Inside the making of a videogame that defined a generation: Grand Theft Auto Grand Theft Auto is one of the biggest and most controversial videogame franchises of all time. Since its first release in 1997, GTA has pioneered the use of everything from 3D graphics to the voices of top Hollywood actors and repeatedly transformed the world of gaming. Despite its incredible innovations in the $75 billion game industry, it has also been a lightning rod of debate, spawning accusations of ethnic and sexual discrimination, glamorizing violence, and inciting real-life crimes. Jacked tells the turbulent and mostly unknown story of GTA's wildly ambitious creators, Rockstar Games, the invention and evolution of the franchise, and the cultural and political backlash it has provoked. Explains how British prep school brothers Sam and Dan Houser took their dream of fame, fortune, and the glamor of American pop culture and transformed it into a worldwide videogame blockbuster Written by David Kushner, author of Masters of Doom and a top journalist on gaming, and drawn from over ten years of interviews and research, including firsthand knowledge of Grand Theft Auto's creators and detractors Offers inside details on key episodes in the development of the series, including the financial turmoil of Rockstar games, the infamous "Hot Coffee" sex mini-game incident, and more Whether you love Grand Theft Auto or hate it, or just want to understand the defining entertainment product of a generation, you'll want to read Jacked and get the real story behind this boundary-pushing game.
The immensely popular Grand Theft Auto game series has inspired a range of reactions among players and commentators, and a hot debate in the popular media. These essays from diverse theoretical perspectives expand the discussion by focusing scholarly analysis on the games, particularly Grand Theft Auto III (GTA3), Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (GTA:VC), and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA). Part One of the book discusses the fears, lawsuits, legislative proposals, and other public reactions to Grand Theft Auto, detailing the conflict between the developers of adult oriented games and various new forms of censorship. Depictions of race and violence, the pleasure of the carnivalistic gameplay, and the significance of sociopolitical satire in the series are all important elements in this controversy. It is argued that the general perception of digital changed fundamentally following the release of Grand Theft Auto III. The second section of the book approaches the games as they might be studied absent of the controversy. These essays study why and how players meaningfully play Grand Theft Auto games, reflecting on the elements of daily life that are represented in the games. They discuss the connection between game space and real space and the many ways that players mediate the symbols in a game with their minds, computers, and controllers.
Bogenn provides expert strategies that show gamers the steps to climbing the ladder of crime, along with complete coverage of every mission, including side missions. Detailed maps of Vice City show locations of important items and weapons. Cool game secrets, tips, and cheat codes are revealed.
Listening to pundits and politicians, you'd think that the relationship between violent video games and aggressive behavior in children is clear. Children who play violent video games are more likely to be socially isolated and have poor interpersonal skills. Violent games can trigger real-world violence. The best way to protect our kids is to keep them away from games such as Grand Theft Auto that are rated M for Mature. Right? Wrong. In fact, many parents are worried about the wrong things! In 2004, Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and Cheryl K. Olson, ScD, cofounders and directors of the Harvard Medical School Center for Mental Health and Media, began a $1.5 million federally funded study on the effects of video games. In contrast to previous research, their study focused on real children and families in real situations. What they found surprised, encouraged and sometimes disturbed them: their findings conform to the views of neither the alarmists nor the video game industry boosters. In Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do, Kutner and Olson untangle the web of politics, marketing, advocacy and flawed or misconstrued studies that until now have shaped parents' concerns. Instead of offering a one-size-fits-all prescription, Grand Theft Childhood gives the information you need to decide how you want to handle this sensitive issue in your own family. You'll learn when -- and what kinds of -- video games can be harmful, when they can serve as important social or learning tools and how to create and enforce game-playing rules in your household. You'll find out what's really in the games your children play and when to worry about your children playing with strangers on the Internet. You'll understand how games are rated, how to make best use of ratings and the potentially important information that ratings don't provide. Grand Theft Childhood takes video games out of the political and media arenas, and puts parents back in control. It should be required reading for all families who use game consoles or computers. Almost all children today play video or computer games. Half of twelve-year-olds regularly play violent, Mature-rated games. And parents are worried... "I don't know if it's an addiction, but my son is just glued to it. It's the same with my daughter with her computer...and I can't be watching both of them all the time, to see if they're talking to strangers or if someone is getting killed in the other room on the PlayStation. It's just nerve-racking!" "I'm concerned that this game playing is just the kid and the TV screen...how is this going to affect his social skills?" "I'm not concerned about the violence; I'm concerned about the way they portray the violence. It's not accidental; it's intentional. They're just out to kill people in some of these games." What should we as parents, teachers and public policy makers be concerned about? The real risks are subtle and aren't just about gore or sex. Video games don't affect all children in the same way; some children are at significantly greater risk. (You may be surprised to learn which ones!) Grand Theft Childhood gives parents practical, research-based advice on ways to limit many of those risks. It also shows how video games -- even violent games -- can benefit children and families in unexpected ways. In this groundbreaking and timely book, Drs. Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson cut through the myths and hysteria, and reveal the surprising truth about kids and violent games.
