"...NARC is a great drug-themed game..."
Gameplay is actually good. For those of us who remember playing NARC on the arcade will also remember the 2D view. Of course the arcade view cannot be helped, but in this NARC we have complete 3D environments, moving cars, and somewhat dumb but working AI. The game operates on a free-roam basis allowing players to wander around whatever locale is present and bust people. As mentioned prior you will encounter breakdancers, drug dealers, and whatnot. Your job is to stop them and bust them by engaging in a simple grappling system and hit a certain button at a certain time on your "busting gauge". This system is hardly complicated to master and busting will soon come very easy. Prior to busting while in a grapple you can smack or kick the perp to cause damage to wear them down. Once busted you can pick up whatever items the perp drops such as drugs/money. You can even go as far as to beat on them further to possibly knock something else off their person. Sometimes the busting doesn't come so easily. Sometimes the perp will break into a run and you must catch him. This is done easily by sprinting and taking a dive to tackle the perp. An interesting element present is the "good cop, bad cop" thing. To be a good cop don't bust innocent people, take out bad guys, don't use drugs, and turn in drugs confiscated from bad guys, etc.. Being a bad cop is opposite everything else, including taking/selling drugs, etc.. An interesting thing is when certain drugs are used such as crack or LSD your character will be enhanced in some way. Some drugs will allow you to take precision aiming while another drug may make you stronger. Whether or not you are a good/bad cop will dictate what your badge rating will be. The "gooder" you are the better badge rating and when you flash your badge to perps they will more likely surrender easily allowing you to bust them instantly. Being a bad cop your badge rating will go down and people won't respect you, essentially the opposite. Gameplay is solid and being able to bust a perp is utterly satisfying.
Graphics are in the so-so range. Most of the time the game looks decent. The models are done enough to determine who-is-who and what-is-what. There are some clipping issues but not too many, and the car models looks pretty bland and nothing too great. The game contains some blood, which looks okay. The game even sports some cinema sequences. These sequences are mediocre and nothing to write home about.
Sound also falls into the so-so range. During game you'll hear the voices and gun sounds find, but sound really falls through in the mission cinema scenes. The voices seem distant and I have to turn my tube volume up almost all the way to hear exactly what's going on. Aside from the voice issues the in-game sounds are fine. The drug-related sountrack is also fitting because of the dominate drug theme that permeates every aspect of the game.
Value is okay because of the freeroaming, and I think someone who plays through NARC once as say a good cop they'd want to go through again as a bad cop just to get a taste from the other end of the spectrum. Someone who really enjoys busting people will get a kick out of this game, and it really offers some nice missions and special assignment missions such as hunting snipers and such.
Overall NARC is a great drug-themed game and anyone who likes this kind of action/shooting game will probably enjoy NARC. The game is fairly easy to play but some of the missions can be challenging. I'd have to say I was a bit negative toward this game before I played it. However, I've learned not always to judge a game by its rating.