Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich denounced the recently-released video game NARC, published by Midway. In the game, players assume the roles of on-the-edge police investigators who can choose to use drugs to create special effects. The following quote is pulled from the Guv's press release:

"I've gotten to know quite a few video games over the last few months, but this may be the worst I've seen," said Gov. Blagojevich. "When kids play NARC, they spend their free time pretending to be drug addicts and learning how to hurt people. Right now, children can easily get their hands on NARC, and other games just like it. The Safe Games legislation would give parents the tools they need to protect their children from games like NARC, and I strongly urge the Senate to help turn this commonsense bill into law."

With NARC's drug use gimmick and gritty, violent themes, many observers speculated that it would replace the Grand Theft Auto series as the new poster child for adult-themed games that kids shouldn't play. But what non-gamers like the Guv don't realize is that GTA had legs because of its amazing design and execution. NARC is just a poor game, and gamers are attuned to that fact. Popular review site GameSpot dissed NARC as "short, rife with bugs, and basically not a lot of fun to play....Just say no."

Over at GameSpy, another popular review site, the NARC news was equally bad: "Unfortunately, NARC's control scheme doesn't do much to salvage the game's entertainment value...the advanced combat and inventory management are almost painful."

While Gov. Blagojevich's legislative agenda lives on, he and his supporters will need to find a new whipping boy, since the awful NARC will be disappearing from gamers' radar any day now. The debate about adult-themed games, of course, lingers on.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In the game's defense, I will say this: NARC is easy to spell. Blagojevich isn't.