NARC is a 3rd-person shooter that has the player tracking the distribution of the deadly new narcotic "Liquid Soul" across two different cities in Asia and the U.S.A. The player controls one of two characters - Narcotics detective Jack Forezenski (voiced by Michael Madsen), or D.E.A. agent Marcus Hill (voiced by Bill Belamy). Both are led by Narcotics chief Joe Kowalski (voiced by Ron Pearlman), and the player switches between the two as the story unfolds. As an undercover cop, players are free to roam the streets and dispense justice at their discretion. Aside from storyline missions, players can encounter 12 types of randomized street crimes and stop them to boost their "badge rating" (loosely, a measure of their trust within the police).
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This review contains spoilers
É engraçado a ideia de combater o narcotráfico enquanto usufrui de entorpecentes e com músicas de fundo sobre fumar umas; vícios; etc.
Com certeza um jogo com uma mistura bem bolada de mecânicas e miscelâneas que deixa o jogo bem interessante a cada missão. Tem um visual bonito com uma ambientação de cidade grande de pouca segurança.
Apenas acho que é um problema não ser disponível voltar aos EUA ou a China no final do jogo, então se eu quiser pegar os colecionáveis de cada país, terei coletar antes de sair deles. Acabei não coletando todas as drogas secretas da China por conta disso.
Sobre o Arcade: é como se eu tivesse na droga o tempo todo mesmo (eu odeio o Mr. Big).
Com certeza um jogo com uma mistura bem bolada de mecânicas e miscelâneas que deixa o jogo bem interessante a cada missão. Tem um visual bonito com uma ambientação de cidade grande de pouca segurança.
Apenas acho que é um problema não ser disponível voltar aos EUA ou a China no final do jogo, então se eu quiser pegar os colecionáveis de cada país, terei coletar antes de sair deles. Acabei não coletando todas as drogas secretas da China por conta disso.
Sobre o Arcade: é como se eu tivesse na droga o tempo todo mesmo (eu odeio o Mr. Big).
This is one of the most underrated games that i played, it reminded me of Rockstars game from that timeline, sadly this game becames really boring and repetittive nearly the end, but the first or two hours of playing are awesome, if it wasnt for that i would gave it 4 starts... The graphics are good, the music is good, the mechanics are good.
I recommend it because of how underrated it is, its one of the best police games ive ever played
I recommend it because of how underrated it is, its one of the best police games ive ever played
LIQUID SOUL IS MADE FROM PEOPLE
fun
this game was killed by its budget and it shows. the entire Asia segment doesn't play the same as in the beginning (lol at the npcs being able to throw you later without an explanation on what to do since they throw you on grab) and it almost feels like there were several rewrites close to the end of development.
It doesn't seem like Midway had much faith NARC, with the Xbox and PS2 versions receiving budget price points (the NTSC cover art prominently states "BIG HIT $19.95 FRIEND PRICES") and the belated PC conversion skipping North America entirely. The Windows port is...not good, with overly bright lighting, next to no video options and a frame rate that's capped at a mere 25 fps. There's an unfinished fan patch on GitHub that removes the cap, but then physics, animation, and AI behavior are impacted, so there's currently no perfect solution. The lower left corner of the main menu informs the player that the PC release is version 0.71 (no official patches were ever released). The 1988 arcade game that could be unlocked on consoles is also missing in action, though I doubt it would have been of much interest to PC users with access to MAME.
Similar to the True Crime series, the two open world cities in NARC mostly serve as window dressing for the linear story; the only sandbox elements are the random crimes that the player can intervene in to boost their reputation. In contrast to Activision's games, however, there are no vehicles to drive and either city can be traversed in the span of about a minute. The upside of this is that each storefront and landmark is distinct, making it easy to learn the layout of the map. Those who go hunting for the hidden collectibles will find a surprising emphasis on verticality, with plenty of platforming across rooftops (the protagonists' ability to jump higher than their heads also presents a lot of opportunities to peer beyond the boundaries of the map, into the void). Though this isn't a pretty game (especially on PC), the presentation is elevated by the voices of Michael Madsen, Ron Perlman and James Hong and a compelling selection of both licensed and original hip-hop and funk music.
Mechanically, NARC doesn't excel as a shooter or brawler, but it delivers a steady stream of fights and chases. I must admit that I find PS2-era open world games to be rather endearing in how they strived to construct Hollywood-style setpieces in environments that were already pushing the limits of the technology. Of course, there are times when the jank genuinely hampers the experience, such as an early reconnaissance section which is very finicky about which photos it will accept and a pair of on-rails levels with such a narrow FOV that turning around takes forever. The penultimate level also includes an instant-failure stealth section, and that goes about as well as you would expect. The finale is kind of wild, reinterpreting the original's Mr. Big fight in a manner that feels heavily influenced by the theatrics of Metal Gear Solid.
The drug-taking mechanic that was so controversial in 2005 feels more like a tongue-in-cheek novelty now, which is probably a reflection of how much has changed since Rod Blagojevich was the Governor of Illinois and Jack Thompson was licensed to practice law. Stripped of its shock value, NARC is still an entertaining action game. If I’d picked this up for $19.95 back in the day, I would have considered it to be a pretty good deal.
Side note: At the moment I'm writing this, Wikipedia attributes the console versions of NARC to VIS Entertainment and the PC port to Point of View, but the credits and manual of the console versions feature Point of View first and foremost. The game is apparently based on VIS's State of Emergency engine, with similarly quick character movement and large numbers of civilians milling around in a vaguely slapstick fashion.
Similar to the True Crime series, the two open world cities in NARC mostly serve as window dressing for the linear story; the only sandbox elements are the random crimes that the player can intervene in to boost their reputation. In contrast to Activision's games, however, there are no vehicles to drive and either city can be traversed in the span of about a minute. The upside of this is that each storefront and landmark is distinct, making it easy to learn the layout of the map. Those who go hunting for the hidden collectibles will find a surprising emphasis on verticality, with plenty of platforming across rooftops (the protagonists' ability to jump higher than their heads also presents a lot of opportunities to peer beyond the boundaries of the map, into the void). Though this isn't a pretty game (especially on PC), the presentation is elevated by the voices of Michael Madsen, Ron Perlman and James Hong and a compelling selection of both licensed and original hip-hop and funk music.
Mechanically, NARC doesn't excel as a shooter or brawler, but it delivers a steady stream of fights and chases. I must admit that I find PS2-era open world games to be rather endearing in how they strived to construct Hollywood-style setpieces in environments that were already pushing the limits of the technology. Of course, there are times when the jank genuinely hampers the experience, such as an early reconnaissance section which is very finicky about which photos it will accept and a pair of on-rails levels with such a narrow FOV that turning around takes forever. The penultimate level also includes an instant-failure stealth section, and that goes about as well as you would expect. The finale is kind of wild, reinterpreting the original's Mr. Big fight in a manner that feels heavily influenced by the theatrics of Metal Gear Solid.
The drug-taking mechanic that was so controversial in 2005 feels more like a tongue-in-cheek novelty now, which is probably a reflection of how much has changed since Rod Blagojevich was the Governor of Illinois and Jack Thompson was licensed to practice law. Stripped of its shock value, NARC is still an entertaining action game. If I’d picked this up for $19.95 back in the day, I would have considered it to be a pretty good deal.
Side note: At the moment I'm writing this, Wikipedia attributes the console versions of NARC to VIS Entertainment and the PC port to Point of View, but the credits and manual of the console versions feature Point of View first and foremost. The game is apparently based on VIS's State of Emergency engine, with similarly quick character movement and large numbers of civilians milling around in a vaguely slapstick fashion.