I agree it\'s a masterpiece of gaming and I love games where you can immerse yourself in real world environments. It\'s a bit of a double-edged sword for me as it\'s the realism of the genre that whilst being lauded is what turns me off. Like you say, the way the bodies fall and the do anything to anyone aspect.
Yes I know most people can detach it from reality and it doesn\'t mean they go out looking for the nearest shopkeeper to beat up but not everyone is either that mentally stable or mentally mature. We had kids of nine boasting on the radio on how they were getting the game and idiotic parents justifying their buying of it by saying they wouldn\'t get a minute\'s peace otherwise. Thinking of nine year olds re-enacting some of this stuff beggars belief.
I agree with your points re: schools mate. Many kids today are both fearless and lack any kind of respect. I was also a teacher for a while and have seen things go so rapidly into decline it\'s untrue. This isn\'t apocryphal, doom-mongering, I\'ve seen it first hand. I got threatened by a 10 year old with a toasting fork of all things (Yes, I admit there is some comedy there). After I\'d taken it off him and bent it in two what perturbed me most was he showed no visible signs of fear or remorse just pure feral anger.
Yeah, I know, we\'re probably into another argument here but suffice to say, I think you got out of the UK at the right time. Long may it be before this kind of thing hits the shores of New Zealand...
