also.. if i can do all these things in games with no consequence... then why would i actually do them in real life i mean seriously...

surely if i do it in a game and think 'this is cool' (driving DUI, killing people whatever), and (allegedly by every critic) there is a complete lack of consequence, WHY OH WHY would i make the move to real life?

Apparently its 'SO REALISTIC' and 'HARD TO DISTINGUISH FROM REALITY', so to that end, WHY would i ever make th move to commiting the acts in reality.

I have a choice.. do it in a game, do it in real life.. both are Equally real (according to the critics) but one has a lack of consequences (acording to critics) and one has severe consequences.

So surely this game wouldnt in any way encourage people to do it in real life. They have a sand box where they can do it free from prosecution or actual harm.

They cant have it both ways.

"So these are the things that I have to worry about when stuff like this hits the market."

People of GA: Please remember this in the next round of sheriff's elections and vote for the guy who 'worries about' about domestic violence, home-made drugs and high unemployment rates.

"How many people are going to go ‘hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’? So these are the things that I have to worry about when stuff like this hits the market."

Jesus Mudder Fkn Christ. About as many people who think after flying the harrier in San Andreas that they could pilot a real vtol aircraft. Shoot this guy please for the sake of the gene pool.

Drunk driving.. hell just being drunk in GTA is such a pain in the rear that I dont bother trying to drive drunk. I wait until i can actualy get a damn taxi to stop and take it back to my safehouse or to whoevers place I was out with.

Master it? honestly. you cant hope to Master it. its random as hell

guys, does anyone know how to get blue sparks in my car i keep trying but no shoulder button on my steering wheel

Or maybe players will realize how hard and stupid it is to drive drunk and take a cab or walk home. Both choices offered in the game.

from everyone i've spoken to, drunk driving is not only annoying, but can be very nauseating in the motion-sickness sense.

most of my acquaintances said they tried it once and won't again because of those ill effects.

Yes, because video game driving is just like real driving.... *pounds head against wall*

Bear in mind, this guy probably has never seen the game and is just going on what his opinion is of 'a game that lets you drink and drive'.

Then again, he may just be a close-minded fool. Who knows for sure?

With this game, you can train yourself to play a racing game while drunk!

get a clue, old people

''So ho many people are going to say hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’?''


um none

because gamers are the ones who know that video games cant train you to do jack shit.

I can also drive a car off a 10 storey building in gta, do a 360 flip bounce a coupe of ties, n then drive away.

Am i going to try that in real life.... gee.. what do you think

If he was actually worried about that kind of thing then someone should point out to him that it's actually WAY better practice to play Gran Turismo while drinking. As someone who spends a LOT of time drunk, I can safely say that the simulated drunkenness in GTAIV isn't even close to realistic.

Someone in our community should put together a group of people who's sole purpose is to go around and educate people on what games, like GTA4, are really all about. Just to show people there is really nothing to fear and perhaps inspire people to create art/media/what-have-you, they otherwise would not have been inspired to create.

There is way too much misinformation being spread by those who don't understand and don't really seem to want to understand.

I think Yoda said it best:

"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."


J.T. is a "textbook" example of this.

-He fears something he knows little/nothing about.
-His lack of understanding has caused him to lash out at us and games.
-His actions have goaded us to do things that would normally be out of character for us (well, at least the vast majority of us) and has come to hate us and the games he does not understand.
-And as a result of all of this, it has caused him a fair (if not huge) amount of suffering, all of which is his own doing.
-From our perspective, it would seem that he has already gone "dark side" or is very close to doing so.

It all could have been avoided if he had the will to just do a little research. Of coarse there are many other factors at play: his obvious obsession with money, attention seeking, possible problems/trauma suffered during his upbringing, etc.

As being someone who picked himself up out of a bad downward spiral, it makes me sad to see other people who choose to live in fear, or are incapable of doing otherwise.

I have this overpowering instinct to help him, and others like him, aquire a life where they do not live in fear and achieve a state of inner-peace, but the catch is they have to want it. It appears most of them do not.

I am saddened . . .

I think I'll go play some NHL 08 and become a professional hockey player. I could use a $10 million contract. If that doesn't work I'll just sue the media for telling me video games are excellent training tools. I'd be nice to win a multimillion dollar lawsuit.

I wonder if I could get Thompson to represent me. He's all about using games for training...

