It feels like so
long ago when the most controversial arcade game became the most popular one and
seeing as NARC was the only game that featured two officers dressed in
motorcycle racing gear blowing up drug dealers into tiny bloody chunks why
wouldn’t it be? So it was surprising to hear that Midway was going to release a
new version of the game complete with cops willing to do anything to catch a
major drug lord … anything including using the very same narcotics the bad
guys are peddling. There’s nothing quite like overstepping the boundaries
between good and bad but only if it’s done right.
Unfortunately,
there is very little that Narc does right and that’s too bad seeing as there was
a lot of potential in a game that offers the chance to be a by-the-book
narcotics officer or an out-of-control rogue cop. The game’s premise revolves
around two very different officers of the law: undercover cop Jack Forzenski and
D.E.A Agent Marcus Hill as they come together to stop the flow of a new drug
called Liquid Soul. It seems that Liquid Soul has the ability to liven up the
near dead, making them psychotic zombies that are hard to kill. The problem is
that while Hill is more of a responsible lawman than Forzenski, the two must
learn to cooperate in order to find and stop the main source of distribution
even if it takes them all the way to Hong Kong.
Throughout the
game you’ll switch between Forzenski and Hill, but even with the difference in
personalities both cops can easily become scumbags themselves. You won’t hear
any protest from Hill if you decide to sell the very drugs you’ve confiscated
from a dealer you cuffed only seconds ago. You see the city of Rockland is open
for exploration in-between missions so you can walk among the civilians to wreck
havoc or to hunt down drug dealers, purse-snatchers, prostitutes, junkies and
other crazies that wander the dark streets. Rockland is not a big city but
you’ll find a red light district and even a City Hall.
How, in the mass
of civilians, will you be able to tell a drug dealer apart? The game
conveniently places pictures of the drugs they’re carrying over their heads so
you’ll be able to distinguish between a crack dealer and one that’s just selling
weed. You can flash your badge, which will either scare a dealer or criminal
into surrendering peacefully or will send them into a fit of murderous rage or
make them run. Either way you’ll have to grapple with them, pressing the Y
button repeatedly to set in motion an arrest meter you have to time right in
order to slap the cuffs on a criminal. If it sounds like a complex procedure to
do something as simple as place some handcuffs on a bad guy (much like True
Crime: Streets of LA), it is.
Then again you
can forget about arresting criminals and sell the drugs you confiscate from
them. This, of course, comes with a penalty. You see there’s a badge rating and
every time you sell a drug to a passer-by on the streets the rating will lower.
Sometimes you might even sell to an undercover cop who will immediately bust you
and this will turn your undercover cop into a uniformed officer walking a beat.
Do something as offensive as shoot a purse-snatcher and you’ll be out of a job
and walking the streets in plain street clothes. The fact that you don’t really
get much in terms of rewards for being a good cop, you’ll often find yourself
doing bad things like beating suspects and selling drugs to gamble against
street hustlers or purchase big guns.
The game’s main
missions have you busting a group of dirty cops, taking photographs of gang
leaders or defending the Chinese Ambassador. There are times when stealth is
needed or when the Chief asks you to bring in a suspect alive but use of
excessive force isn’t really frowned upon in this game. Another thing that isn’t
frowned upon is using drugs throughout the game to heighten certain abilities.
Think of them as power-up items that temporarily gives Hill and Fortenski an
extra boost. Like Ralph Wiggum from The Simpsons, you’ll be coo-coo for
contraband. Do crack, for instance, and you can kill a bad guy with a single
shot. LSD is great for when you can’t tell a bad guy apart from a civilian
because a criminal’s head grows into a huge devil head. Need to catch up to a
van moving way too fast? No problem, just pop a tablet of speed and you run a
lot faster.
There is also
Special Assignment missions that don’t really have anything to do with the
game’s main plot. One mission will have you taking out deranged snipers while
another has you attempting to arrest jumpers before they commit suicide. They
add very little to the game but then again this is a game that has you arresting
breakdancers and preachers. Add the fact that the controls are simply awkward
and make aiming your gun so incredibly frustrating and you’ll see why this game
just fails to remain entertaining enough to want to see this to the end. Worse
yet, when you’re required to switch from your weapon to your bare hands to
arrest a criminal, the inventory screen isn’t very responsive. You’ll also
encounter a number of bugs in this game. I shot and killed a cop on accident and
when I loaded the game to go back and redo the mission again I was treated to a
number of officers shooting at me.
As far as the
graphics are concerned, NARC isn’t a very pretty game at all. The blockish
characters will not fail to remind gamers of State of Emergency and worse yet
the character animations are so comically surreal. Hill’s walk in particular is
quite hilarious. The environments also look rather plain for a game that has a
large number of people walking the streets and going about their business. While
the people don’t interact as realistically as they do in the Grand Theft Auto
games, it’s quite funny to see them react to a drug deal or somebody getting
killed in the streets.
The game’s
soundtrack is filled with songs with plenty of drug references such as Curtis
Mayfield’s “Pusher” or “Smoke Two Joints” from the Toyes. Many of the game’s
tunes can be heard throughout the game but mainly all you’ll hear is the Curtis
Mayfield song. You’ll also find some talented voice actors in this game such as
Michael Madsen, Bill Belamy, Ron Pearlman (“Hellboy”) and the wonderfully raspy
voice of actor Michael Wincott (“Alien Resurrection” and “The Crow”). Too bad
the dialogue isn’t any good.
NARC had the
potential of being one truly guilty pleasure but instead just falls flat in all
the things that could have made this game fun. Unlike the original arcade
version that was just mindless fun, this version will just disappoint those
gamers that have been dying to be the bad cop. Even at its bargain price, this
is, at best, just a weekend rental.
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Gameplay: 6.0
NARC makes
everything seem difficult thanks to its truly clumsy controls. Aiming your
weapon becomes a chore and whenever you want to arrest a suspect you have to
wrestle with the inventory selection. It’s also hard to keep a straight face at
the praise your chief throws for busting a dirty cop when just a few seconds ago
you sold crack to passer-by.
Graphics: 5.5
The game looks
more like a really good-looking PSOne game due to its blockish character models
that move awkwardly. You’ll encounter plenty of clipping problems and you’ll
often encounter plenty of other graphical glitches. The city itself looks
incredibly plain.
Sound: 7.0
Good voice
acting from some pretty talented actors like Michael Madsen and Ron Pearlman are
spoiled by dreadful dialogue infused with enough profanity to make rapper DMX
cringe. The sound effects are only okay, but it’s the soundtrack that wins some
points for its nice mix of classic R&B and drug-fueled anthems from the likes of
Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Difficulty:
Medium
Busting
dealers, thieves and prostitutes doesn’t require much skill so don’t expect much
from that department. Rather it’s the shootouts that will be the main challenge,
and this is due to the game’s poor controls and targeting system.
Concept: 5.5
It’s nice to
have the freedom to just run around the city arresting criminals or accept some
special assignment not related to the main plot and then continue the game’s
story whenever you feel like it but all of this gets old pretty fast. You can
also purchase drugs, gamble and slap cuffs on a breakdancer … you know, all
the things a bad cop likes to do in his spare time. On a positive note, if you
beat the game you can unlock the 1988 arcade version.
Overall: 5.7
Forget the
fact that it feels wrong to enjoy a game that encourages drug use and excessive
violence to stop crime, NARC just isn’t a very good game. We would have accepted
the game’s dark tone and its somewhat appealing be-a-dirty-cop-if-you-want
gimmick, but because of its poor controls and weak action there’s just not much
to really like.