10 Times Rockstar Games Went TOO FAR
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VOICE OVER: Mathew Arter
WRITTEN BY: Mathew Arter
Despite the love players have for the company, sometimes Rockstar takes things too far. Rockstar is known for pushing the limits and playing to the darker side of comedy, but for this list, we'll be looking at those moments that crossed the line. Our list of times Rockstar went too far includes the "By the Book" mission in "Grand Theft Auto V" (2013), when you could run over Monks in the original "Grand Theft Auto" (1997), massive oversight in how players would treat Dorothea Wicklow in "Red Dead Redemption 2" (2018), and more!
Script written by Mathew Arter
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are putting our love for the company aside, and taking an objective look at 10 Times Rockstar Went Too Far. For this list, we’ll be looking at those moments that crossed the line. Rockstar is known for pushing the limits, and playing to the darker side of comedy, but sometimes even THEY can go a bit too far. Do you think any of these weren’t over the line? Are we being too sensitive? Let us know in the comments below.
The original Grand Theft Auto game was a turning point for gaming. It was well received by gamers, and less well received by parents and media who hadn’t quite grasped what could be so fun about the total freedom to rampage through a fictional city. But amongst this bloody rampage was one encounter that seemed a touch too intentional. Amongst the regular pedestrians, players could find lines of Hare Krishna walking the streets. Although traditionally a peace loving people, the player was rewarded for running down a full line of them with the words “Gouranga” popping up on the screen... Translation: Be Happy. I doubt they were.
One of the more controversial moments of Red Dead Redemption 2 was totally optional! In a small cabin northwest of Saint Denis live two of the most horrific characters in Rockstar’s history. Bray and Tabby Aberdeen are the incestious and possibly cannibalistic siblings who drug and kill passers by. One of these passers by can be Arthur, and when Arthur is drugged, and as he’s passing out, you hear the sound of a belt unbuckling and Bray calling Arthur his new ‘pet’. The scene and situation is a little hard to swallow, as many players who got invested in the deep and rich world of RDR2 feel like they are Arthur in many ways. The revenge can be brutal and cathartic, but it doesn’t exactly outweigh the assault that takes place.
One of Trevor’s individual mission types is his rampage missions, where he is set loose and challenged to gun down as many incoming groups as possible, groups like “hipsters” “hillbillies” and “soldiers”. Although the player can partake in this kind of activity themselves at any time while free roaming, there is something slightly off-putting about missions designed for player progression that feature a lone gunman mowing down civilians in public. Honestly, this entire list could probably be filled with Trevor moments, but this one in particular did make a few people a little uncomfortable.
Here is an entry that Rockstar (uncharacteristically) apologized for. The goal of the GTA games is to make the world feel as consistent and real as possible. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction - that’s Newton’s third law, baby. But when engaging sex workers, players quickly learned that after paying them, they could just kill them to recover their money. I’m sure we don’t need to explain why including such a specific and targeted function into the game would cause some upset, but if you’re treated with a reward for performing an action in a game, some people feel like devs have to take responsibility for what those actions and rewards are. Rockstar seems to agree that this was a bit insensitive, and lacked the humor and objectivity that accompanies some of their more controversial moments.
This entry wasn’t related at all to game content, but instead to possible corporate greed and lack of community understanding. Take-Two (the company who owns Rockstar) sent a cease and desist letter to Open IV, the backbone of almost all GTA V mods, and declared modding illegal. The reason for this isn’t exactly clear, with most assuming it was because they wanted to make extra money through online DLC and microtransactions by limiting the external creativity of the community. No matter what the reason, it was a real slap in the face for gamers who’d been enjoying their game freely with mods, like most other PC games. Take-Two, more like … Take-Poo. GOT EM!
Here’s an entry that speaks for itself. Manhunt was a game that as a whole quite possibly pushed it a little too far. The game was banned in multiple countries, countries that don’t usually ban games! The game featured gratuitous violence and in particular some incredibly graphic ‘execution’ scenes. Is it gratuitous for the sake of gratuitous? Sure. Does it have its place in modern gaming? I guess so. Did it make me scared of putting plastic bags anywhere near my head? Yes, it certainly did. Manhunt.
