Our interest was certainly piqued when we heard that Niko Bellic, the protagonist of the latest Grand Theft Auto game (which arrives in stores tomorrow), might be gay. However, when I saw the screenshots that started the speculation, my cynical side started rising. Seeing things like "Job: Sugar Daddy" as well as what could be made out of the "About Me" section sounded like some immature jerk's idea of a joke about gay people.

After reading several (all glowing, unsurprisingly) reviews of GTA IV, I finally found a review that put the gay screen shot in context :

But Rockstar wisely... focused on a more engrossing aspect: interpersonal relationships. As you meet people, their contact info is added to your phone. Niko can ring them up to grab a bite, go bowling, shoot darts, get s***faced (good luck evading the fuzz while driving under the influence of the game's insane drunk-driving physics), or partake in any number of other activities. Stay on top of these relationships and they'll become friends with benefits. One nurse Niko dates, for instance, can heal him with over-the-phone medical advice...

All of Niko's crucial bonding moments happen during the missions anyway, which do an amazing job of integrating your contacts, their personalities, and the city's multimedia assault. One standout job, for example, has Niko posing as a homosexual Lothario on an online dating site to lure a gay thug to a rendezvous. Yep, the missions pack all of the hilarious writing the series is famous for, except now they occasionally offer the option to spare the lives of characters you've hunted down in hot pursuits -- decisions that affect the overall story.

Most likely, that screen shot is a joke about Niko's ideas about gay people. However, what's more intriguing is that GTA has a gay storyline. From what I can tell, the storyline starts with Niko being charged to kill a gay mobster (players can choose not to complete the mission) which lets Niko form a friendship with the gay man thereby gaining some sort in-game bonus for doing so -- similar to the nurse who can heal Niko over the phone.

Interestingly, GTA IV also features Karl Lagerfeld as a DJ one one of the game's radio stations.

Karl Lagerfeld's twin from Grand Theft Auto IV's Liberty City

Grand Theft Auto comes from the same company as Bully, which included gay students (including, if you chose to play it that way, the protagonist) in its landscape and received a lot of praise from gay gamers. Given that, I expect/hope GTA will handle the storyline respectfully -- or, at least, as respectfully as you can get on a game filled with low lifes like GTA. Still, trying to find out about GTA's gay storyline reminded me about how homophobic GTA's audience can be. Entering "Niko Bellic gay" into Google took me to plenty of message boards where variations of "That's so gay" gets thrown around to describe anything that sounds a bit lame. While I think Rockstar Games has earned some initial good will for its past gay visibility, I am worried about how GTA IV players will respond to the storyline.

I won't be playing GTA IV. I don't have either of the game systems it's made for and, more importantly, I'm terrible at this type of sandbox game. I haven't gotten far enough in Bully to kiss any boys because I'm stuck in an early mission. And I've yet to get to play as Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons: Hit and Run. Thus, I'm pretty interested to hear if any AfterElton.com readers will be playing GTA IV and hear what you think about its gay storyline.