Virtua Cop

"It's graphics did not age well but the gameplay surprisingly does."

Before more current games such as Namco's Time Force 3 came in there was this 1994 title, Virtua Cop. This along with Virtua Fighter is Sega's attempt to revolutuinize games by putting them into the 3rd dimension. The graphics were of course ''State-of-the-Art'' 3D that look incredibly outdated now but weren't that great back then either. (Then again 3-D graphics never really went good until a considerable few years later. But then again if it wasn't for those blocky outdatted 3D games of back then we'd never get the smooth well-made 3D games of today. So it basically evens things out.) But the fortunate thing about is that this isn't one of those ''Graphics Innovation'' arcade games where the quality went by Graphics alone. Its actually a pretty darn solid game in itself. (And besides Tekken was better when it comes to pre-late 1990's graphics anyways.)

Its also a good game even if your not a fan of shooting games in the Arcade. Its very easy to get into, its easy to play but not TOO easy to get through. The storyline is as simple as its concept, your a cop whose trying to shoot down a bunch of crooks with guns. Not much more to say than that really. Its a simple game but its gameplay doesn't feel TOO simple. Its not the most addictive game you'll ever find in a Arcade but it does have a pretty darn good amount of Replay Value. Unfortunately its not a incredibly easy to find game as well. (Granted most if not all games from back then are like that but still.) However the only flaw it really has that can't be adverted by the consideration of age is that its awfully lackluster in just about every way when it comes to Audio. Its not utterly terrible but you'll most likely won't remember a thing your hearing in this game.

So overall its a good example of quality early 1990's arcade games, its not one of the best examples but its a pretty darn good one nevertheless. It may lack the style and panache of a very good amount of todays shooters but its simple yet solid gameplay makes this game still a classic in its genre. It may not be the best definition of the term ''Arcade Classic'' but its far from the worst.....

+ Its understandably known as a classic in the genre
+ Its simplistic gameplay still does work well
+ Even if your not a fan of shooter games in the arcade this is still pretty good.
+ The whole game has a good sense of polish for its genre (Especially at the time)
+ The graphics may be outdated and blocky but they did help set the stage for better graphics in 3D shooters.
- The graphics are horribly outdated and incredibly blocky...
- The game isn't incredibly easy to find
- Very forgettable in the audio department

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/20/04, Updated 05/27/04