Anybody stupid enough to think they're "trained" to drive drunk on GTA should probably not have a license to begin with.

I've played Burnout Paradise, i guess that means I'm trained to drive 100+ miles per hour, run people into walls, and take my car off some sweet jumps. Yay!

"How many people are going to go ‘hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’?"

Um...none?


OK, shooting rampages are one thing, but are they SERIOUSLY going to try to pin drunk-driving on GTA!? What kind of crap is that? Its like no one is acknowledging the fact that people got behind the wheel intoxicated pre-GTA release...

Will law enforcement ever acknowledge that gamers can tell the difference between real life and a game? If what those bozos said is true, I should be performing limit breaks on everyone

"I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated?"

I really wish people would do some research before saying such stupid things. Buy the game, see how hard it is to drive drunk, see how fast you get pulled over, and then talk about it "trains" you to drive drunk...

EVERY cop I have (unfortunately) been friends with (3 of 'em) would drive drunk in their free time- because they believed themselves to be above the law. These guys told me that many of their peers did the same. Perhaps police leadership should be looking into that stuff instead of fretting over games.


Oh, and since when did the driving in GTA become a simulator?

Wow, apparently, you can "train" do anything if you play games...

So if I happen to play a female character in a game, does that mean I'm "training" for a sex change? (That /is/ a rhetorical question, just so you know...)

In the spirit of MADD's mad take, I want 'The 40-year-old Virgin' movie to be re-classified as 'NC-17', for its amusing depiction of operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

. . .

....sigh..... Another town I spent a good 7 years in. And it's ignorance is shining through. See i go the other way, I get drunk in real life to hone my drunk driving skills in the game.

You know, I really love Savannah. I love it. I went to college there and plan on some day spending the rest of my life on Hilton Head Island off the coast.

..But damn I hate ignorant people.

How many people?

None, sir.

Something the officer and MADD missed was the fact that no matter how well you drive drunk in the game, the police in the game will automatically try to pull you over if they see you.

The game tries to discourage driving drunk a lot.

Besides that cars in real life don't control using a joystick.

"How many people are going to go ‘hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’? So these are the things that I have to worry about when stuff like this hits the market."

What? really?
oh man, that IS something to worry about... good thing that mastering drunk driving in GTAIV is impossible to master...

Ok ya really, i'd compare GTAIV to those goggles they use to teach kids about the dangers of being drunk

Has anyone ever figured out why people who don't play video games can't seem to understand that people who do play video games are quite able to tell the difference between make-believe and reality?

How many people are going to say, "Hey, if I can master Mario Kart, I can go out and throw banana peels at other cars and make them spin out!"

If you're really so worried about that happening, just keep a couple of turtle shells in your police cruiser.

It really astounds me that groups who are not traditionally opposed to video games would compromise their credibility chasing after sensationalist bullshit like this. IMO.. MADD is already clownshoes, and a menace to their own cause, but now.. people far less cynical than me are going to think so too. Just amazing.

And...

"‘hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’"

First of all, if you're ripped after 3 of basically anything, you're likely a noob drinker. Then we have the improbable situation of individuals feeling some how qualified to drive drunk purely based on their performance in a game.

Call me evil, but.. I think it's time to start euthanizing people that are so %&*#ing retarded, yet some how smart enough to have the means, to commit these [mythical] game based crimes.

"So these are the things that I have to worry about when stuff like this hits the market."

You should worry about keeping your job, you pitiful $%&*ing tool. If that's what you're worried about then you have very little legitimacy in your position. Go taser some skateboarders, like real cops.

**Deep breath**

Serenity now!

The guy MIGHT have a point if real cars used analog sticks

"How many people are going to go ‘hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’? So these are the things that I have to worry about when stuff like this hits the market."

Was the a serious statement or is he being sarcastic?

Seriously, again? Besides, isn't driving drunk in GTA IV damn near impossible from what I hear? Wouldn't that deter from people wanting to drive drunk?

I think the cop should be more worried about the vigilante missions. If what he's saying is true, there's going to be a whole generation of gamers ready to replace him.

Is it only me or is every single criticism against GTA 4 about how it "trains" you to do such things? Since when did GTA 4 and games in general become real life simulators.

