EPThttp://www.addictinggames.com/theheist.html
It seems to have an ok premise, and not too involved, just right for casually playing. The premise of the game is that you're a getaway car driver. So, I look at the controls and since I don't have any money for upgrades just yet, I start the first mission. I start off in a 4-lane expressway. Most of the other cars are civilian vehicles. I try to avoid them, because I assume it's a bad thing to do. I think there was an instruction that popped up and told me to avoid them. I know there was one at some point, but I can't recall how soon it occurred, or the exact message it contained.
Anyway, I start driving along. Soon enough, I see a cop car. A new tip pops up that says I can smash into cop cars for extra points, which is the same as cash for upgrades. Sounds good to me. Also, the cop car tries to get in front of me, which only makes it easier for me to ram him. I ram him a few times, and move on. I do my best to avoid hitting the civilians, but a few minor accidents later, I've finished the mission damaging a whole lot more civvies than cop cars. Whatever. I look at the upgrades now available to me, and go for the next mission.
More of the same, but a few more cop cars. I start to notice things. Cop cars will turn towards my lane. Even if there's a civilian in the way. I also notice that there's a difference between blowing cars up and just ramming them. Cool. It also occurs to me that the premise is kind of silly. I'm no criminal, but in all the movies I've seen, you don't hire people to drive getaway cars. Hollywood would never lie, so I know this is the truth. Ocean's 11 (and sequels), The Italian Job, and one other one never had anything like this. I ponder the realism of this for a bit.
I imagine that some old crusty conservative person would complain that this game is teaching American children the wrong things about getaway car drivers. Is it right to tell children that blowing up cop cars nets them more money? But at least they don't kill the civilians.
Soon, as I drive faster and more recklessly, I'm blowing up cars left and right. When one car goes, others nearby can blow up too. I feel like I'm murdering dozens of people. At the end of my getaway, my body count (for civilians alone) is higher than a serial killer. As for the cop kills add up, I realize that I'm also murdering people who are supposed to serve and protect. And I just want more points.
The cops chase after me. As the missions progress, they swarm in thicker bunches. They ignore civilians, and move towards me, nudging the other cars in my direction, so they can't always be avoided. The cops are forcing me to kill innocents. I feel like a monster for murdering them all with no thought to their lives. Did the programmer program families? I even kill ice cream trucks. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I like ice cream too.
At some point, it occurs to me that I was wrong about a few things earlier. Hired crime drivers have been in a hollywood movie: 2 Fast 2 Furious. Also, I realize I'm on the left side of the road. All my conjecturing about what a crazy old person would think this game teaches american youth doesn't apply. Maybe it'll be the same in britain, and wherever else they drive on the left side though.
The police cars are killing people. It's their fault. It was all along. They drive the helpless into the path of my van, where I crush them under my front bumper. I can avoid the civilians sometimes. Sometimes I don't kill them. Some missions, I try to avoid everything. I'm afraid of hitting cop cars, because i'll knock them into innocents, and then when the cop car blows up, I'll be responsible for even more murders. It has to be the cops fault. They're trying to make me lose points.
At some point, I wonder about the physical mechanisms behind the game. Is the theory that when you run into a civilian car, some money leaks out the cracks in your van? That almost makes sense. Maybe I get a bonus from the crime lords when I kill a cop. I feel bad about it though. I don't want to kill anyone. I just want to drive the getaway car.
The cop cars are coming in thicker and thicker. Maybe if I get better at avoiding them, I can save a few of the civilians. As the cops crowd in ever thicker, I can't help but ram some of them. When they bounce off of the civilian cars, I know I'm murdering innocents. But what about when it's the cop's fault? Is it still morally my responsibility? More importantly, will I lose points?
Either way, my rule stands. Sometimes, I don't kill the civilians.