Even GTA knew they’d pushed it too far with this minigame because they pulled it from the final product. But in the original release of GTA San Andreas, players unearthed and recovered some files and code in the game's data that featured the minigame. In it, CJ would engage in intercourse, with the gameplay being similar to the rhythm dance minigame and lowrider hydraulics minigame. Modders pulled the files and re-released it as a mod and Rockstar had to suspend all production of the game in order to patch out the files. That’s an expensive cup of coffee.
Dorothea Wicklow is an NPC in Red Dead Redemption 2 that can be seen outside the Tailor in Saint Denis. She is an outspoken activist for the women's suffrage movement, and during the hours of 12-6, she is rallying alone for women's voting rights in the street. She can also (like all other NPCs) be beaten, killed and harmed. Controversial clips have been shared online of people interrupting her speech to kill her or take their time beating her. The clips are so frequent that she’s become quite popular simply from those videos. Although the game is open world, and the atrocities are spread over the entire plot, it is a massive oversight for Rockstar to include this character in this context without assuming many players would do the worst, and then share it around.
Whether Rockstar was intending to make a social commentary, or whether they were trying to create a realistic world right down to its ugliest, it seems that police response to Franklin (as opposed to the other two white protagonists) has been bumped up. Many videos have been released showing how police engage with Franklin, and even test videos have been made running trials to see if the cops are ACTUALLY racist. The majority point to ‘yes, they are’. Did Rockstar go too far on this one? Or is it an important feature to tell an unfortunate truth? Or is it totally anecdotal? Who knows!? You tell us.
Easily the most controversial mission in GTA V is By The Book. The game came under scrutiny in 2013 due to a mission in the main campaign that forced players to torture a character in some very brutal ways. This mission was not skippable, and had to be done. It’s worth noting that with most examples of a game going too far, it’s online threads that really get riled up. For this entry though almost every reviewer pointed this moment out for one reason or another, most citing it as a little tone deaf and unnecessary. The community did plead with Rockstar to make the mission skippable as it was a little too much to stomach for some players, but at this point, the mission remains fully intact.
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are putting our love for the company aside, and taking an objective look at 10 Times Rockstar Went Too Far. For this list, we’ll be looking at those moments that crossed the line. Rockstar is known for pushing the limits, and playing to the darker side of comedy, but sometimes even THEY can go a bit too far. Do you think any of these weren’t over the line? Are we being too sensitive? Let us know in the comments below.
Mowing Down Monks
The original Grand Theft Auto game was a turning point for gaming. It was well received by gamers, and less well received by parents and media who hadn’t quite grasped what could be so fun about the total freedom to rampage through a fictional city. But amongst this bloody rampage was one encounter that seemed a touch too intentional. Amongst the regular pedestrians, players could find lines of Hare Krishna walking the streets. Although traditionally a peace loving people, the player was rewarded for running down a full line of them with the words “Gouranga” popping up on the screen... Translation: Be Happy. I doubt they were.
Arthur’s Assault
One of the more controversial moments of Red Dead Redemption 2 was totally optional! In a small cabin northwest of Saint Denis live two of the most horrific characters in Rockstar’s history. Bray and Tabby Aberdeen are the incestious and possibly cannibalistic siblings who drug and kill passers by. One of these passers by can be Arthur, and when Arthur is drugged, and as he’s passing out, you hear the sound of a belt unbuckling and Bray calling Arthur his new ‘pet’. The scene and situation is a little hard to swallow, as many players who got invested in the deep and rich world of RDR2 feel like they are Arthur in many ways. The revenge can be brutal and cathartic, but it doesn’t exactly outweigh the assault that takes place.
Trevor’s Rampages
One of Trevor’s individual mission types is his rampage missions, where he is set loose and challenged to gun down as many incoming groups as possible, groups like “hipsters” “hillbillies” and “soldiers”. Although the player can partake in this kind of activity themselves at any time while free roaming, there is something slightly off-putting about missions designed for player progression that feature a lone gunman mowing down civilians in public. Honestly, this entire list could probably be filled with Trevor moments, but this one in particular did make a few people a little uncomfortable.
