Grand Theft Auto IV is a title in the series of open-world, action-adventure games.
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Story & Themes
Grand Theft Auto IV focuses on the story of Niko Bellic and his quest to get revenge on the man who betrayed his war unit. He moves to Liberty City from Eastern Europe, searching for a better life. Instead, Niko finds himself immersed in the criminal underbelly of the city.
In every GTA game you can expect lots of over-the-top thrills in the form of car chases, assassinations, explosions, heists, etc. You can also expect misogyny, racial slurs, homophobia, and transphobia.
Ironically, the GTA franchise has more playable people of color than any other game franchise. As usual, this is a double-edged sword because even if the characters are fully fleshed out and interesting, they are still always violent criminals
Save Points
In Grand Theft Auto IV players can save the game by accessing a save point or safe house. There are several of these throughout the game, but some are accessible only by paying in-game money for access.
Heads Up!
Violence Violence is a major component of Grand Theft Auto. It is impossible to complete the games without perpetrating many murders. Additionally, players can kill civilians at a whim; the police will be put on alert, but there are ultimately no in-game repercussions. There is blood spatter in all of the games. Gore and dismemberment are minimal, but can occur.
Sex & Nudity Sexual content is definitely present in Grand Theft Auto. In GTA IV, while having sex with a sex worker, you can change the camera angle and watch the sequence. There isn't any nudity during the sex scenes, but from the movements and the audio, it's pretty clear that they are simulating sex. Usage of sexual language is prevalent in all the GTA games.
In GTA IV, the sex workers are scantily clad; strippers wear only nipple pasties and thongs. There is casual male shirtlessness in most games, and The Lost and the Damned downloadable content for GTA IV introduces full-frontal male nudity.
Strong Language GTA pulls no punches on foul language. All of the basic swear words that you might not want kids to hear are present, along with racial, gendered, transphobic, and homophobic language.
Substance Use GTA protagonists usually don't use drugs, though the characters around them do. Protagonists can be involved in selling drugs to varying degrees. Players can drink alcohol and drive under the influence.
Discrimination GTA IV, like other games in the Grand Theft Auto Series, has come under fire for its representation of women, the LGBT community, and racial minorities. All of these groups are featured in the game and/or series, but their portrayal is often flawed.
Online Community
GTA IV introduced online multiplayer in which players can connect in groups of up to 16 through Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network and engage in online play. As always, when playing online, players can be exposed to concepts and language that may be inappropriate. Considering that this is Grand Theft Auto, the online multiplayer version is unlikely to be less appropriate than the single-player game.
Conversation Starters
- Do you think these games are realistic? What happens when people behave this way in real life?
- What is your favorite part of this game? What makes it fun?
- When people criticize this game on the news, do you think they are being fair?
- Are these games funny? If so, what is so funny about them?
- When you know you can do something in a game that is considered bad in real life, does it make you want to do it more?
- Do some parts of this game make you uncomfortable? Is the game still fun if you’re uncomfortable?
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