Last night I was talking to a fellow from Scotland. Once he found out I write about video games, he mentioned that some fellow from near where he lived had created some game that was supposed to be a huge hit.

"Yes," I assured him. "Grand Theft Auto" is one of the biggest games of the past few years."

We talked a little more about it, and although he didn’t play games, he chuckled at my descriptions of the game as something that had generated a lot of bad press. I said that I thought maybe people were thin-skinned and didn't get the joke.

He just laughed and said, in effect, "Well, you know the Scottish sense of humor is pretty sarcastic and cynical."

Which all made me think--would the people who react so strongly to GTA feel a little better if they knew that the game came from Scotland?

Let me explain.

GTA III takes place in the US, and is packed with clichés from American television and film.

On first pass, GTA looks like a cheap rehash of the lowest common denominator of American culture.

But it isn't. At least not quite. It's a reflection of American culture run through a Scottish filter.

This cross-cultural reprocessing happens all the time and the results are usually wry, complex and easily misunderstood. The old Judge Dread comics were a view of Rambo-era Reagan politics through the looking glass of English comic writers. The funhouse reflection of American culture was telling, and a lot of fun.

So I ask, "Would GTA be a different game in the hands of an American developer?" Doubtless.

I think if we looked critically at GTA 3 not just on face value, but a cultural re-export. I don't know if we would find anything new or different. Still, I do think it would add weight to the argument long held by critics (like myself) that the ironic nature of the game provides one of the keys to understanding why the title isn't a training program for crime. It's satire. And like the fine whiskey from that country, I'd have to say that Scottish satire is a sophisticated, acquired taste that demands careful consideration and an appreciation for what you are getting yourself into.