NARC

NARC combines rapid-fire shooting action with gratuitous gore to create a first-rate NES side scroller. I was instantly hooked on NARC, playing it until my thumb was sore. Judging by the non-stop shooting mayhem, it's no surprise that Eugene Jarvis (Defender, Robotron, Smash TV) had a hand in this. Allegedly an "anti-drug" game, the title screen actually says "Say No To Drugs". And what better way to say no to drugs than by mowing down scores of look-alike drug dealers? You also have the option of "busting" them should you get within arms' reach, but that's not nearly as fun. The well-designed control scheme uses a "double-tap" mechanism to simulate four buttons: jump, duck, shoot, and fire rocket. You have to love how the rockets blast those drug-dealing scumbags into meaty chunks. Some scenes feature attack dogs that can maul you into a bloody mess. Yes, this game is awesome! Add in a two-player co-op mode, and it is ON! Say no to drugs! Say YES to violence! Wahoo!!

Just say no - or else! If you were an 80s gamer, you've probably heard of this arcade classic. Or, you might remember its three-second cameo in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie (I, for some reason, do). The plot is simple: NARC casts you in the role of the world's two most badassed narcotics commandos out to clean up the streets. If you thought Chow Yun-Fat was excessive in his methods of crime busting, you've never seen these guys. With a machine gun in one hand and a rocket launcher in the other, it's your job to carve through waves of drug dealers to get to the final corporate cause of all the drugs on the street and the ultimate drug kingpin himself: Mr. Big. I love 80s justice!

Excellent scanner screens, continue-plays and rapid multiload. No Rotoscape but it's strong on graphic variety, action and detail. Realistic samples and a great in-game tune. Unsophisticated but as addictive as the coin-op. Major league challenge with new perps exhibiting quite different and deadlier methods with each level. Classic arcade action garnished with a torrent of gore.

At the end of the day though, Narc has been spoiled for me by having seen Robocop II first – much better sound, much better animation, more complexity of gameplay. I found myself frustrated by the Narc control system. Dogs especially were a pain to dispose of and when they attack you they seem to be ‘getting off’ with your leg! To kill them you should be squatting down but each time you take a hit your sprite stands up. I also found that some of the later level graphics lacked definition. Still, Narc has captured much of the excitement of the original. It is an above average example of this style of game but for me it is not the best.

Grafisch ist die Gangsterjagd sehr hübsch geworden; mit Zwischenbildern, die effektvoll eingeblendet werden, und einem Horizontalscrolling, das kaum bis gar nicht ruckelt. Noch besser sieht es beim Sound aus, hier gibt es anständige Musik und astreine Effekte plus Sprachausgabe. Die Steuerung ist einfach zu bedienen, hat aber ihre Macken: Manche Gegner (z.B. Hunde und Rollstuhlfahrer) lassen sich nur im Knien erledigen, dabei wirkt es oft sehr störend, daß die Helden sich nach jedem Treffer automatisch wieder zu voller Größe aufrichten. Dieses Manko wird aber mehr als ausgeglichen durch den hervorragenden Zwei-Spieler-Simultanmodus und ein nützliches Radar, das die vorhandenen Ausgänge anzeigt, und auf dem man sogar die einzelnen „Gegnersorten“ unterscheiden kann. Alles in allem ist NARC ein Ballerspiel der Oberklasse, das für hartgesottene Actionfans ganz leicht selbst zur Droge werden kann!

Du tar rollen som en specialpolis med rätt att slakta. Mr Big är detta spels motsvarighet till "Don Corleone, Il maffioso himself". Mr Big kontrollerar, som sig bör, en hoper svartmuskiga män som inte tvekar att gå i vägen för dig, den store slaktaren. I slutet når du fram till Mr Big som faktiskt sitter i rullstol. När även han är likviderad muterar hans ande till en döskalle som är rent ut sagt komiskt ful (på C64).

The graphics are functional, but not inspirational and the gameplay follows the lines of the coin-op, relying on the number of foes to keep the pace up. It makes for an instantly exciting game, but as with many coin-op conversion, it loses this edge after a few hours continuous play.

In der Kategorie "Bildschirm-Leichen pro Spielminute" dürfte Narc einen neuen Rekord aufstellen. Der Ausstoß an Ganovenkleinholz nach einem Raketeneinschlag ist beträchtlich; das permanente Geballer nur für abgebrühte Action-Konsumenten erträglich. Der herbe Charme des Automatenvorbilds hat bei den Computerumsetzungen ziemlich gelitten. Vor allem auf dem Amiga ist die Gegnerverteilung in den Levels nicht optimal: Zu dicht, zu gedrängt und zu hektisch läuft das Geschehen ab. Schade um die solide technische Ausführung, aber das wirre Geballer wird wohl nur Fans des Automaten erfreuen.

Om det nu finns en verksam organisation som ska förhindra att alltför våldsamma spel slipper igenom undrar jag hur detta skräp slapp igenom. Det enda jag blev riktigt imponerad av är den klart fräcka rutinen som ritar ut bokstäverna i scrollern och på Amigan även på high score-listan. Den är faktiskt lika snygga och lika bra gjord på 64:an.

Great blood-splattering action; very close to the coin-op. Very dodgy on the playability front (not to say morally). Limited.

Overall, the game is poorly conceived and totally unfun. You'd think guys walking down the street with guns killing every single person in sight would be cool, but they couldn't even pull that off. I really hope they weren't relying on a deep, intriguing storyline. Bottom line, if you have the means to pick this game up, don't. And no need to thank me, either. Just think of me as a civil servant. Oh, wait. There was one cool part. Ya know when you shoot the dude with the rocket launcher and his body parts fly all over the screen? Oh, wait, nevermind. That sucked.

This game feels like it's trying to send a moral message, but it's hard to preach morals when all you're doing is blowing people up. Looking to NARC for a good message is like asking Charles Manson for dating advice. This game is absolutely terrible, easily one of the worst games I have ever played on the Nintendo Entertainment System.