Virtua Cop Review
September 4th, 2014
So let's talk Saturn finally! Virtua Cop was one of the
first Sega Saturn games ever released and it was a port of the arcade version
by the same name. The port was nearly spot on with lesser graphics as I recall
so this was really the beginning of the era where you could have that
experience in your home. What’s a Saturn I hear you ask? Well, it was Sega’s
equivalent to the PS1 but was released slightly before to attempt a boost in
sales. Sadly, it’s the less remembered, older brother to Sega’s last console
the Dreamcast. So that makes Saturn a unique system, it’s underrated, has a
small library, and is just a special machine all around.
On
to Virtua Cop. This was the very first Saturn game I got the day I got the
console. I picked it up for $5 and I think the Stunner, the light gun used to
play it, cost around $20 or so. For Saturn, that’s cheap however. The game is
an on rails shooter, one of the first of its kind and really pushed that
format. You have the option to use a light gun, as long as you have an older TV
which I always have handy. When I say option I mean it’s nearly essential to
the experience. I did try this that night with the controller and that didn’t
go too well. When using the light gun though, everything is fast paced and
super responsive aside from a few instances in which my controller’s trigger
had jammed. After fixing that though I had no trouble with the control. It is a
bit awkward holding that gun up for hours upon end so that’s a small side
effect.
The
game is a very standard on rails shooter. There are enemies that a target zooms
in on in an order and if you don’t shoot them quick enough they shoot and
continue to chip away at your 5 ‘life’ containers (one hit per so their
basically hearts ). Apparently this can be adjusted to up to 9 containers as
well as 9 continues (the default being 5). Also, if you hit a civilian whose in
the way, YOU take a hit with a life container.
So
not only is the system to shoot the bad guys in a pattern but also to avoid
civilians with your bullets. On top of that, you only have a 6 bullet pistol to
start which can be reloaded by shooting off screen. To play this game it is
essential to master a quick sort of wrist flick movement to manage your
reloading and you must learn when to reload and where the enemies are. This is
essentially an arcade game I’m reviewing. Also there are powerups, an automatic
gun that holds 15 bullets and is faster, a machine gun which holds 30 and is
faster, a shotgun which holds 6 but is powerful, and occasionally a magnum with
6 bullets and slower shots. These powerups can be obtained simply by shooting
them and are usually hidden in breakable boxes or behind an enemy. This leads
to a lot of guess work about what is breakable but it helps keep you on your
toes and rewards some risky gun work.
The
levels are well done and the graphics look really nice for 1995 home console.
At the time it was revolutionary to have such a solid looking port. The
environments are riddled with flavor and life which adds to the atmosphere and
is a nice touch. There are only 3 levels in total, a docks level, the mining
facility, and the headquarters so this is a short game. Each level is broken
into 3 stages which are essentially just checkpoints for your score or to
transition to a new building. Also you can choose any level you want in any
order. They are labeled beginner for docks, medium for the mines, and expert
for the HQ which is a fair assessment of the skill necessary for those levels.
I’d say do them in order, it’s better to build up skill in this game. So the
levels are set up well and the enemies can come from nearly anywhere which keep
things interesting. There are also a few kinds of enemies and some throw
projectiles you can shoot down which adds another level of challenge. Mastering
these stages takes some doing though, this isn’t an easy game nor is it
extremely hard, it’s balanced at least on normal difficulty.
At
the end of each stage you face a boss and they all similarly shoot projectiles
at you. They can be challenging because generally you’ve been beaten to hell in
terms of credits just to get there. The first is pretty easy, no gimmicks just
three fire balls and you shoot him when you can. The second is massively more
difficult. He’ll hide and send out soldiers to fight you. Once you’ve beaten
them he’ll come back and you can land a few more shots. His attack is even more
fireballs. He’s quite the endurance round but easily the hardest boss. The third
boss is just a giant mech with this guy in it and you shoot his missile
launchers. Regardless, for an arcade game the bosses are a cool change of pace.
So
what do I think about this game? I didn’t think it would do much for me at
first but I ended up really enjoying it. The levels are just fun to run through
until you have them perfect and are doing excellent so then you can kill the
boss no problem. The light gun gimmick is awesome and you can’t beat shooting
down a bunch of bad guys with it. There’s also a coop mode so maybe someday
I’ll get another Stunner and get some multiplayer going. For an early arcade
port to Saturn and for being the predecessor to modern on rails shooters this
game still holds up surprisingly well. It’s just a lot of fun to play this
game. This game gets a 7.3 out of 10. Here’s looking forward to the sequel and
hoping I end up getting that House of the Dead!
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