Down by Law: The History of the Crime Game

Slowly you survey the traffic. A sleek convertible rolls up, catching your eye. You jog over, punch the owner in the side of the head and get behind the wheel. Tweaking the radio and stepping on the gas, you shoot across town. A few pedestrians get in the way when you cut curbs or run across the sidewalk. It might even attract a cop. But that's not important right now. You've got a score to settle with a guy at the docks. And a loaded shotgun helps you get the point across.

You have to be thinking, especially at the time that San Andreas has been released on PC, what a complete twist the GTA series is. It's absolutely without morals. By the end of the day, you've amassed kills into the thousands, with no remorse for anyone who gets in your way. And it's not even a moral cop-out. At the worst, you are an underdog, but even then you offed guys who weren't really a threat to you. No "I had no choice" crap.

But where did it start? Think about it - a game doesn't suddenly come along and declare an immoral attitude. You didn't suddenly hear the F-word in a game. It took countless text adventures and the Duke's coarse remarks before we even got to that.