phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new times SEPT 29TH–OCT 5TH, 2022 State Licensed Dispensaries & Doctor Certifications | CANNABIS | Grinding from p 41 joint and experience the accompanying trials and tribulations. Additional scenarios developed by the folks at Vile Monarch are pretty dank in game- play, but we won’t offer any spoilers. Weedcraft Inc was published in 2019 by Devolver Digital and can be downloaded for $19.99 at Steam. It’s playable on Windows or Mac systems and scores 7.6 out of 10 on the site. Grand Theft Auto V Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action- adventure open-world video game by Rockstar Games. While the M-rated game revolves around stealing cars, running away from police and criminals, and completing missions in the stolen vehicles, there’s a side mission called “Grass Roots” for cannabis users to trip out on. In the first- or third-person shooter GTA V, the player can choose between three characters to complete a mission: Franklin, Trevor, and Michael. Each char- acter has built-in abilities better suited for specific tasks and scenarios in the nonlinear gameplay. With “Grass Roots,” the characters must meet with Barry, a pot-smoking weed advocate who asks your characters to smoke a joint with him in order to initiate the mission. When either Trevor or Michael puff Barry’s blunt, the each end up hallucinating and their point of view changes, becoming hazy with pastel-esque hues and featuring monsters or clowns roaming about that they must kill. The gameplay totally shifts as each trips out for a few minutes and never seeks the stash to fully complete the “Grass Roots” level. When Trevor smokes Barry’s blunt, his point of view remains clear as day, and he can proceed into the “Grass Roots” adven- ture to steal cars to locate the stash. One of the stashes is hidden in an inoperable grimy-looking car that Trevor, using a stolen tow truck, must tow to Barry’s apartment. Once the car is dropped off, Barry commends Trevor and calls him a “green warrior,” and a “Mission Passed” banner pops up on the screen. The “Grass Roots” mission is one of dozens of scenarios in the video game that can be played on the PlayStation 3, 4, and 5 systems; various Xbox consoles; and Microsoft Windows computer platforms. It’s a fav for stoners and non-stoners. Drug Wars Drug Wars is a turn-based strategy home computer game that was released in 1984, a Steam Weedcraft was published in 2019 by Devolver Digital. time when cannabis was illegal and video game players took turns to slap on bulky keyboards — hence “turn-based.” The player assumes the role of a drug dealer who flips popular illicit commodi- ties of the era, including marijuana. Unlike the aforementioned video games with their realistic cartoon graphics in the aforemen- tioned video games, the MS-DOS and text- based Drug Wars is as basic as it gets with no illustrations — period. Instead, the game is played by typing in command prompts, mostly “Y” for “yes” or “N” for “no,” and numerals that signify the quantities and monies exchanged on a dark screen ladened with green-colored text. The closest thing to a graphic is a border that separates the list of drugs, and the command prompt section displayed lower on the monitor. In a YouTube video depicting the 1984 computer game, the screen reads in part, “Hey dude, the prices of drugs here are: weed 700, speed 130, ludes 40 .... Will you buy, sell, or jet (take off)?” The top half of the screen shows the player’s inventory, in both the “stash” and “trench coat.” There’s also a section in the middle to show what part of New York City the character is in during the transaction. The object of the game is to deal drugs to pay off loan sharks who charge interest. If you can’t pay them back, you lose and have to start over or pass the keyboard to your buddy. In the gameplay, there are muggings between drug sales, an increase in drug prices, and confrontations with law enforcement. If the player hasn’t died in the game or lost and makes it to the endgame, you’re in the red and making a profit. The last screen- shot shows your ranking, from 1 to 100. Of course, the more money you make dealing drugs, the higher your rank becomes. While the original 1984 Drug Wars 5.25- inch floppy disks are tough to come by, there are versions online where you can play but they are inundated with spam pop-ups during gameplay. 43