Rockstar Apologizes
Here is an entry that Rockstar (uncharacteristically) apologized for. The goal of the GTA games is to make the world feel as consistent and real as possible. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction - that’s Newton’s third law, baby. But when engaging sex workers, players quickly learned that after paying them, they could just kill them to recover their money. I’m sure we don’t need to explain why including such a specific and targeted function into the game would cause some upset, but if you’re treated with a reward for performing an action in a game, some people feel like devs have to take responsibility for what those actions and rewards are. Rockstar seems to agree that this was a bit insensitive, and lacked the humor and objectivity that accompanies some of their more controversial moments.
Cease and Desist
This entry wasn’t related at all to game content, but instead to possible corporate greed and lack of community understanding. Take-Two (the company who owns Rockstar) sent a cease and desist letter to Open IV, the backbone of almost all GTA V mods, and declared modding illegal. The reason for this isn’t exactly clear, with most assuming it was because they wanted to make extra money through online DLC and microtransactions by limiting the external creativity of the community. No matter what the reason, it was a real slap in the face for gamers who’d been enjoying their game freely with mods, like most other PC games. Take-Two, more like … Take-Poo. GOT EM!
Manhunt
Here’s an entry that speaks for itself. Manhunt was a game that as a whole quite possibly pushed it a little too far. The game was banned in multiple countries, countries that don’t usually ban games! The game featured gratuitous violence and in particular some incredibly graphic ‘execution’ scenes. Is it gratuitous for the sake of gratuitous? Sure. Does it have its place in modern gaming? I guess so. Did it make me scared of putting plastic bags anywhere near my head? Yes, it certainly did. Manhunt.
Hot Coffee
Even GTA knew they’d pushed it too far with this minigame because they pulled it from the final product. But in the original release of GTA San Andreas, players unearthed and recovered some files and code in the game's data that featured the minigame. In it, CJ would engage in intercourse, with the gameplay being similar to the rhythm dance minigame and lowrider hydraulics minigame. Modders pulled the files and re-released it as a mod and Rockstar had to suspend all production of the game in order to patch out the files. That’s an expensive cup of coffee.
Massive Oversight
Dorothea Wicklow is an NPC in Red Dead Redemption 2 that can be seen outside the Tailor in Saint Denis. She is an outspoken activist for the women's suffrage movement, and during the hours of 12-6, she is rallying alone for women's voting rights in the street. She can also (like all other NPCs) be beaten, killed and harmed. Controversial clips have been shared online of people interrupting her speech to kill her or take their time beating her. The clips are so frequent that she’s become quite popular simply from those videos. Although the game is open world, and the atrocities are spread over the entire plot, it is a massive oversight for Rockstar to include this character in this context without assuming many players would do the worst, and then share it around.
Coded Bigotry
Whether Rockstar was intending to make a social commentary, or whether they were trying to create a realistic world right down to its ugliest, it seems that police response to Franklin (as opposed to the other two white protagonists) has been bumped up. Many videos have been released showing how police engage with Franklin, and even test videos have been made running trials to see if the cops are ACTUALLY racist. The majority point to ‘yes, they are’. Did Rockstar go too far on this one? Or is it an important feature to tell an unfortunate truth? Or is it totally anecdotal? Who knows!? You tell us.
By the Book
Easily the most controversial mission in GTA V is By The Book. The game came under scrutiny in 2013 due to a mission in the main campaign that forced players to torture a character in some very brutal ways. This mission was not skippable, and had to be done. It’s worth noting that with most examples of a game going too far, it’s online threads that really get riled up. For this entry though almost every reviewer pointed this moment out for one reason or another, most citing it as a little tone deaf and unnecessary. The community did plead with Rockstar to make the mission skippable as it was a little too much to stomach for some players, but at this point, the mission remains fully intact.
