US News

GAMERS JOYSTICK IT TO MEL; SITE MOCKS GIBSON

A hot new Internet game pits a tequila-swilling Mel Gibson against rabbis who try to run him off the road and state troopers who try to stop his car.

“So You Think You Can Drive, Mel?” parodies the actor/director’s recent drunken-driving bust and anti-Semitic tirade near his home in Malibu, Calif.

The game depicts Gibson zooming down a deserted road in his silver Lexus after leaving a beachfront cafe, just as he did in real life.

Players control the car, trying to steer clear of state troopers while aiming to run over tequila bottles. But as a player hits the bottles, his blood-alcohol level rises and it becomes harder to control the car.

All the while, rabbis standing by the side of the road hurl Stars of David at the “Lethal Weapon” star and “Hava Nagila” blares from a radio.

The free game offers no prizes, other than bragging rights. The top 50 high scores are posted continuously.

John Roberts, vice president of digital media for the game’s creator, Game Show Network, said the idea hit him last month as he watched Jay Leno ridicule Gibson on late-night TV.

“It seemed like a perfect online complement to ‘Starface,’ ” he said, referring to a GSN show that tests contestants’ knowledge of celebrity scandals.

Since its launch a month ago, the Gibson game has been played – at http://www.gsn.com – by more than 700,000 gamers. (p. 8 Metro Edition)