Midway Games announced that NARC, a third-person action/shooter game based on the arcade classic of the same name would ship in 2004 for the Sony Playstation 2, the Microsoft Xbox, and the Nintendo GameCube.

NARC is the long awaited update of the 1988 arcade game of the same title. For those of you who do not remember NARC, it was a sidescroller action game that dropped players in the middle of a drug war. Your objective was to clean up the streets and shut down a cartel. This new update of the title keeps the same idea and puts it into a 3D format.

Players take on the roles of Hitman and Max Force of the NARC squad. Their goal is to take down the drug cartel K.R.A.K. and its leader Mr. Big. This game will take players all across the world, going to locations like the United States, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Mr. Big’s private island.

In order to do this, players must use hand-to-hand combat and a large variety of weapons. The armed combat takes place in a 3^rd person view and has a zoom in mode. The hand-to-hand combat mode features a variety of street fight moves, such as head butts, knee-strikes, grappling, and throwing.

"Following a deep and twisting story that drives the character players control, NARC challenges gamers to bust and kill ruthless thugs and criminals in order to bring justice to the drug-infested streets," said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway.

There are also secondary missions that allow players to build their reputation and hone their skills. These missions range from stopping purse snatching to preventing a bank robbery.

NARC Key Features:

• Nonstop, Action-Packed, Drug-Busting Mayhem – As Hitman and Max Force, players must rid the world of drug-infested corruption:
  - Play as either Max Force or Hitman in each of the levels; the game's storyline drives which character players control.
  - Some missions are solo while other missions allow the computer-controlled AI to fight along.
  - Be a good cop or a bad cap—its up to you how you play the game.
• Bust Criminals – Arresting and busting criminals:
  - The arrest procedure will be fast, arcade-like and will feel like a real tussle.
  - Ease of arrest will depend upon the criminal's health, criminal rating and drug use.
• Combat – Both unarmed and armed combat:
  - Unarmed Combat – The style will be a roughhouse, authentic street-fighting style with big, wild punches, head-butts, knee-strikes, grappling and throwing.
  - Armed Combat – Using an intuitive combat mechanic, players will use a wide arsenal of weapons, ranging from a crowbar to a rocket launcher and flame-thrower.
• Worldwide Drug Locales – Players embark on an over-the-top adventure that will take them around the globe in pursuit of the evil drug lord, Mr. Big. The five game locations are:
  - USA: Based around a crime-ridden district of an East Coast American city.
  - Asia: Set on the dock and downtown areas.
  - Eastern Europe: An industrial complex and drug lab.
  - Private Island: The private island of the evil drug lord, Mr. Big.
• Ambient Crime – The world found in NARC is extremely violent and crime-ridden. Occurring outside of the main missions, gamers can hone their skills and build their reputation by choosing to stop the many random crimes ranging from purse snatching to bank robberies.
• Soundtrack – Eclectic soundtrack spanning a wide variety of musical genres add to the drug-ridden street flavor of the game.