BlkKnight

Nothing quite sells like controversy and the latest game to surf the wave of notoriety is Dealer: Chronic, Pills and Coke from independent development studio Nagual for Xbox, PS2 and PC.
Sounding like a cross between Palm classic Dope Wars and the all-conquering GTA series, Dealer - requiring no leap of the imagination whatsoever - places you in the shoes of a purveyor of illicit substances and purports to be a 3D action-adventure with an emphasis on mission-based driving and shooting.

Dealer will apparently use the same game engine technology as Morrowind and Dark Age of Camelot and also boasts the AI systems seen in Psi-Ops, giving you a choice of four dealers to play, each with their own dope-dependency and unique taste in music. Hm, sound familiar at all? Gameplay will also apparently be modified by drug use, with visual distortions and psychedelic effects coming into play - dependent on your character's consumption.

So always remember, when those mafia types start metamorphosing into large paisley-patterned elephants, keep aiming for the spot between the eyes and the trunk.

On a more serious note, Nagual (which appears to be some kind of psychedlic mushroom in real life - the things you learn in this job) also says that Dealer: "demonstrates the effects, traps and dangers of various drugs", adding that, "the game tells the story of a typical drug career and emphasizes that using and dealing drugs is not only a crime, but also harmful to the society and the individual.

"It damages the body and the mind. In the course of development we will focus on the prevention aspect of the game, consulting experts who deal with drug prevention and addiction."

All fine, but with the subject matter and spin on the official web site http://www.dealer-game.com/ and the game yet to find a publisher, you can't help feeling Dealer probably won't be a candidate for the Daily Mail's game of the year award.

Expect 'outraged' headlines and much tabloid furore in the weeks to come.