We purposely kept on going into ES mode whenever possible, but most show-goers seemed to ignore the feature and get by just fine (one sharp shooter in particular had frightening accuracy with just a bare gun). To be honest, our limited play time didn't allow for us to see how much the ES mode is actually required for play. Nor are you invincible while in slow-mo, as bullets still move quickly enough and in large enough volume to overwhelm you. That's not to say that you can play the entire game in ES mode. The ES meter replenishes quickly, meaning you don't have to be too shy about going into slow-mo mode. The+all+new+Matrix+pedal And in addition to looking good, we're pleased to report that it's not just an occasionally-used gimmick. It really does look like something pulled out of The Matrix. Sure, the Xbox-based arcade hardware helps with the detailed models, the high res, animated textures, and so-forth, but the reason most people are going to turn their heads to this game is because of the stylish effects filling the screen when going into slow motion. To fill it back up, you simply shoot more enemies in normal speed.Īs you might have guessed having seen the videos, the ES mode makes Virtua Cop 3 the coolest looking shooter on the planet. You can stay in ES mode until your ES meter depletes. Press down the pedal and enemy movements slow down, and you can even view bullets at a pace slow enough for them to be targetted and shot down individually. The ES mode allow you to send the game into slow motion by holding down a foot pedal. It now pays to save up, adding a bit of strategy to the game.Įven with all these strives made over previous entries in the series, the Matrix-influenced ES mode is indeed the catch with Virtua Cop 3. No more using a machine gun to completion as soon as you get it. You can now select your weapon with the press of a button on the side of your gun.
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New to the series is a weapon select feature (which some may parallel to the similar feature found in Namco's Time Crisis 3). Shoot them? It would probably be tough, but the game gives you a chance at an alternative - shoot a control panel, closing a door on them. Later, you're working your way through a hall and keep on encountering hoards of enemies. Instead of taking them out the direct way, the game gives you an opportunity to shoot down the roof on them (which probably wouldn't work in real life, but oh well). In one sequence, a group of enemies appears in the bottom floor of a big hall. The developers have equipped the game with some interesting mini-games that make things a little less linear. Ignoring the new title's signature ES-mode feature for the moment, and you still have a fast shooter with high quality visuals and smart, often tricky, enemy placement. Having skipped a couple of generations, does developer Sega-AM2 continue the tradition of its pioneering gun shooting series from some 8 years back?įrom our playtest of the game at the now ongoing AOU arcade show in Japan, Virtua Cop 3 reveals, more than anything, that things have evolved greatly since those early days of light gun games. At long last, Virtua Cop 3 has come around, running on the most powerful arcade hardware in existence, Sega's Xbox-based Chihiro hardware.
The last time the words Virtua Cop graced the sides of an arcade cabinet, texture mapping was the new thing in gaming graphics and Saturn and PlayStation were in their infancy.