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− | | sat_date_us=1995-11{{intref|Press release: 1995-10-30: Sega unleashes exclusive lineup of arcade hits for Sega Saturn}} | + | | sat_date_us=1995-12{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/19970523024501/http://www.inlink.com:80/~dkreaver/release.html}} |
| | sat_code_us=81015 | | | sat_code_us=81015 |
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Revision as of 12:35, 4 January 2021
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 was one of the first light-gun games to take place in a 3D world, as the first light-gun shooter to use 3D polygons. Sega advertised it as the "world's first texture mapped, polygon action game".[3]
Story
A detective in the player's department uncovered an illegal gun-running operation and was able to trace it back to E.V.L Inc., a powerful crime syndicate. He compiled a large amount of evidence and was ready to take them down, but was soon discovered and assassinated by the criminals. Some of his evidence managed to make its way back to headquarters, and a special task force was put on the case. The policemen Michael Hardy and James Cools must face that organization led by Joe Fang and his followers Kong, the King, and the Boss.
Gameplay
Players assume the role of a police officer - either Michael Hardy, or his partner, James Cools. Played from a first person perspective view, the players must use the light gun to take down the multitude of sharp shooters who come for them. At the start of the game, the player is armed with only a pistol, but more powerful weapons, such as machine guns and shotguns, can be obtained as they progress. These weapons are hidden in breakable objects such as crates, and can be extremely useful when trying to take on the customary end-of-level bosses. There are 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. The game's realistic graphics earned it the "Virtua" title, along with other 3D Sega games such as Virtua Fighter, Virtua Striker and Virtua Racing.
Stages
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Arms Black Market (beginner)
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Underground Weapon Storage (medium)
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Gang Headquarters (expert)
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History
Release
300,000 copies of Virtua Cop were sold in Japan during its first week[14].
Legacy
Virtua Cop revolutionized the light-gun shooter genre with its new 3D first-person rail shooter format, including new mechanics like positional body targeting and headshots, revitalizing the genre in the arcades. It also broke new ground by popularizing the use of 3D graphics in shooter games.[15] It inspired 3D light gun shooters such as Time Crisis and The House of the Dead as well as 3D first-person shooters such as GoldenEye 007,[16] which in turn laid the foundations for console FPS games.
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. The "Elite Edition" includes gallery extras and implementation of Namco's G-Con 2 lightgun support.
Versions
Virtua Cop's arcade success meant it was ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995 and later to PC in 1996. The Saturn version of the game was initially bundled with the Virtua Gun, a light-gun peripheral intended for use with this game. If the user lacks a CRT television, the Virtua Gun cannot be used, and the game must be played with the normal Saturn controller.
The Saturn Virtua Cop was of the first games to use the Sega Graphics Library, and a one-level demo was first demonstrated at '95 Tokyo Toy Show in June 1995[17].
The PC version was known as Virtua City P.D. during development (at least, in North America[18], where it would eventually be known as Virtua Squad). The PC version uses a mouse instead of a light gun, and a variant optimised for the NV1 graphics chipset initially shipped on the same disc[19].
Tiger produced a handheld version as a part of their Laser Games series of minature lightgun games. The folding gun included with this version was relient on infra-red technology.
In 2004, a port was developed for the handheld Nokia N-Gage, but was cancelled by the quality control team before its release. There are very few beta units in existence.
Localised names
Also known as
Language
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Localised Name
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English Translation
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English
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Virtua Cop
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Virtua Cop
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English (US)
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Virtua Cop
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Virtua Cop
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Japanese
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バーチャコップ
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Virtua Cop
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Korean
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버쳐캅
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Production credits
Arcade version
Saturn version
- Director: Takashi Isono
- Main programmer: Masayuki Sumi
- Programmers: Takeshi Iwasaki, Jun-ichi Ishito, Takashi Isowaki
- Programmers: Norihiro Sekine, Takashi Ono, Hiroyuki Tsuzuki
- Designers: Takafumi Kagaya, Kazufumi Ohashi, Saori Nishikawa, Masakazu Takizawa
- Sound Composer: Kentaro Koyama
- Publicity: Fumio Kurokawa, Koji Umeda
- Special Thanks: Yukinobu Arikawa, Masataka Aochi, Kazuo Ohtani
- Supervisor: Yu Suzuki
- Presented by: Sega
Source: In-game credits[21]
- Producer: Eric Rawlins
- Lead Tester: Tony Lynch
- Assistant Lead Testers: Joe Damon, Caroline Trujillo, Todd Slepian
- Testers: John Jansen, Dave Dodge, Mitch Giampaoli, Doug Leslie, Justin Acevedo, Ward Farris, Jay Vo, Ron Allen, Mike Douglas, Rey Alferez, Jeff Junio, Chris Lucich, Jeremy Caine, Jeremy Campbell, Rick Greer, Andrew Nolley, Chris Johnson, Jose Ochoa
- Product Manager: Lori Von Rueden
- Manual: Wendy Dinsmore
- Special Thanks: Yukimi Shamura, Osamu Shibamiya and AM2
Source: US manualError creating thumbnail: /bin/bash: line 1: 286658 Done '/usr/bin/gs' '-sDEVICE=jpeg' '-sOutputFile=-' '-dFirstPage=1' '-dLastPage=1' '-dSAFER' '-r150' '-dBATCH' '-dNOPAUSE' '-q' '/home/sonicret/domains/segaretro.org/public_html/images/9/93/Virtuacop_sat_us_manual.pdf' 286659 Segmentation fault | '/usr/bin/convert' '-depth' '8' '-quality' '95' '-resize' '2187' '-' '/home/sonicret/domains/segaretro.org/public_html/images/temp/transform_4aed1a8f61fe.jpg'
[22]
PC version
Magazine articles
- Main article: Virtua Cop/Magazine articles.
