Virtua Cop

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VirtuaCop title.png

Virtua Cop
System(s): Sega Model 2, Sega Saturn, PC
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Peripherals supported:
Sega Saturn
Virtua Gun
Genre: Shoot-'em-Up

















Release Date RRP Code

Virtua Cop (バーチャコップ) is an arcade shooter game created by Sega AM2 for Sega Model 2 hardware in 1994. It is the first in the Virtua Cop series. It is a light-gun game and was one of the first games of its type to involve a 3D world.

Virtua Cop's arcade success meant it was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and later the PC in 1997. The Saturn version of the game was initially bundled with the Virtua Gun, a light-gun peripheral intended for use with this game. The game can be played without the Virtua Gun (the only way to play if the user lacks a CRT television) but it will result in a lesser experience. The PC version uses the mouse.

Virtua Cop was followed by two sequels, Virtua Cop 2 and Virtua Cop 3. It was bundled Virtua Cop 2 in Japan and Europe on the PlayStation 2 as Virtua Cop: Elite Edition (Virtua Cop Rebirth in Japan) on August 25, 2002 and November 29, 2002 respectively, and this bundle includes gallery extras and implementation of Namco's G-Con 2 lightgun support.

In 2004, a port was developed for the handheld Nokia N-Gage, but this was cancelled by the quality control team before its release, and very few beta units were manufactured.

Gameplay

Players assume the role of police officers and use a light gun to shoot criminals and advance through the game, with penalties for shooting civilians. Virtua Cop was notable for its use of polygonal graphics, which were subsequently used in both House of the Dead and Time Crisis, instead of the two dimensional sprites that were popular for previous games in the same genre. It is also notable for being one of the first games to allow the player to shoot through glass. Its name derived from this graphical style, which was previously used in Virtua Fighter, Virtua Striker and Virtua Racing.

Story

A detective in the player's department uncovered an illegal gun-running operation and was able to trace it back to a powerful crime syndicate. He compiled a large amount of evidence and was ready to take them down, but he was discovered and assassinated. Some of the evidence managed to make its way back to headquarters and a special task force was put on the case.

Production Credits

Arcade Version

Main Programmer and Director: Katsunori Itai
Main Designer: Akihito Hiroyosi
2nd Programmer: Shunsuke Sekikawa
Programmers: Masayuki Sumi, Tadanobu Numata
Designers: Masataka Auchi, Saori Nisikawa
Sound Composer: Kentaro Koyama
Design Support: Kazuhiro Izaki, Yukinobu Arikawa, Makoto Osaki
Planning Support: Yuichiro Mikami
Cabinet Design: AM R and D Dept 4
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
Presented by: Sega

Saturn Version

Director: Takashi Isono
Main Programmer: Masayuki Sumi
Programmers: Takeshi Iwasaki, Junichi Ishito, Takashi Isowaki, Norihiro Sekine, Takashi Ono, Hiroyuki Tsuzuki
Designers: Takafumi Kagaya, Kazufumi Ohashi, Saori Nisikawa, Masakazu Takizawa
Sound Composer: Kentaro Koyama
Publicity: Fumio Kurokawa, Koji Umeda
Speical Thanks: Yukinobu Arikawa, Masataka Aochi, Kazuo Ohtani
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
Presented by: Sega

PC Version

Original Game Designed by: Sega AM2
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
Director: Junetsu Kakuta
Programmers: Kenichi Yoko, Kazuhisa Hasuoka, Yoshihiko Toyoshima, Noritaka Yakita
Designers: Hisato Fukumoto, Katsufumi Yoshimori, Yuichi Ide
Sound Composer: Tatsuya Kouzaki
Producer: Toshinori Asai
Presented by: Sega

Physical Scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
96 №170
75
90
92
90
Sega Saturn
 89
Based on
5 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
CD Consoles (FR)
100
[1]
Consoles + (FR)
87
[2]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
96
[3]
Digitiser (UK)
84
[4]
Edge (UK)
70
[5]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
75
[6]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
80
[7]
Fun Generation (DE)
80
[8]
Fusion (US) NTSC-U
75
[9]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
90
[10]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
92
[11]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
98
[12]
GamePro (UK)
92
[13]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
95
[14]
Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL
91
[15]
Hobby Consolas (ES) PAL
90
[16]
LeveL (CZ)
86
[17]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
76
[18]
Maximum (UK)
100
[19]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
84
[20]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
79
[21]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
94
[22]
Next Generation (US) NTSC-U
75
[23]
Player One (FR)
90
[24]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
84
[25]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
86
[25]
Saturn+ (UK) PAL
91
[26]
Score (CZ)
70
[27]
Sega Magazin (DE) PAL
80
[28]
Sega News (CZ)
87
[29]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
93
[30]
Sega Saturn Magazine (UK) PAL
96
[31]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
90
[32]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
89
[33]
Strana Igr (RU)
60
[34]
Todo Sega (ES)
92
[35]
Ultimate Future Games (UK) PAL
83
[36]
Última Generación (ES)
94
[37]
Sega Saturn
 86
Based on
38 reviews

