Hot Game 2009

Given the endlessly bad press it receives, you’d almost think Grand Theft Auto was the ruin of Western civilization. But while its hooker-beating and indiscriminate violence come up every time some culture critic wants to rag on digital entertainment, gamers have their own reasons for liking it. Reasons like limitless freedom, unfettered exploration and infinite possibilities for running over old ladies at high speeds. And with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, you’ll get more of that stuff than most people can handle.

Giving players three full-sized cities to go nuts in, San Andreas is the biggest chapter in the urban car-crime series, as well as one of the most convincing virtual worlds ever created. As former gangsta Carl “CJ” Johnson, you’ll explore the massive, fictional state of San Andreas, a California/Nevada hybrid complete with analogues of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, with miles of countryside and small towns in between. It’s all supported by an epic, misison-based storyline that takes CJ and friends from fighting lowly turf battles to pulling jobs for the CIA to planning a massive casino heist. And then, as the game winds down, they’ll finally go gun-to-gun with the people behind CJ’s misfortunes.

Until then, the gameplay is classic GTA, which means players are generally free to do as they please in a big, open 3-D world. Any vehicle you see can be taken for a joyride, and thanks to GTA’s mix of tongue-in-cheek mayhem and fine-tuned controls (when driving, at least), this is a hell of a lot of fun even when cops are chasing you around town (and they will, the second they see you doing something illegal).

The rest of the action still revolves around shooting or beating folks, and this is a little less enjoyable thanks to an auto-aiming system that locks on to the nearest person, rather than the nearest threat. Is there a gang member shooting at you from across the block? Too bad! You’re locking onto that old lady behind you, whether you want to or not. And since she’s behind you, CJ will just point his gun straight up until you turn him around. To be fair, San Andreas adds a first-person-style control scheme that makes aiming a little easier, but it still gets clumsy in firefights with squads of enemies.

What was once one of the most anticipated game launches of 2008 has quickly spiraled out of control, thanks to a new round of religious controversy, and cries of censorship.

LittleBigPlanet, once touted as the killer app for the PlayStation 3 this year, has encountered yet another round of controversy this week, as cries of censorship were raised by a Muslim group that saw the game’s recall as detrimental to their religion.

“[American Islamic Forum for Democracy] stands against any form of censorship in the marketplace of ideas whether imposed by government or by corporations intimidated by the response of militants or those with an inappropriately sensitive level of political correctness,” said M. Zuhdi Jasser, M.D., president of the non-profit AIFD, in an interview with EDGE.

Just to recap, LittleBigPlanet was recalled worldwide last week after a Muslim poster on Europe’s official PlayStation message boards indicated that an in-game music track, called Tapha Niang by Malian kora player Toumani Diabate, sampled audio derived from the Muslim holy book, the Koran (aka Qur’an).

Setting the book’s scriptures to music is seen as offensive to some Muslims, who view the Koran’s text as the word of god. The outrage prompted Sony to act immediately and recall all copies of LBP from the retail channel.

It was the wrong course of action, Dr. Jasser contends.

“Muslims cannot benefit from freedom of expression and religion and then turn around and ask that anytime their sensibilities are offended that the freedom of others be restricted,” he said. “The free market allows for expression of disfavor by simply not purchasing a game that may be offensive.”

Turning the initial forum complaint back against itself, Dr. Jasser added that Mohammed himself “defended the rights of his enemies to critique him in any way even if it was offensive to his own Islamic sensibilities or respect for Koranic scripture.”

The musician behind the musical track, Toumani Diabate, has also weighed in on the LBP recall, saying, “It’s quite normal to play music and be inspired by the words of the Prophet Mohammed. It’s my way to attract and inspire people towards Islam.”

Nevertheless, the game remains recalled, and new copies will be issued to retailers next week. If you’re one of the lucky ones with a “banned” copy, head to eBay, where they are selling for about $200 each.

As noted by GameIndustry.biz, this is the second time in as many years that Sony has been plagued by religious controversy. In 2007, Sony was lambasted by religious leaders in the UK for including Manchester Cathedral as a level in Resistance: Fall of Man.

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