People really should understand what they are bashing before opening their mouth. There is nothing like seeing a guy who got all the facts wrong still get some air-time while the people who actually knows their stuff is ignored.

Suppose that's how the American press works, whatever gives the biggest articles.

That drunk driving thing should be seen as a tool to deter DUI, not glorify it

If people try to drunk drive because they did it in a game and did it well, and get in some kind of accident, they deserve it. They're are responsible for their own actions and no amount of stupidity should make you less liable (unless it's an actual mental illness). If you drive drunk that's nobody's responsibility but yours.

This law enforcement official is just worried that he might have a harder time with busting more people for DUI. Is he afraid he's not able to handle it anymore?

GTA IV trained me in the art of drunk driving.

Just like:

DOOM taught me how to shoot.

Mortal Kombat made me a kung fu master.

Lunar Lander taught me how to pilot spacecraft.

Battle Zone trained me to drive a tank.

And I got through about a third of the Harvey Birdman game before I lost interest. That should be good enough to qualify as a paralegal, right?

As someone who doesn't drink I found it quite interesting. I have no idea how close it is to the real thing but it was dizzying and hard to drive. I don't have a problem with it in the game, I thought it showed how bad of an idea it would be to drive intoxicated.

"GTA IV trained me in the art of drunk driving.

Just like:

DOOM taught me how to shoot.

Mortal Kombat made me a kung fu master.

Lunar Lander taught me how to pilot spacecraft.

Battle Zone trained me to drive a tank.

And I got through about a third of the Harvey Birdman game before I lost interest. That should be good enough to qualify as a paralegal, right? "

And Leisure Suit Larry trained me to be a player.

@WBrian

According to all I hear it makes even walking impossibly hard. And hailing a cab is an option in the game at all times

Can a game accurately simulate what it's really like to drive drunk?

I haven't tried that in GTAIV (yet) but based on previous games in the series I assume it makes the screen warp and distort as you drive. Because that's what being drunk is like, right? Your vision starts to swim and you suffer no other ill effects, right?

I guess that means what GTAIV really trains you to do is drive with your eyes shut. God knows the simulated HDR effects make it look like that.

Matthews, there's several things they can do. Blurry vision, mess with focal effects, wobble the screen. They can delay reaction time from the controls, and even mess with them, to simulate the confusion and dizzyness. Varying all of this means you can't get used to it.

Idiot police officer and idiot mothers association think everybody is as idiot as they are. Great.

Aaand the results are in. After a heavy drinking sesh with Roman I decided to drive home. It is worth noting at this point that the in-game narration told me not to, and after a little while suggested I get a taxi instead. Niko also insisted that I put the controller down and give it up. The screen is swaying in a curiously beautiful way, and the vehicle lurches to the side even if I don't touch the controls. Thirty seconds later I hear sirens and the vomit-o-vision means I can't even make out the cop car I'm looking right at.

The game clearly does not like me driving drunk.

Also worth noting is that I myself am no more tired or lethargic than I was five minutes ago. I'm capable of reading and understanding the map showing me my waypoints, and I know what everything on the sceen means when I can make it out behind the motion blur.

The game clearly does not recreate the feeling of being drunk.

So really they only thing that makes GTAIV "promote" or even *feature* drink driving is that it says 'hey, you're now drunk.' It could apply the same screen filter as a result of eating too many burgers if it wanted to; would that make it a simulation of fat-driving?

You know, I kind of wish they were right, and games really did train us to do stuff. I mean, I'd be a jedi, dammit. I would also be a master of every martial art and combat style ever, and a sorcerer. And I would have all kinds of world domination skills, on earth, in alternate timelines, in alternate dimensions, in a galaxy far far away, and on alpha centauri, for starters. And when someone pissed me off, I could just load up a lance of Daishis to get my vengeance...ahh, sweet dreams indeed. Oh, and I would enjoy saving the world with a crowbar. Now THAT, my friends, is something you can brag about.

On a serious note, I have to say that it seems to me a more realistic presentation of drunk driving, one which makes it dangerous, is ideally placed in a game like GTA that people are playing for fun. It's certainly better than creating a separate "The Dangers of Drunk Driving" game that no one would ever play unless forced to in Driver's Ed or something.

Query: What happens if you get drunk one night and decide to play Forza for a bit? Is that more or less training and/or encouragement than getting fake-drunk in GTAIV?

