Genre: Light gun shooter
Developer: Sega-AM2
Publisher: Sega

This Saturn port of Virtua Cop appears to use the Virtua Fighter 2 engine. Although the textures don't look quite as high resolution, the framerate is absolutely perfect. The stages are populated with lots of interesting objects and obstructions from behind which enemies frequently appear, and the boards are happily not overly busy either. A handy dynamic reticule always directs the player towards the enemy providing the greatest threat at any given moment.

Compositionally, Virtua Cop's music is a sort of light jazz and rock fusion-- it is of the snazzy, foot-tapping style of music that is never annoying and essentially stays out of the way. Sound effects are rather mundane, with some garbled-sounding voice work that plays when bosses introduce themselves, and when certain enemies are killed.

Virtua Cop's stages are well-paced, with enemies popping out from virtually everywhere, while the camera ducks and weaves interesting routes through the polygonal landscapes. The boards aren't terribly interactive, but occasionally some interesting things happen, like cars exploding, or towers falling over. Surprisingly, the game is even reasonably playable with a dpad.

Despite being an on-rails light gun shooter, Virtua Cop is commonly cited as a major influence on post-Doom first-person shooters, and it's no wonder why-- its colorful, populous, and well-paced stages, smooth framerate, and polygonal graphics are lovely even today. While the game has been superceded mechanically by newer games in the genre, Virtua Cop is still accessible and fun.