Gamer and Movie Goer Show

The one thing that really bugged me about the story of Need for Speed: Undercover was in between each race while looking at a loading screen, the words kept fading in out of the screen “you aren’t good, and you aren’t bad”. Some more followed it, and I think they were there to remind the gamer of who you were in the game and what you were trying to do. However, I found that relativistic attitude to be pretty annoying. I’m helping the cops by committing crimes to bust a criminal syndicate that I join while being undercover. So I’m not really a good guy (because that’s not really cool any more), and I’m not really a bad guy (after all, I’m the “hero” of the story); and none of that really matters because it’s all about racing. While it may not be quite as bleak as Fallout 3, NFS: Undercover is subtly just as morally ambiguous as that other game; and that bothers me. I don’t like this trend of games saying that moral absolutes either don’t exist or don’t matter. That’s just going to lead to trouble, and in fact, it already has. Despite what may seem trendy or edgy in gaming and pop culture these days, the truth is absolutes do exist, good and evil do exist and they are clearly defined. Most importantly, you are either on one side or the other; there is no middle ground. Jesus himself said it quite plainly, if you aren’t with him you’re against him (Matthew 12:30). It couldn’t be any clearer, and there’s absolutely no room for ambiguity. Does good and bad matter? Absolutely they do, because if you get caught on the wrong side of that equation, if you think the morally relative, absolutes don’t exist or at least aren’t en vogue, you’ll find yourself in for a rude awakening when eternity finally arrives; and who knows when that might be. So contrary to NFS: Undercover’s exhortation that you aren’t good or bad, the fact is you are very much one or the other. Fortunately, the choice is up to you; and by the way, not choosing is still a choice.