I enjoy walking drunk because is funny as hell, and it also reminds me of my roommate some nights. However, driving drunk is annoying if I'm really trying to go somewhere. I do it if I just feel like a crazy drive that will most likely end with me being killed by the cops. It can cause motion sickness though. I do not think anyone will ever, ever think that if they can master driving drunk on GTA they will be able to do it in real life. I don't think anyone could believe they could master driving a car without being drunk and do the same in real life. People like this cop are really stupid.

Training to drive drunk? If you're using this game so that you can master drunk driving, you're an asshole and a dumbass. If videogames could "train" people to do that sorta stuff, why am I not a baddass stealthy killing machine?

'If you’ve experienced the “drunk driving” aspect of Grand Theft Auto IV, you know that it is pretty annoying. It makes it very difficult to control your ride.'

It actually makes me drive better.. But then, I always drive like all the dogs of hell are coming for me, so..

In GTA4, you can get drunk. If you drive while drunk, you have a problem with controlling the vehicle, and the game continuously nags you while you do this.

The real irony is, if the game were coded to not take your inebriation into account and you drove perfectly, that could be communicating an even worse message, but no one would have noticed.

It's all just hysteria as infotainment, it's a bizarro-world version of bread and circuses, but the end goal is the same: no one wants to face the real problems of the real world, so we continue to invent moral dragons to slay.

Before GTA IV, no one, who was underage,
drank, and no one, who was of age, drank
and drove.
And before GTA IV, no one ever abused prostitutes.
And before GTA IV, no one ever murdered anyone.

...

I know, your sarcasm detectors are going nuts.

So, how long until teenage drinking starts to
plummet?

By this logic, I should be able to perform open heart surgeries (Trauma Center, both DS and Wii versions), play a scorching guitar solo (Guitar Hero II), run a nation (Civilization), and effectively pilot a giant robot (MechWarrior series, Heavy Gear series, Earthsiege series).

Guess how many of these things I can actually do.

And for what little it's worth, you can just walk or take a cab if you get drunk in GTA4, and if you get behind the wheel anyway, Niko points out that what you are about to do is a bad idea.

@ TheBird
Great, now they have to ban Grand Turismo and other racing/driving sims because you can get drunk and train on them....

And those who say "I can train on this!" and use it for such have more serious & realistic problems then the game.

I've been playing a lot of Assassin's Creed lately. I haven't tried out my parkour skills on real buildings but I'm sure I could scale the Empire State Building and leap from building to building in cities like New York. After all, sitting on my butt and staring at a TV screen for hours and hours is bound to have honed my body to the peak of physical fitness.

I think it's worth pointing out that, even though all traffic laws are thrown out the window in GTA4, the one that will get you pulled over is driving drunk.

Well games already trained me in killing, micromanaging armies and which spells should be used in what situation. Finally i can learn something which can be applied to everyday life!

for some reason a bunch of re-re, are thinking that its "saying" to do these things. well mabey their right. there are "magic words" in the game that say "go and get drunk and do it, do it, do it."

There's no "mastering" the drunk driving, you can barely make Niko walk without him falling over as it is. I had enough trouble just walking him across the street in inebriation mode.

Those blurry drunk-goggles they take to schools is teaching kids how to walk drunk.

Let's burn them.

These people must be fucking stupid to make comments like that!
And these people hold important positions in society! fuck me man!

These people need a slap in the face, a kick up the arse and a copy of GTA4 rammed down their throats!

These are the people who believe that everything was peacefull and nice before computer games, has nobody told them about PAST AND CURRENT WARS, REAL LIFE!

VIOLENCE HAS ALLWAYS EXISTED!

It aint all ribbons and bows you know! bunch of fannys!

@Killswitch

HELLA!!!!!!

LOL, I wonder if they think the wii surgeon game trains people to be surgeons?

Still on the fence about GTA... haven't tried it yet so I am going to wait to cast my vote till then. I did come across a PSA last week that blew my mind on drunk driving. Here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/banikMDT

I only have one thing to say on the stupidity of the people in this article:ROFL!

if i think, ‘hey if I can master this, I can go out and instead of having a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, I can have 2 or 3 because I’ve been training how to drive intoxicated’? im an idiot becuse i would also say that ill get a bounch of my friends and have an all out team deathmatch in my backyard (it ok we have 1 sec. respawn)