Video games aren't just for children anymore

LOS ANGELES -- As video gamers have matured, game content has grown up, too -- and it seems to be supporting itself on a life of crime.

The upcoming holiday season has brought digital mayhem to stores as a mob of combative, adult-themed titles led by "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" and "Hitman 2" and "BMX XXX" target older gamers.

Some see it as a backlash against "Pokemon"-type kid games.

"Older gamers have been playing 'cutesy' for a long time and there's been a large shift to make up for what's been missing in the market," said game enthusiast Ned Jordan, 36, editor of the Web site Gamers Temple.com.

The technology of current consoles -- Sony's PlayStation2, Nintendo's GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox -- allows for so much realism that plots in some games have taken on the gritty feel of movies.

The average age of a video game player is now 28, the Interactive Digital Software Association says, and 90 percent of all games are purchased by someone over 18.

Most sports games are rated E for "everyone." Not Acclaim's new cross-console bicycle stunt game, "BMX XXX."

Rated M for "mature," it features topless women riders and images of dancers from New York's Scores strip club. Objecting to its content, retailers including Wal-Mart and Toys R Us have decided not to sell the game.

By far, the "most wanted" game of the season has been "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," a mature-rated takeoff on "Grand Theft Auto III," in which outlaws car-jack, murder and fornicate their way to triumph in the criminal underworld.

"Vice City" features more of the same anti-social behavior but abandons its predecessor's gloomy, urban setting for a sun-dappled, beach locale filled with cocaine dealers and bikini-clad women. The game's soundtrack includes oldies by Michael Jackson, Run DMC, Foreigner and Ozzy Osbourne.

Like its predecessor, "Vice City" is available first on PlayStation2 -- and Sony officials hope the clamor will boost its console sales. "Grand Theft Auto III," released later in a PC format, has sold more than 8 million copies.

"We've found that a lot of people purchase PlayStation2 just to play this product," said Molly Smith, a spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment America.

The dodgy morals in "Vice City" have prompted some retailers to check IDs to avoid selling the game to minors. Its maker, Rockstar Games, and Sony have openly stated that "Vice City" is inappropriate for young children.

Some older gamers consider such titles no different from crime TV shows.

"It's that feeling of escapism. I would never want to start my own crime family or start throwing people into Jersey landfills, but I still enjoy 'The Sopranos,"' said Tim Lewinson, 29, a Vancouver, British Columbia software designer.

Nintendo's quest for adults hinges on the mature-rated, living-dead shooter "Resident Evil Zero" and the teen-rated "Metroid Prime," a state-of-the-art remake of a 1980s title in which an armored space soldier obliterates grotesque alien menaces in plumes of green goo.

Among adult-themed Xbox games are the mature-rated survival-horror shooter "The House of the Dead III" and the teen-rated "Splinter Cell," in which terrorist enemies are infiltrated and eliminated.

Among games marketed across all three consoles are developer Majesco's "BloodRayne," a mature-rated adventure in which a sexy vampiress slices and bites her way through the supernatural world, and Activision's "Minority Report," a teen-rated derivation of the Steven Spielberg sci-fi film that features hand-to-hand combat.

The cold-blooded-killer sequel, "Hitman 2: Silent Assassin," in which a genetically engineered murderer battles conflicting desires for redemption and revenge, is available on PlayStation2, Xbox and PC formats.

Developer Eidos advertises the game as: "Travel the world, meet interesting people and kill them."

Meanwhile, the popularity of online gaming will be tested this gift-giving season as each of the major consoles dabbles in titles that connect players via the Internet.

"The Sims Online" debuts for PC systems, taking the dollhouse manipulation of characters and animals online, while PlayStation2 showcases its multiplayer shooter "SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs" and the football simulators "Madden NFL 2003" and "NFL GameDay 2003."

The upcoming Xbox Live network will feature the brutal tournament shootout "Unreal Championship" while the sci-fi "Phantasy Star Online" has been designed by Sega for the GameCube.

For PC gamers, "Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe" puts armchair pilots behind the realistic controls of World War II-era fighters and "Virtual Resort: Spring Break" is a teen-rated design simulator in which building restaurants and beach facilities attracts young tourists for wet T-shirt contests and topless sunbathing.

The tiny revelers are so small, however, that little detail can be seen.