Untouchables, The

STORY / GAMEPLAY
The year is 1930 and the liquor black market is more lucrative than ever and Al Capone gains higher profits than anyone from this illegal business. You are cast as Elliot Ness to do an average cop won't do, hunting down the ruthless Mafia boss and stop the illegal liquor flow for good, in co-operation with a small group of selected officers.
The game is a classic action platform retaining some of the film's story and style. You have various tasks throughout the six levels and a variety of weapons to pick up such as shotgun or Tommy gun to use against Capone's gangs.
The gameplay perspective changes from level to level. At the beginning, you storm inside Capone's liquor warehouses where 10 of Capone's accountants are running scared carrying valuable evidence in the form of ledger pages. The bad guys do their best to stop you by leaping around the crates and shooting in frenzy. In the next level, the perspective changes to a third-person Cabal style shoot 'em up set to a bridge where trucks loaded with liquor try to pass. There you need to shoot certain bottles of bourbon, avoiding enemy bullets from snipers and other running foes. At the next level you need to take down certain foes in an Operation Wolf style shoot 'em up. Believe it or not, at the next level gameplay shifts from 2D side scrolling to top-view multi-directional in which Eliot must go through the Central Station shooting incoming foes and, at the same time, protect from the enemy fire a baby that rolls loose in his stroller. Another change in gameplay follows at the next level where you need to help a witness taken hostage by one of the bad guys, and the whole scene is running in a shooting gallery-style. In the final stage you chase Capone himself across the roof of the court building, in a 2D horizontal scrolling action.
The Untouchables is an enjoyable game, with each stage carrying its own unique style, both in graphics and gameplay, so there is plenty of variety, packed with some cool visuals and sounds.
Note that the Amiga version is somehow more difficult to play, as it is harder to avoid enemy fire and hence, the poor difficulty curve is the only letdown for this release.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
The Atari ST version looks neat with up to 20 simultaneous colors and everything brighter than the Amiga(!) The sprites are nicely drawn and smoothly animated and the background scrolling moves without any major issues. Each stage has its own unique details and this adds a lot to the overall presentation.
The sound on the ST version is decent, with a variety of sound effects of gunfire and explosions (though not sampled) and a tune partially taken from the blockbuster "The Untouchables" movie.