NARC Game Sample - NES/FC
0NARC is a video game that I'm sure had many people of the time (late 80s and early 90s) perplexed or feel conflicted; here we have one of the first "ultra-violent" video games (or at least, technology had advanced far enough where developers could clearly design lots of violence, blood, and gore) where your mission and the object of the game was to stop/kill drug traffickers, confiscate their goods, and defeat their boss "Mr. Big". On one hand, it was supposed to get people to say "No" to drugs, which could be seen as a good thing. On the other hand, they had to present this message by using lots of violence and an exaggerrated, somewhat unrealistic view of the world of drugs. What basically happened is the "positive message" of the game was lost in translation and it was basically used as ammunition for those who already hate violence in video games as one of the definitive examples of violence in video games, especially in conjunction with its re-imagined 2005 follow-up for Xbox and PS2.
Nevertheless, the original NARC, which was released in Arcades in 1988, became a big success and did a number of "firsts" for a game of the time and would unsurprisingly be ported to various platforms soon after. It also inspired several individuals and left an impact years after its release. Of course, one of the most surprising platforms this game would be released on is the NES. Most references to drugs were removed from the game, but the NES port still retained a surprising degree of violence and is one of the system's anomalies.
In the game, you assume the role of either Max Force or Hit Man, two Narcotics-Opposing officers hired by the chairmain of Narcotics Opposition, Spencer Williams in Washington DC. They are put into Project NARC to stop junkies, gangsters, dealers, kingpins, and anyone else foolish enough to commit wrong-doings. Being men of few words, they feel actions speak louder than words, and their automatic weapons and missile launchers are pretty loud too. You'll go across several stages basically doing the same thing over and over with slight variations, but you'll mainly shoot everything that moves. You can "Bust" bad guys by standing on them for a few seconds (which rewards more points than simply killing foes), but it's a lot easier to just kill them.
The graphics and sound are "okay"; they aren't great by any stretch, but everything that needs to be identified is distinguished well enough. If you shoot an enemy with a gun, they'll go down. If you blow up some objects in the background, they'll explode as necessary. If you shoot a human being with a missile, they'll explode into a mess of blood and guts. It doesn't get much more simple than that. The soundtrack isn't anything out of the ordinary, but it gets the job done and gets the adrenaline going once you're in "the zone". The NES version of NARC is adequate and supports 2-player co-op, though the game is easier by yourself. It was also developed by Rare (Battletoads, RC Pro-Am, Donkey Kong Country, etc.).
This is a video of the first few levels. Enjoy.