The Untouchables Longplay (C64) [QHD]

Game Info
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Developer: Ocean Software
Publisher: Ocean Software
Year of Release: 1989
Coding: John Meegan
Graphics: Stephen Thomson
Music: Matthew Cannon

Game Review & Impressions
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Released in 1989, Ocean Software returned to the tried-and-test mini-game formula for their take on Brian de Palma's classic movie. It's fair to say that Ocean's track record with these games was rather hit and miss. Zzap!64 magazine awarded the game a stratospheric 96% in issue 55, so clearly this must have been one of the better move licenses?

The game commences with a hellish game of cat-and-mouse as you chase down mob henchman among pyramids of stacked crates. The idea is to shoot the white-suited goons and get them to drop pieces of evidence to help you build a case against Al Capone and the Chicago Outfit, but this easier said than done. The targets generally spawn at the opposite end of the warehouse, necessitating a constant cycle of slogging through gun-toting gangsters, scrambling up a massive stack of crates, only to rush back down again when the suspect begins to flee. Your default pea-shooter of a weapon is so ineffectual, it actually plays to your enemy's advantage; it'll knock them off the platform they're currently standing on, giving them ample opportunity to escape while you deal with enforcers scrambling up from the crates below you and getting in the way.

The next section, if you manage to make it this far, is the first of several target shooting sections. Ness and his intrepid bunch of law enforcers must outgun mobsters in a shootout atop a bridge; your selected agent is always prone, so you'll need to roll side-to-side to move into position to take down targets, using the scope in the top right of the screen to determine when you have a bad guy in your sights. If you take too much damage, it's a good idea to roll off to the left of the screen, which allows you to sap characters. Wounded team members will regain health while out of combat, but the regeneration is very slow and you'll be eating dirt if you're not careful.

Success on the bridge sees the action move to the back alleys of downtown, where Ness and team must navigate their way between buildings literally heaving with mob shooters. It's another shooter section, with the difference being you spend most of the time hugging cover behind a wall, only popping out to shoot the thugs as they appear in the various windows and doorways ahead. As before, you can swap between team members when one gets low on health, but the never-ending legion of enemies you face mean you'll need luck and shooting skills to make it out alive.

Stage 4 references perhaps the most iconic scene from the movie, the shootout in the railway station. Ness must navigate his way down what must be the longest set of steps ever created, taking out mobsters and shoving a pram with swaddled infant ensconced within out of harms way. If the pram and it's occupant get shot or crash into the scenery, you'll lose a life and need to restart.

Scene 5 is so short it's barely worth mentioning, so we'll cut straight to the final section, yet another shootout section in which Ness confronts Frank Nitti on the rooftops of a high-rise. It's a duck-and-cover affair, with Ness taking pot-shots at Nitti, driving him closer to the building's edge, until he takes a little trip over the edge.

As with many Ocean games based on move licenses, the production values are high, but the actual gaming content and satisfaction to be found therein is questionable. The various sequences are all rather boring, or contain mechanics so infuriating you'll be hard-pressed to raise a smile anywhere along the way. It's not the worst game I've ever played, but I honestly cannot understand how Zzap!64 awarded this such a high score, or why they decided to give it a gold medal award! Perhaps the only thing I do agree with is the 97% awarded for visuals; Stephen Thomson (SIT) really did a remarkable job here, particularly with the title screen (as seen in the thumbnail for this video). The graphics are a high point in a game which, in my opinion, isn't as great as magazines made it out to be.

Information & Trivia
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Video Notes
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Related Longplays & Videos
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Chapters
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00:00 Intro & credits
03:48 Scene 1: The Warehouse
13:28 Scene 2: The Bridge
14:35 Scene 3: The Alleys
18:32 Scene 4: The Railway Station
21:31 Scene 5: Rescuing the Accountant
21:52 Scene 6: Nitti Gets His
22:40 Ending

#c64 #retrogaming #longplay