Promotional material
- Main article: Virtua Cop/Promotional material.
Artwork
US Saturn prototype cover
EU Saturn prototype cover
Merchandise
Physical scans
Arcade version
Sega Retro Average
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Publication
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Version
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Score
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Saturn version
Saturn, JP
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Cover
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Saturn, EU
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Cover
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Disc
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Saturn, AU
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Cover
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Disc
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Saturn, BR
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Cover
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Saturn, KR
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Spinecard
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PC version
{{{{{icon}}}|L}}
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Division by zero.
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Based on 0 review
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PC, JP (Super 1500)
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Cover
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Disc
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PC, US
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Cover
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PC, EU
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Disc Jewel Case
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PC, KR
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Cover
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PC, TW
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Cover
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Technical information
ROM dump status
System |
Hash |
Size |
Build Date |
Source |
Comments |
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✔
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492,334,752
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CD-ROM (EU)
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MK81015-50, MK81026-50 V1.004
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✔
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492,501,744
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1995-10-12
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CD-ROM (JP)
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GS-9059, GS-9060 V1.000
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✔
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492,334,752
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CD-ROM (US)
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81026 V1.001
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Track list
Saturn version
6. Arms Black Market (04:11)
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7. Underground Weapons Storage (03:38)
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8. Gang Headquarters (03:31)
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19. Time (Not Used) (04:36)
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► Running time: 41:41
This game has extra content which can be viewed when accessing the disc on a PC.
Saturn (JP) Extra files
Folder / File
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Type
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Size
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description
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OMAKE.DAT
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Compressed (LZH)
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142,654
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It contains extra image and text file.
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THANKS.DOC
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TXT
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1,443
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Messages from the developers.
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External links
References
- ↑ File:Virtuacop sat jp backcover.jpg
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://sega.jp/history/hard/segasaturn/software.html (Wayback Machine: 2020-03-30 22:53)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 File:VirtuaCop Model2 Flyer.pdf, page 2
- ↑ Sega Arcade History, Enterbrain, page 133
- ↑ http://www.inlink.com:80/~dkreaver/release.html (Wayback Machine: 1997-05-23 02:45)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 GamePro, "February 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 58
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Press release: 1995-10-30: Sega unleashes exclusive lineup of arcade hits for Sega Saturn
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Computer & Video Games, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-12-10), page 30
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-11-24), page 11
- ↑ http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/athome/pc/vc/vc.htm (Wayback Machine: 1996-12-24 11:34)
