Grand Theft Auto came under fire for graphic torture mission that was deemed 'entirely unnecessary'
Topics: Grand Theft Auto, Gaming, Weird
Tom Wood
Featured Image Credit: Rockstar
Topics: Grand Theft Auto, Gaming, Weird
Grand Theft Auto 5 came in for some serious criticism when it was released because of a graphic torture scene that many thought was unnecessary and too far even for the extreme video game series.
Obviously, it’s well accepted that Grand Theft Auto is pretty violent and features a load of crime.
The name should be a dead giveaway, really.
Anyway, when players aren’t on sprees of destruction and violence, they’re stealing things and committing all manner of driving offences.
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However, one particular element of the game came in for some real flak from charities, non-profit organisations, and beyond.
It’s a scene in which the main character, Trevor Phillips, tortures an alleged terrorist for information at the behest of the FBI.
Called ‘By The Book’, the scene sees Phillips - played by Steven Ogg - using hammers and electric shocks to get information out of the suspect.
There’s even the added fact that if he dies there’s a shot of adrenaline to restart his heart.
Honestly, even by GTA standards, it’s dark.
What’s more, if you want to finish the game, you have to complete this bit.
That means that if you want to get to the end, you’ll need to pull some teeth.
Back in 2013, it was too much for some people.
It was condemned by organizations like Amnesty International, Freedom from Torture, teachers unions, and UK politicians.
Former UK MP Keith Vaz even expressed his shock at the scene.
At the time, Freedom from Torture CEO Keith Best said: “Rockstar North has crossed a line by effectively forcing people to take on the role of a torturer and perform a series of unspeakable acts if they want to achieve success in the game.
"Torture is a reality, not a game and glamourising it in popular culture undoes the work of organizations like Freedom from Torture and survivor activists to campaign against it.
"This adds insult to injury for survivors who are left physically and mentally scarred by torture in the real world.
"If Rockstar North’s message is a satirical critique of the practice of torture, it’s lost on us.”
Vaz said he was ‘astonished at the level of violence depicted’.
Furthermore, others said that the scene really isn’t in keeping with the rest of the game, which tends to take a more satirical and humorous approach to the crime depicted.
Well, sometimes.
It was described by one gaming journalist as ‘expected and unadventurous, hardly the biting satire that it felt like in past outings’.
Obviously, there are also ongoing issues with some of the misogyny involved in the game, with Gamespot journalist Carolyn Petit arguing that there’s no real defence of satire possible.
“Yes, these are exaggerations of misogynistic undercurrents in our own society, but not satirical ones,” she said.
“With nothing in the narrative to underscore how insane and wrong this is, all the game does is reinforce and celebrate sexism.”