Anti-racism groups are up in arms about the soon to be released GTA IV. The game which will allow players to randomly murder in the streets, take part in a viscous drug underworld and steal and pillage as they see fit has one major aspect that has ranckled the hackles on those against race discrimination. Apparently the fact that the main character is Eastern European is supposed to be teaching those who play the game that people of that ethnicity are bad people. Isn't it time that the world woke up and realised that Generation Y are smarter than given credit for and that we can make up our own conclusions.

When Niko Bellic steps into a New York cityscape next week, he does so with the potential to become a defining figure of our times.

This grim-faced ex-soldier will visit prostitutes and casually run down pedestrians, helping to redefine the generational divide between outraged parents and their teenagers who cannot wait to spend hours exploring Bellic’s seedy world of drugs and gangsters.

Even before his arrival there is consternation at the ethnicity of the source of the mayhem — the “hero” is unmistakeably Eastern European and an immigrant.

What is less certain is whether Bellic, as he makes his way across town killing policemen, will live up to his billing — the hope and hype, fear and dismay, that he embodies the future of entertainment.

Euphoric via technology.timesonline.co.uk »