Review: Just say no to 'NARC'
By Tom Lane
CNN
ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A powerful new drug called Liquid Soul hits the streets, and you've got to track down its source. But are you tempted to have a little taste first?
In video game maker Midway's "NARC," you are a narcotics agent fighting the war on drugs. However, which side of that fight you take comes into play with the choices you make in the game.
If you want to be a good cop, you can turn in the confiscated chemicals as evidence. Less ethical players may be tempted to take the drugs, especially because the game will reward this behavior with special abilities and trippy effects.
"NARC" is loosely based on the 1988 quarter-munching arcade game of the same name. While the original "NARC" came with a "Say Just No" banner and play mechanics that always kept you on the right side of the law, the differences between the two games don't end with their attitudes toward drug use; the original actually was fun to play.
"NARC" is one of many games to employ the mission-based style popularized by the "Grand Theft Auto" series, but its poor execution prevents it from standing out in the crowd.
For example, an early mission requires you to sell drugs to earn money for a crooked officer. The trouble is, the game gives no indication who might be interested in purchasing them so you must wander aimlessly trying to sell to random passers-by. Most people do not want to buy drugs and have little response when approached; they just stand there or run away when you try to make the sale. If this sounds boring, that's because it is.
"NARC" is also rife with terrible responsiveness in its controls. It is all too easy to grab victims accidentally instead of criminals because the controls are so clunky. The numerous cheap deaths in "NARC" include falling to your doom because the jump response is so slow or getting shot to death while you fumble with the awkward commands to pull out a weapon.
Many of the game's missions are also unintuitive in their solutions. While the objectives are clearly stated, you will find that you often have to die several times before you know exactly what to do. Sometimes the only way to know how to proceed is to learn how not to proceed -- a sign of poor design.
An often irritating camera, an insipidly told, clichéd story and outdated graphics compound the problems with "NARC," making it a chore to play.
The only mildly fun missions in "NARC" are the ones that involve using weapons from an impressive arsenal. While aiming and firing guns is not problematic, it's also nothing special and comes off as a rather mediocre experience.
One interesting aspect of "NARC" is the effects of the drugs. It may be a bit of a tasteless gimmick, but it can be fun to slow down time with marijuana, hear voices by popping pills or see hallucinogenic jesters and devils while on LSD. However, this quickly loses its appeal and is far from enough to save the game.
The best thing about "NARC" is that it contains the addictive (pardon the pun) original version of the game; too bad you have to play the main game to open it. This game could have been much better had it simply stuck to its fast-paced action roots instead of trying to capitalize on the fad of mission-based play and stealth elements.
At $19.99, NARC is available for the Playstation 2 and Xbox.
But remember that you get what you pay for with "NARC." In this case, you don't even get that much.
