By Kelly Morgan,Staff Writer
A 15-year-old tries to get stores to sell violent, graphic video games to him.

AUBURN – Ben Hartnett had the notoriously violent gangster game, “50 Cent: Bulletproof,” in hand when he approached the counter in EB Games in the Auburn Mall.

He didn’t look any older than his 15 years, and that didn’t help. He was shut down almost immediately.

“Do you have an I.D.?” the clerk asked.

“No, I forgot it,” Hartnett said, looking down at the counter.

“Then I can’t sell you the game,” the clerk said. And that was that.

Hartnett was recruited Thursday by the Sun Journal to try to buy mature-rated video games. He was successful at only one of three stores off Center Street and in the Auburn Mall.

There is no law against selling violent or sexually graphic games to minors – yet. U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., on Tuesday announced plans to introduce legislation that would ban such transactions.

States including Illinois, Michigan and California already have enacted similar laws.

And many stores across the country have instituted policies against selling mature games to minors because of the growing concern over game content.

In the latest release in the “Grand Theft Auto” series, for example, players roam the streets of a city robbing, beating and murdering other characters, visiting prostitutes to regain health, then beating them and stealing their money.

The game was pulled from many store shelves after an uproar over the violence, and later was re-released with either an adult rating or, in some cases, with the most violent content blocked.

“50 Cent” may not be quite so disturbing, but there’s plenty of graphic beating and murdering to be had.

“That’s probably one of the worst ones,” Hartnett said after purchasing the game at GameZone in the Center Street Plaza. “You shoot people, and it has the N-word and everything.”

When the Sun Journal returned the game and explained that it had been purchased by a minor, clerks in the store said they could not comment. Company spokesman Ted Innes later said the store does have a policy against selling or renting mature games to minors, and a clerk made a mistake in selling it to Hartnett.

He said he and friends usually need a parent handy when they try to buy mature games at Wal-Mart or EB Games.

Gamestop in the Shaw’s plaza would not sell to him without a parent or proof that he was over 18. After Hartnett emerged from the store without “50 Cent,” Assistant Manager Matt Olson said he turns underage buyers away all the time. And he tells mothers in particular about game content.

“We tell them, OK, you can pick up prostitutes and you can shoot people. Then the mother (often) refuses to get it.” he said.

EB Games Assistant Manager Josh Charest said his store implemented a policy against selling mature games to minors about six months ago. Like the policy at Game Stop, it came about shortly after “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” was released.

“I think a lot of companies are trying to take steps because of the whole issue,” Charest said.

He had heard about the proposed legislation to regulate sales to minors, and said Clinton and Lieberman have raised good points about protecting minors from violence. Ultimately, however, he agreed with the national Entertainment Software Association.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the organization said pending parental controls for the next generation of video games and rating systems for games are part of “a continuum of tools from the store to the home enabling parents to take charge of the video games their kids play. It is now up to them to do their jobs as they see fit, not up to the government to do it for them.”

Hartnett’s father, Mark Hartnett, said he is aware of game ratings and concerned about what his son plays, especially because he has an 11-year-old daughter at home.

But “it’s hard to keep track of it all,” he said, sharing a common parental concern.

These five games are among the 10 most violent on the market today, according to FamilyMediaGuide.com

• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – Player is a young man working with gangs to gain respect. His mission includes murder, theft and destruction on every imaginable level. Player recovers his health by visiting prostitutes then recovers funds by beating them to death and taking their money. Player can wreak as much havoc as he likes for no reason without progressing through the game’s story line.

• Narc – Player can choose between two narcotics agents attempting to take a dangerous drug off the streets and shut down the KRAK cartel while being subject to temptations including drugs and money. To enhance abilities, player takes drugs including pot, Quaaludes, ecstasy, LSD and “Liquid Soul” – which provides the ability to kick enemies’ heads off.

• Killer 7 – Player takes control of seven assassins who must combine skills to defeat a band of suicidal, monstrous terrorists. The game eventually escalates into a global conflict between the United States and Japan. Player collects the blood of fallen victims to heal himself and must slit own wrists to spray blood to find hidden passages.

• 50 Cent: Bulletproof – Game is loosely based on the gangster lifestyle of rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. Player engages in gangster shootouts and loots the bodies of victims to buy new 50 Cent recordings and music videos.

• Condemned: Criminal Origins – Player is an FBI serial killer hunter in one of the first titles for the Xbox 360. Game emphasizes the use of melee weapons over firearms, allowing players to use virtually any part of their environment as a weapon. The next-generation graphics provide a new level of detail to various injuries, especially “finishing moves.”