ART
I had never viewed the Grand Theft Auto series as legitimate. To me, it always brought itself into attention through shock value and sex-driven advertisements. It could have been possibly growing up in a sheltered, upper-middle class community as well, and a FOX News report may have made its rounds to my mother and her book club circle, and that may have shaped my view. At its surface, GTA has always seemed like a shallow, killing simulator that prided itself in being one-dimensional and evil. That was before I played Grand Theft Auto IV. And that was before everything changed.
GTA IV is a masterful work of art. This game legitimizes video games as art. It's a technical masterpiece as well as a narrative one. Everything from the characters, writing and the scope of the virtual city is easy to get lost in. Never had I cared about a story in GTA game until now. Its aesthetic is perfect, the atmosphere is perfect, everything. is. perfect.
