Virtua Cop

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Virtua Cop

System(s): Sega Model 2, Sega Saturn, PC
Publisher: Sega
Developer: Sega AM2
Genre: Shoot-'em-Up
ESRB Sega ELSPA USK DJCTQ

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

Production Credits (Arcade Team)

Main Programmer/Director: Katsunori Itai
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
Main Designer: Akihito Hiroyosi
Senior 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&D Dept. 4
Created By: Sega AM2
Presented By: Sega

Production Credits (Saturn Team)

Director: Takashi Isono
Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
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
Created By: Sega AM2
Presented By: Sega

Production Credits (PC Team)

Producer: Toshinori Asai
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
Created By: Sega AM2
Presented By: Sega