Undercover Cops
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| Undercover Cops | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Irem |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, SNES |
| Release date | JP 1992 |
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single player or multiplayer |
| Display | Raster |
Undercover Cops is a beat'em up arcade game by Irem. Players control "city sweepers," who fight crime by beating up thugs. It is notable for its detailed backgrounds and grimy futuristic setting. The arcade version appeared in 1992; for its time it was relatively gory, featuring crow-pecked skeletons in the midst of its urban wastelands. It is much harder to find nowadays; shortly after its release, games of this type were largely eclipsed by one-on-one fighters like Street Fighter 2.
While the gameplay is broadly similar to other side-scrollers such as Final Fight or Double Dragon, some of the enemies are unique. Besides the usual human thugs, players fight strange mole creatures and mutants with jet packs and blades for hands. Players can never use enemy weapons, but the stages contain objects that can be picked up and used instead such as burning oil drums, steel girders, long concrete columns that shatter on impact, boxes of grenades and fish. The characters eat mice, frogs, birds and snails to restore their health (many people in Japanese society eat these for their nutritional value).
Interestingly, a lot of the team who made the game went on to form Nazca, who created the Metal Slug game series. In Japan, the game inspired a little-known series of underground comics.
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[edit] Japanese arcade version
The Japanese arcade version differs from the World version in several respects. The characters have a number of moves not seen in the World version, including dash + jump attacks, up to two different kinds of throws, and a powerful airborne special attack. The backgrounds and graphics are also different, especially at the start of Level Two and the end of Level Three. The music has a more electronic feel and includes more voice samples. Some enemies carry broken bottles, knives and axes (in the World version these are replaced by planks and clubs). The mole creatures are weaker, taking only one hit to kill. Players' jump attacks do less damage, but their wider range of attacks makes them much more versatile.
[edit] Undercover Cops Alpha
A more accurate translation called Undercover Cops Alpha was internationally released in 1993. This version retains the details of the original Japanese game. The game was later ported to the Super Famicom by the company Varie. Irem considered releasing this port overseas but it was later cancelled. In the Super Famicom version, a player can choose to have from 1 to 5 lives and 1 to 5 credits, but there is no multiplayer option. There are easy, normal, and hard modes. Playing "easy" mode only gets the player to the end of the third level. Then the game ends, giving the player a stern message in Japanese, then asking him in English to try the next level (normal). This is followed by the game over screen, just as if they lost the game.
[edit] Playable characters
- Rosa (aka Flame) - A tough blonde female vigilante whose lover was murdered by thugs. She is fast and easy to use.
- Zan (aka Claude) - A scruffy former karate master, banned from formal tournaments after killing a man in self-defence. He is similar in effect to Rosa.
- Matt (aka Bubba) - An ex-gridiron player turned city sweeper after a false accusation of murder. He is the most powerful character, but also the slowest.
[edit] Bosses
- Parcs (aka Cue Ball) - a Terminator-like cyborg. He can be defeated normally or crushed in a garbage compactor.
- Fransowors (aka Fatso) - an obese, jackhammer-wielding dominatrix. She summons lesser enemies and cries when hit.
- Moguralian (aka Gunpuncher) - the leader of the mole creatures. He is armed with a machine gun and explosives.
- Balbarotch (aka Cone Head) - a crazed carnival freak with a metal claw. He attacks with a wide range of concealed weapons.
- Dr. Crayborn - a small, bespectacled scientist who turns into a giant monster.
