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NARC (XBOX)
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Publisher: Midway.
Developer: VIS Entertainment. Released: March 2005. Genre: Sandbox. Other versions: PS2; PC. Posted 5th August 2020. By Shane Battams © 2020 |
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A late-eighties arcade classic which revelled in a new generation of violent media, Narc was one of many such games that would see a gritty reboot in the 2000s. Midway would attempt to cash in on the criminal sandbox craze, repackaging the action game as an open-world crime shooter. While it introduces some interesting (and perhaps controversial) ideas, they are overshadowed by middling gameplay, unfortunate bugs and a poorly articulated narrative. Not even the talents of its voice cast can help save this one from complete mediocrity, sitting in the same pile as the likes of Final Fight: Streetwise.
As the city of Rockland is being overrun by a new drug, which gives users a potent boost, two cops in the narcotics unit set out to find the source. Jack Forzenski is clearly the bad cop, a once-decorated officer who turned to drugs and suffers addiction, but gets a pass thanks to having relations in the force. Marcus Hill, meanwhile, serves as the polar opposite as a squeaky-clean officer, and as these guys were former partners, they predictably show reluctance to work together. The story is, frankly, a mess. Most of the cut-scenes suffer from serious audio issues, making it difficult to actually hear what is being said. The chopped-up nature of cinematics, combined with some outlandish twists, make this one a story to forget entirely.
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Narc looks okay, but its perpetual gloominess can make gameplay difficult to follow
Narc is a standard sandbox game of the time, albeit simplified. Players can switch between Jack and Marcus before the start of a mission, though both play identically. Special assignments also pop up, offering brief detours to more explosive missions such as raiding a drug den, taking down a nudist and disarming bombers. You can explore freely between each city, as you travel to Asia around the mid-point of the game. Unfortunately, these sandboxes are fairly small, and there’s little incentive to explore. You have the freedom to arrest criminals such as drug dealers and muggers, but this grows boring after a while. There are also Collectible stashes to be found, which in a neat twist, unlocks the original arcade game. But these are easy to find. The world of Narc just isn’t exciting to explore.
The shooting proves even more middling. Like GTA, there’s a heavy reliance on auto-aim, but it is so generous in this instance that firing a gun kills enemies in seconds. The controls are awkward, but this generosity makes combat a snooze. There are some interesting quirks, including being able to collect and use drugs. These provide a temporary boost, such as increased accuracy, but as addiction is a threat and they’re rarely needed, they become somewhat redundant. The badge system also tries to utilise this mechanic: committing criminal acts decreases your level, but depositing drugs and evidence helps rebuild it. While you can equip some nasty weaponry, including grenade launchers, and some enemy-filled sequences capture the intensity of the old arcade game, these are rare. Couple that with erroneous stealth which borders on broken, and the gameplay is just unfulfilling. It lacks mechanics such as driving, side activities and very few interior areas.
The shooting proves even more middling. Like GTA, there’s a heavy reliance on auto-aim, but it is so generous in this instance that firing a gun kills enemies in seconds. The controls are awkward, but this generosity makes combat a snooze. There are some interesting quirks, including being able to collect and use drugs. These provide a temporary boost, such as increased accuracy, but as addiction is a threat and they’re rarely needed, they become somewhat redundant. The badge system also tries to utilise this mechanic: committing criminal acts decreases your level, but depositing drugs and evidence helps rebuild it. While you can equip some nasty weaponry, including grenade launchers, and some enemy-filled sequences capture the intensity of the old arcade game, these are rare. Couple that with erroneous stealth which borders on broken, and the gameplay is just unfulfilling. It lacks mechanics such as driving, side activities and very few interior areas.
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Narc suffers from woeful, buggy presentation at points. Besieged by poor lighting, with some sequences proving very hard to see, it covers up the uglier aspects of the visuals, including blocky characters and dull environments, as well as pop in. Frame rate stutters are common, and drug effects smear the screen in blurs which leave you feeling dizzy. The audio is slightly better, despite aforementioned balancing issues. The music has some classic music, including hits from Cypress Hill and DMX, and the action sounds potent. The voice work offers a range of actors, including Michael Madsen and Ron Pearlman, but it’s a shame that technical issues sometimes mean you can’t hear a word they’re saying. The breaking point is semi-frequent crashes which, combined with manual saving, can lead to the loss of quite a lot of progress.
In the end, Narc is a disappointing reboot that misses much of what made the original special. The over-the-top action is replaced with a cookie-cutter sandbox that fails to deliver many necessities of the genre. Its mechanics range from middling to broken. Coupled with a disjointed story, a lack of polish and underwhelming production values, it ends up barely justifying its budget price tag. Gaming collectors may get a few hours of play out of this one, and some sequences manage to capture the anarchic spirit of the arcade game. Most, however, will likely feel it isn’t worth the (admittedly little) effort it takes to complete, while fans of the original will find it fails to live up to expectations.
In the end, Narc is a disappointing reboot that misses much of what made the original special. The over-the-top action is replaced with a cookie-cutter sandbox that fails to deliver many necessities of the genre. Its mechanics range from middling to broken. Coupled with a disjointed story, a lack of polish and underwhelming production values, it ends up barely justifying its budget price tag. Gaming collectors may get a few hours of play out of this one, and some sequences manage to capture the anarchic spirit of the arcade game. Most, however, will likely feel it isn’t worth the (admittedly little) effort it takes to complete, while fans of the original will find it fails to live up to expectations.
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VERDICT
"a disjointed story and underwhelming production values means Narc barely justifies its budget price tag. Some sequences capture the anarchic spirit of the arcade game, [but] fans of the original will find it fails to live up to expectations" OVERALL: 5/10 |