- ↑ Press release: 1998-09-08: Experience The Ultimate In All-Out Action With New Titles From Expert Software's Sega PC Collection
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "November 1996" (UK; 1996-10-09), page 49
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 PC Action, "12/96" (DE; 1996-11-20), page 100
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-12-15), page 7
- ↑ http://www.ign.com/articles/2004/07/08/virtua-cop
- ↑ http://www.zoonami.com/briefing/2004-09-02.php
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "November 1995" (UK; 1995-10-26), page 44
- ↑ GamePro, "December 1996" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 102
- ↑ Press release: 1996-11-08: SEGA ENTERTAINMENT’S VIRTUA SQUAD DELIVERS GAMING JUSTICE ON THE PC
- ↑ http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014723/Yu-Suzuki-s-Gameworks-A
- ↑ File:VirtuaC1 Saturn JP SSEnding.pdf
- ↑ File:Virtuacop sat us manual.pdf, page 14
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "June 1995" (UK; 1995-05-xx), page 90
- ↑ EGM², "November 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 162-165 (162)
- ↑ Next Generation, "Premiere Issue 1995" (US; 1994-12-08), page 105 (111)
- ↑ CD Consoles, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 68-72 (68)
- ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 148-149 (148)
- ↑ Computer & Video Games, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-12-10), page 30-33 (30)
- ↑ Edge, "February 1996" (UK; 1996-01-12), page 78-79 (78)
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 40
- ↑ 31.0 31.1 GameFan, "Volume 4, Issue 1: January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 18
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Diciembre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 70-72 (70)
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 Maximum, "January 1996" (UK; 199x-xx-xx), page 143
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 Mega Fun, "01/96" (DE; 1995-12-20), page 34
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "February 1996" (UK; 1995-12-xx), page 58-60 (58)
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 118-119 (118)
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-11-24), page 70-71 (70)
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (JP; 1995-11-08), page 187 (189)
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine (readers), "Final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 9 (11)
- ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-12-14), page 64-65 (64)
- ↑ Última Generación, "Diciembre 1995" (ES; 1995-1x-xx), page 84-88 (88)
- ↑ CD Consoles, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-xx-xx), page 68
- ↑ Consoles +, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 148
- ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1995-12-08)
- ↑ Edge, "February 1996" (UK; 1996-01-12), page 78
- ↑ Famitsu, "1995-12-01" (JP; 1995-11-17), page 1
- ↑ Fun Generation, "01/96" (DE; 1995-12-20), page 63
- ↑ Fusion, "Volume 2, Number 7: February 1996" (US; 1996-0x-xx), page 67
- ↑ Game Players, "Vol. 9 No. 1 January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 78
- ↑ GamePro, "March 1996" (UK; 1996-01-25), page 26
- ↑ GamesMaster (UK) "Series 5, episode 12" (1995-12-07, 24:00) (+13:05)
- ↑ Games World: The Magazine, "February 1996" (UK; 1996-0x-xx), page 46
- ↑ Game Informer, "January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 44
- ↑ Hobby Consolas, "Diciembre 1995" (ES; 1995-xx-xx), page 70
- ↑ LeveL, "Září 1996" (CZ; 1996-09-03), page 76
- ↑ MAN!AC, "01/96" (DE; 1995-12-06), page 50
- ↑ Mega Force, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 78
- ↑ Mean Machines Sega, "February 1996" (UK; 1995-12-xx), page 58
- ↑ Next Generation, "February 1996" (US; 1996-01-16), page 164
- ↑ Player One, "Décembre 1995" (FR; 1995-1x-xx), page 118
- ↑ 61.0 61.1 Saturn Fan, "1996 No. 3" (JP; 1996-01-19), page 78
- ↑ Saturn+, "Christmas 1995" (UK; 1995-12-14), page 36
- ↑ Score, "Říjen 1996" (CZ; 1996-10-01), page 113
- ↑ Sega Magazin, "Januar 1996" (DE; 1995-12-13), page 74
- ↑ Sega News, "Říjen 1996" (CZ; 1996-xx-xx), page 14
- ↑ Sega Pro, "February 1996" (UK; 1995-12-28), page 34
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (UK; 1995-11-24), page 70
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "December 1995" (JP; 1995-11-08), page 189
- ↑ Sega Saturn Magazine, "Readers rating final data" (JP; 2000-03), page 11
- ↑ Strana Igr, "Aprel 1996" (RU; 1996-xx-xx), page 138
- ↑ Todo Sega, "Enero 1996" (ES; 199x-xx-xx), page 32
- ↑ Ultimate Future Games, "January 1996" (UK; 1995-12-14), page 64
- ↑ Ultimate Gamer, "January 1996" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 66
- ↑ Última Generación, "Diciembre 1995" (ES; 1995-1x-xx), page 84
- ↑ 576 KByte, "Február 1997" (HU; 1997-xx-xx), page 13
- ↑ Arcade, "August 1999" (UK; 1999-06-30), page 99
- ↑ Digitiser (UK) (1997-01-07)
- ↑ Intelligent Gamer, "December 1996" (US; 1996-1x-xx), page 78
- ↑ LeveL, "Únor 1997" (CZ; 1997-02-01), page 1
- ↑ Next Generation, "February 1997" (US; 1997-01-xx), page 136
- ↑ PC Gamer, "Vol. 4, No. 1: January 1997" (US; 1996-xx-xx), page 226
- ↑ PC Games, "12/96" (DE; 1996-11-06), page 96
- ↑ Reset, "Czerwiec 1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 38
- ↑ Score, "Únor 1997" (CZ; 1997-02-01), page 1
- ↑ Secret Service, "Styczeń 1997" (PL; 1997-01-01), page 21