Years ago, it was freedom of reckless violence that used to define video games, but in the latest generation, games have evolved past simple playgrounds of chaos into full fledged storytelling devices. The Grand Theft Auto series defined the era of violence and chaos in video games, but also pushed boundaries for sex and drug use. While the stories were usually compelling, the violence was usually tongue-in-cheek. Personally I loved to kill, steal, cheat in the GTA games I played as a kid and young teen and I still don’t see issues with how they affected me. The latest GTA game though, Grand Theft Auto V, takes its content from previous games and makes it more believable and disturbing. The story for GTA V is incredibly compelling, as it can be compared to the best serialized dramas on TV like Breaking Bad. It achieves this by developing interesting characters and having tragic deaths and moments which stick with you after you have finished the game. That is why GTA V will be heralded as a masterpiece; it’s because of the freedom and beautifully developed world which accurately emulates our world (with a little exaggeration) and creating a compelling story which others crime games will reference to from here on out. But when explaining the game to non-gamers, the media will refer to the moments where the game pushes past the boundaries in which most TV shows are unwilling or unable to go. While this makes it much more compelling for adults, but pushes a bit too far for the younger audience as well as the more sensitive players. The younger audience must be considered in a game which millions of people will play. The game can only be sold to those who are 17+, but where I work i have been personally asked by an 11-year-old if we had the game for sale while his parents were ready to buy it. Its not the violence that I’m worried about exactly, its the context of it. This is a game where a genuine character, not an ambiguous being, will murder someone in cold blood, then torture someone in the next moment, and record sodomy the next. For the most part these scenes are generally irrelevant to the main story, rather they are moments where the game developers are trying to entertain and express their opinion of society. I like that Rockstar is willing to push boundaries for the sake of a deeper story, but I believe the days of shock value in games is dying, and that overly grotesque game moments without purpose should be shot down.