What's so fun about 'Grand Theft Auto'?

Sexy scenes aside, many objected to the unapologetic violence and lawlessness in the “Grand Theft Auto” games. Anti-game crusader and attorney Jack Thompson initiated several lawsuits against Rockstar owners Take-Two Interactive, saying that the games trained players how to commit real-life murders. Some of the lawsuits have been dropped, some are still pending.

But fans of the games, like Andrew Monasterio, a 20-year-old gamer from Bartlett, Tenn., scoff at such claims.

“If someone enjoys killing innocent people in a video game all day, there was probably something wrong with him long before the game came out,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Still, there’s little doubt that all this “negative” attention has helped add to the bad-boy allure of the franchise — and its creators, Rockstar Games. Even people who’ve never played a video game in their lives have heard of “Grand Theft Auto,” says Sam Kennedy, editorial director of game site 1up.com.

“They know of the game and that’s been a benefit to the game’s popularity,” he says. “But I think the reason why it’s been popular among gamers is because it’s a very good game.”

“GTA” games are known for their deep, well-developed stories and hip, wry writing. The characters are complex, the environments are spot-on, the game soundtracks are germane to the time and place. I have fond memories of running red lights to Gary Numan’s “Cars” while playing “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City,” which was set in a city that resembled a 1980s-era Miami.

Seattle gamer Slinger loves how much creativity and care goes in to making each of the “Grand Theft Auto” games, where the next is better than the last. 

“You can tell how much fun (Rockstar) had making it,” he says. “They’re obviously just barely grown up grown-ups who are sitting around the playground and thinking up the most-fun things that they can cram into this game.”

This creativity has translated into big sales. Take-Two says that the series has sold approximately 70 million copies since its inception. The last iteration, “San Andreas,” (the one with the sex scene) was the biggest yet, selling over 20 million copies since its release in 2004.

Industry watchers expect “GTA IV” to have similar legs. Analysts predict that the game will sell 9 million copies in its first few months, and up to 13 million by year’s end.

Slinger is one of the faithful — although he’s not in front of a console today. He’s on Maui with his wife — and says he almost considered trying to move his vacation around to account for the release of “GTA IV.” (I’m happy to report that he came to his senses.)

Still, he’s planning on tacking on a few extra vacation days after he returns so that he can catch up with his co-worker, who will be playing nearly non-stop in his absence.

“He’s going to be, like, a ‘GTA’ pro by the time I get back into town, and I just can’t have that,” says Slinger.  “I just can’t have that.”

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