I'd rather a pulp and a drink

Junot Diaz on what Grand Theft Auto is. And isn't.

"For me, GTA IV is more an example of our evasions as a culture, more of a fairy tale, more of a story of consolation than a shattering cultural critique or even, dare I say it, great art. GTA IV is a game that allows you to forget how screwed-up and complicated things are in the real world; it could have done more, it could have put that screwed-up complicated world front and center."

I've not played anything remotely like a video game in over twenty years, but I'm still glad to see the differences in narrative being discussed intelligently. And on some level, it is kind of cool that Diaz has got to be the first Pulitzer Prize winner than can also describe himself as an "early adopter" to video games.

Posted by David