You might be surprised to learn crime does pay, especially auto theft. During the 1990s, New York City was averaging over a hundred thousand vehicle thefts a year. New Yorkers accepted their fate, frequently finding empty parking spaces where their vehicles were parked the night before. Victims called the police, who took theft reports without offering much hope they would ever see their car again. The NYPD's Auto Crime Division is a hundred and twenty-member unit created to combat auto theft, stopping those who roam the streets at night looking to steal your vehicle. Most Americans have been the victim of some form of auto crime or know someone who has been. What they don't know is why, how, or who stole their vehicle, or what happens to it after it disappears. Grand Theft Auto peels back the curtain, exposing the nuts and bolts of the auto theft industry.Would you believe a pair of nuns stole Mother Superior's car to go on a wild shopping spree in the Bronx? Or the double-dealing confidential informant who helped recover Mike Tyson's stolen motorcycle minutes before it was shipped out of the country? What about the diplomat's husband who drove around Manhattan in a stolen Mercedes? Or the silver-tongued three-hundred-pound car thief who managed to stay one step ahead of the law? Retired detective Vic Ferrari shares his unique insight and colorful stories from his days assigned to the New York City Police Department's Auto Crime Division. If you enjoy Live PD, are fascinated with police work, or want to know who stole your car, you've picked up the right book. Vic Ferrari, author of NYPD: Through the Looking Glass: Stories From Inside America's Largest Police Department and The NYPD's Flying Circus: Cops, Crime & Chaos, and Dickheads & Debauchery and Other Ingenious Ways to Die is a retired New York City Police Department detective with over twenty years of experience in the auto theft industry.
BradyGames' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Official Strategy Guide includes the following: THE MISSIONS: We ll guide you through three cities, a sprawling wilderness, and loads of action. Where to go, who to meet, and what to do to earn the most cash and respect. THE MAPS: The most complete visual reference for San Andreas. Each city and territory is charted to detail every square mile. Find everything. THE EXTRAS: The missions are just the beginning. We reveal a lifetime of diversions by covering all the odd jobs, extra missions, Unique Jumps, and Bonus Items San Andreas has to offer. THE VEHICLES: A virtual showroom of every mode of transportation at your disposal. THE SECRETS: Every city has its hidden spots that only the locals know about. We show you where they are. Find every gang tag, collect every oyster and horseshoe, snap every photo-op, launch every stunt jump, locate extra power-ups, and more! BONUS FOLD-OUT: Required Odd Jobs Map! Platform: PlayStation 2 Genre: Action/Adventure This product is available for sale worldwide.
The best-selling game of all time is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC. BradyGames covers it all plus exclusive GTA Online coverage.BradyGames has teamed up with Rockstar Games to bring you Grand Theft Auto V Signature Series Strategy Guide- Updated and Expanded. Whether you're playing on PS4, Xbox One or PC you'll have complete coverage of all additions and enhancements to GTA V including planning and execution of all heists, maximising the strengths of all three characters and the most effective weapon for each scenario to win the Gold Medal. Set in the sprawling, sun-soaked metropolis of Los Santos, Grand Theft Auto V centres around three very different criminals all plotting and scheming for their own chance of survival and success. Running out of options, Franklin, Michael and Trevor risk everything in a series of dangerous heists that could set them up for life or send them straight to the slammer. Check out the newest additions in the comprehensive Vehicle Showroom, find out how to earn and spend money and tips for gaining Reputation points and ranking up. BradyGames has explored every square mile of land and sea in Los Santos and Blaine County to find every collectible and complete all activities enabling you to get the most out of GTA V.
When General Motors and Chrysler declared bankruptcy in 2009 and immediately targeted thousands of dealerships for closure, tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars were on the line. Staring down two of the largest manufacturers in the world - as well as President Obama's Automotive Task Force - a determined triumvirate of car dealers banded together and went to Washington, D.C. to make their voices heard. Alan and Alison Spitzer's fast-paced memoir takes readers behind the scenes as "citizen's lobbyists" traverse throughout all of the major corridors of power in the nation's capital to make their case and bring justice to thousands of small business across the country.
