A year or two back, the people I lived with were going crazy over Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which had recently been released. I messed about with the game for a while and thought it was pretty fun, but my housemate Keith and his friend Graham were completely absorbed by it. So we were playing it one night, discussing the game's finer points (with me trying to bite my tongue because I didn't want to 'harsh' their 'buzz')  when Graham suddenly said 'It's a shame you've got to be a COON though, isn't it?'

Besides my realisation that Graham was not just an idiot but a fucking idiot, the worst thing about this was that over time I've noticed that his is not an isolated viewpoint. A number of people have basically said the same thing to me, albeit in coded, obtuse ways- as if they themselves can't put their finger on what they don't like about it, but their subconsious is back there going 'It's a shame you've got to be a coon, though, isn't it?' For instance, one review I read said 'people who were fans of Vice City might find the "gangsta" theme somewhat grating'. What does that mean, exactly? You play a gangster in Vice City, too!
 
Anyway, I've just read perhaps the best example of this yet in the October issue of EDGE. It's in an interview with Dave Jones, CEO of Real Time Worlds in Dundee, who helped create the original 2D GTA games. He says:

"I'd say that, for me, the pinnacle [of the series] was Vice City. I thought that was absolutely brilliant. It had perfect timing, perfect music and a perfect level of humour. Then it lost the plot with San Andreas, where it went a bit too dark."

 I think we all know what you mean by that, NAZI.