Grand Theft Auto

We picked up Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas the other day. A little early Christmas/9th anniversary treat for both of us (yes, Jeni likes to drive around and shoot people, too). This game is actually quite amazing. OK, they took the language to probably an unnecessary level of realism. I'm an adult and I don't care if the drop the F-word left and right, but is it really necessary? But I'm not going to harp on that, because plenty of other "against" groups will do that for me. But what is truly great about this game is the extent of it. Grand Theeft Auto III had a good number of roads and towns to explore. Vice City was even more elaborate. Well, San Andreas takes it even further beyond. It even came with a poster-sized map, that has been very handy. Where Rockstar really missed the boat, and a great marketing opportunity, is a "storyline off" toggle where you can make it nothing more than a driving game. Have a car lot, or some cheat to get a car, and let the younger audience just drive. Out friend's nephew (four, maybe five years old now) loves to play GTA3 and just drive around. Of course, he likes the big police car, so he has to commit a crime first. So why not make a PG version where you can take advantage of the great programming and game design?