief series on video games.  If this is your first read, go back a few and you can see the point about writing about video games in a "Gangs and Schools" blog.  And again to clarify, I'm not saying that video games contribute to school violence, just that they can be an easiyl overlooked factor.  And as with anything else, parents need to monitor what their children are doing, watching, and playing.