Despite the immense amount of attention directed toward violence in media and games, computer game developers continue to push the proverbial envelope, particularly in the first-person shooter genre, where each game seems more violent than the last. The latest envelope pusher is Kingpin: Life of Crime, a "gang simulation" created by Interplay and Xatrix Entertainment, developers of the infamous Redneck Rampage action game. Players assume the role of the appropriately named Thug, a relative lowlife in the large crime world that comprises the Kingpin universe. Similar to other games in the shooter genre, the player views the world from a first-person perspective and carries a diverse arsenal of weaponry: pistols, machine guns, rocket launchers, and a visually impressive flamethrower. Game play consistently retains the player's interest, despite Kingpin 's rather bland environments (yet another warehouse?) and dialogue that consists mostly of profanity. Levels include objectives that aren't alw
