gor[b] Paul Gorbould: Words and Pictures

GUN shy

My colleague Vivian is, like Mike Brady, busy bringing up three lovely boys.

Like most boys, they love their video games. Like most moms, Vivan does not.

But, being exceedingly fair and rational, she's making an effort at informed compromise - walking the line between being a schoolmarmish hardass and raising little axe murderers.

The latest challenge to this equilibrium was the please-mom-I-gotta-have-it request from Lucas, the eldest, for the GameCube game GUN.

GUN is a Wild West gunfighting game, where you walk around shooting people to avenge your murdered father. "Experience the brutality, greed, and lust that was the West," says the website (which actually asks for your date of birth before you can even enter).

Now, Lucas is a good kid with good judgement, and explained that while the game has a Mature rating, it's pretty much like a lot of other games out there. Vivian hemmed and hawed, and in the end allowed the purchase, with some misgivings, and some caveats.

The game was not to be played in front of Lucas' younger brothers. And since it has a slightly gruesome cover, it was not to be left lying around the living room either.

Well, eventually it DID get left lying around, and Lucas got an earful. The next day, the game packaging had been redone, and this was left lying around the living room.

He'd even mocked up a little circle to stick on the centre of the CD itself. I particularly like the game feature "being respectful!" (Lucas branding the game LucasArts was clever too.)

Of course, I may have inadvertently ruined it for Lucas by offhandedly mentioning that the game had been boycotted by the Association for American Indian Development. Seems they weren't particularly amused by the game goal of "slaughtering" and "scalping" as many Apaches as possible. ("What's next, the Civil War era game where "The Hero" must capture and lynch runaway slaves?" the petition reads.)

I have to say, the boy in me sees the awesome graphics from this game and really wants to try playing it. In fact, I nearly rented it once, when it first came out.

But then the dad in me sees the trailers and recoils in horror (the first one features a recitation of the Lord's Prayer, followed by someone getting a bullet in the brain. Another gets a pickaxe in the face, and then there's a very splattery scalp removal.) I have a harder and harder time remembering why I used to think this stuff was cool.

Sorry, Lucas. My intention with this post was to highlight your cleverness and sense of humour, not get your game repossessed. My inner dad has betrayed us both.

Just be glad your mom asked me after you got it.