Virtua Cop

Saturn Version

Saturn, US
VirtuaCop Saturn US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngVirtuacop sat us frontcover.jpg
Cover
Saturn, US (Stunner bundle)
Saturn 80313 box-2.jpg
Cover
Virtuacop sat us nfr disc.jpg
Disc
VirtuaCop Saturn US Box Back NFRS.jpgVirtuacop sat us nfr frontcover.jpg
Jewel Case
Saturn, EU
<div style="margin:auto; max-width:Expression error: Unexpected < operator.px"> 320x120pxNospine.pngVirtuacop sat eu frontcover.jpg
Cover
Virtuacop sat eu disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, EU (Virtua Gun bundle)
VirtuaGun EU VC Box Front.jpg
Cover
Virtuacop sat eu disc.jpg
Disc
Virtuacop sat eu bundle backcover.jpgVirtuacop sat eu bundle frontcover.jpg
Jewel Case
Saturn, JP
Virtuacop sat jp backcover.jpgVirtuacop sat jp frontcover.jpg
Cover
Saturn, Brazil
VirtuaCop Sat BR cover.jpg
Cover
Saturn, Brazil
(Virtua Gun bundle)
VirtuaCop Sat Gun BR cover.jpg
Cover

PC Version

PC, US
VirtuaCop PC US Box Front.jpg
Cover
PC, EU

VirtuaCop PC EU Disc.jpg
Disc
  1. ↑ CD Consoles, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 68
  2. ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 148
  3. ↑ Computer & Video Games, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-12-10), page 30
  4. ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1995-12-08)
  5. ↑ Edge, "February 1996" (UK; 1996-01-12), page 78
  6. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 40
  7. ↑ Famitsu, "1995-12-01" (JP; 1995-11-17), page 1
  8. ↑ Fun Generation, "01/96" (DE; 1995-12-20), page 63
  9. ↑ Fusion, "Volume 2, Number 7: February 1996" (US; 1996-0x-xx), page 67
  10. ↑ GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 1: January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 18
  11. ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 9 No. 1 January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 78
  12. ↑ GamePro, "February 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 58
  13. ↑ GamePro, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-01-25), page 26
  14. ↑ GamesMaster (UK) "Series 5, episode 12" (1995-12-07, 24:00) (+13:05)
  15. ↑ Games World: The Magazine, "February 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 46
  16. ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Diciembre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 70
  17. ↑ LeveL, "Září 1996" (CZ; 1996-09-03), page 76
  18. ↑ MAN!AC, "01/96" (DE; 1995-12-06), page 50
  19. ↑ Maximum, "January 1996" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 143
  20. ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 78
  21. ↑ Mega Fun, "01/96" (DE; 1995-12-20), page 34
  22. ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "February 1996" (UK; 1995-12-xx), page 58
  23. ↑ Next Generation, "February 1996" (US; 1996-01-16), page 164
  24. ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 118
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 3" (JP; 1996-01-19), page 78
  26. ↑ Saturn+, "Christmas 1995" (UK; 1995-12-14), page 36
  27. ↑ Score, "Říjen 1996" (CZ; 1996-10-01), page 113
  28. ↑ Sega Magazin, "Januar 1996" (DE; 1995-12-13), page 74
  29. ↑ Sega News, "Říjen 1996" (CZ; 1996-xx-xx), page 14
  30. ↑ Sega Pro, "February 1996" (UK; 1995-12-28), page 34
  31. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-11-24), page 70
  32. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (JP; 1995-11-08), page 189
  33. ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 11
  34. ↑ Strana Igr, "Aprel 1996" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 138
  35. ↑ Todo Sega, "Enero 1996" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 32
  36. ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-12-14), page 64
  37. ↑ Última Generación, "Diciembre 1995" (ES; 1995-1x-xx), page 84
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