Have we all seen this advert for “Generic Urban Gang Shooter No. 25″? Just a few years ago, we would have taken it for granted that the player assumes the role of the cops depicted in the image, but owing to the foreground prominence of the gangmember, the viewer rightly gets the impression they will be controlling him instead.

Apparently, this game allows a choice between cops or gangs, but that fact is not the issue. What is of interest here is that the author of the illustration is catering towards a demographic, (as that is the sole, soul-less, purpose of marketing artwork), that is now percieved to favour the role of bad-guy over good. Something that would have been unheard of until relatively recently.

Does this represent a shift in the conscience of the gamesplaying public, tired of eternally reprising the role of hero, or simply marketing catering towards the lowest common denominator?

The alsoran recommends all people who see this game on store shelves to steal a copy, and we’ll see how promoting this type of moronic anti-hero affects the publisher’s sales.