Virtua Cop 2

The Good
The Virtua Cop series, did not invent the arcade or “on-the-rails” shooter. It did however redefine the genre. And most of the newer entries in to this genre from, The House Of The Dead, to Area 51, and everything in between can be traced back to Virtua Cop. (It’s like the Doom of arcade shooters.-MM-)

The second of the three games in the series. Picking up one year after Michael “Rage” Hardy, and James “Smarty” Cools broke up the “Evl” crime syndicate. The VCPD are joined by Janet Marshall whom is set on avenging her fallen mentor. Furthermore it seems that the Virtua City Bank, may have been involved in the syndicate’s scheme. Looks like it’s time to clean up Virtua City…once more.

“Have you ever fired two guns while jumping through the air?”-Hot Fuzz-

That said plot is the least important element of this sort of game, it’s all about the action and Virtua Cop 2 packs the heat. It’s like an action movie only better. From high speed pursuits, to breaking up heists. The thrills don’t stop until you win the game or die trying, it’s just pure arcade action.

The game even plays well with a controller, but of course playing with a light gun is far more fun.(Screw those games with plastic guitars, I want to play with a plastic gun…wait, what?-MM-) And you can even use two at once for some double barreled action. Or invite a friend to join in the madness.

The graphics are very good considering that in the 32-bit days arcade ports often suffered from a console inferiority complex. The sound and music also made the trip in one piece.

Virtua Cop 2 brings the same simple and fun gameplay of it’s predecessor, and yet still manages to bring new ideas to the table. The best addition would have to be the branching paths.

In each stage, the game presents the player with the choice of where to head next, the multi route approach is a nice touch and adds more variety to the game.

Other cool new features include unlockable cheats, bigger areas, and badder bosses to conquer.

The Bad
My biggest complaint with Virtua Cop 2 has to be it difficulty. It is very easy to finish. Unless you have really bad coordination, and being a gamer that is unlikely.

Even on the higher settings, I did not find it too hard. At least it’s not as unbalanced as the settings in the first game. The second level in the first game in particular.

The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, Virtua Cop 2 is simply the best of the best. Even now some 10 years after it’s initial release, very few games have come close to and even fewer have surpassed the perfection of Virtua Cop 2. But that’s just one humble review’s opinion.