DIALOGUE ABOUT “GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS,” between me and my 21-year old son, Chris:

“The new ‘Grand Theft Auto’ came out.”

“It’s about stealing cars!”

“That’s like saying ‘Super Mario Brothers’ is about collecting coins.”

I’m told to check out Metacritic’s reviews of the game, currently rating the game at 98 out of 100. Too few reviews to make a final call about whether it’s the best rated game ever, but proceed with caution: I’m told the game is “controversial, very violent.”

UPDATE: One of our law students writes:

I have been playing the GTA series since the late 90s, before it went 3-D and became the empire that it is today. I played the last installment, the ultra-violent Vice City, right up until the day I bought San Andreas.

I played San Andreas for about three hours yesterday and I was amazed at how rough it is. Within ten minutes of beginnng the story, I was being assaulted with coarse language, the likes of which are seen only in R-rated films. Shortly there after, I was instructed to kill a crack dealer who was bringing the neighborhood down. I didn’t have a firearm yet, so I beat him to death with a shovel I found behind my house. But the real triumph was when my three buddies and I did a drive-by in rival gang territory. I was the wheelman, and when we got close enough to our target, my buddies leaned out of the car, black bandanas over their faces, and opened fire. The game really captures the gritty life of early-90s Los Angeles (or at least the life that gangsta rap told us existed).

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the game. But even I was surprised at how violent it is. I expect there to be a lot of controversy over this game, even more so than when Vice City came out.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The student emails that he wouldn’t mind being named. It’s Zachary Wyatt.