Video gamers have got their hands on the most anticipated game of the year after queuing outside shops for the midnight worldwide release of 'Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City'.
The release of the game is expected to be the biggest entertainment event of the year, with the first week sales forecast to be up to $400m in the US alone.
'Grand Theft Auto' has attracted controversy in the past, with US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton branding it as offensive to women in 2005.
The first-person crime game, which is rated 18, casts players as an Eastern European who delivers drugs, shoots cops, and beats up prostitutes after falling in with a crime syndicate.
Players of the game think its rating should be enough to deter criticism from those who believe it is too violent.
Gamer Michael Messick said: 'There's a lot more violent games out there than 'Grand Theft Auto IV', and if [parents] don't want their kids to play it, then they just shouldn't let their kids play it, if they're old enough to buy the game, they should be able to buy it.'
The negative publicity has not stopped the GTA series from becoming one of the most successful game franchises ever, having sold 70m copies worldwide and spawning legions of imitators.
Early reviews of the new game praised its setting, a fictionalised New York with distinct neighbourhoods and colourful inhabitants who react intelligently to the player and each other. 'Grand Theft Auto IV's multi-player functionality has also been hailed by gamers.
