Previous Next

The year is 2003 and one fifth of the world's population is addicted to narcotics of one kind or another, and this in turn has increased the power of drug dealers.

But a solution is at hand. The Narco Police are on a mission to destroy the drug dealers' main base on an island off the coast of Colombia. The Central Processing Laboratory produces the bulk of the drugs so you must battle through to it and plant enough explosives to blow it sky high.

You control three teams of five men, all of which must breach the outer defences and reach the CPL. You start by selecting which weaponry to take (as long as it doesn't exceed the 500lb weight limit) then the entry point for each team. There are loads of subterranean tunnels and it's up to you where the three teams start.

One by one, each team member walks along a tunnel, blasting at the soldiers and security devices that appear almost out of thin air. You view the action from slightly behind the character under your control, scenery graphics moving toward you as he walks into the screen.

At the top of the screen is a display panel that shows (among other things) energy level, a compass, the type of ammunition used and the number of medical kits remaining. Every time a Narco officer is shot all by the enemy, his energy drops. Narco Police wear bullet proof vests but they do have limitations.

The path to the CPL is a long and tortuous one, and it's not helped by the tough and tedious gameplay. The tunnels are identical, so it's very easy to get lost, and the enemy troops on level two pump out the bullets so fast that life after life is lost in quick succession.

I've never really been a great fan of Dinamic's games, they aren't rubbish but lack playability. Narco Police is a very average shoot-'em-up indeed.

MARK ... 55%

'Narco Police is like Line Of Fire underground, only it isn't that good (and LOF wasn't much cop anyway). The 3D works quite well but you can't tell what's directly in front of you if your man stands in the middle of the screen. Constant firing is needed to stay alive. The game is well presented with a nicely drawn and coloured map at the tunnel area and a good menu screen. It's a shame that the rest's not too hot. During play you have to use the computer screen at the side of the play area to enter commands like KIT, which patches up some of your wounds. But if you stop to enter a command some enemy appears and shows you his weapon (oo-er!). Narco Police is not much fun and it's not your average blasting game; it needs a bit more thought.'