[Sega Saturn] Virtua Cop ~ 1CC (11,630,400)

I felt like it had been a long time since I last posted a video of a Saturn game that was unquestionably good, so here we go. Originally an arcade game by Sega and AM2 released to the Model 2 arcade boards in 1994, the Saturn port came a year later in 1995 and was one of the original Saturn killer apps (that wasn't disappointingly rushed). It even came bundled with a lightgun, the Sega Saturn Stunner Gun!
You take the role of a Virtua Cop going to three different crime scenes to make the Virtua Criminals pay for whatever it is they're doing, I guess it doesn't matter. This is an on-rails shooter, therefore you're always taken down the same path every playthrough and your only controls are to aim, shoot and reload. As you walk around, the camera will zoom in on an enemy which will shoot you if you are not fast enough. Most enemies at the start of the game are in plain sight, however as you progress, not only will the enemies get quicker on the draw, but they'll also start taking cover, sometimes even behind innocent civilians you are penalised for shooting.
The scenery often has props you can shoot, such as windows, miscellaneous objects and explosive barrels, with some of these objects even dropping weapons you can pick up and use to your advantage. These powerups are scarce, but always come in handy. The Automatic is the same as the default weapon, but it holds 15 rounds instead of your default's 6, a huge improvement, especially for crowds of enemies or bosses; the Magnum revolver can pierce through cover; the Shotgun has a very large hitbox; the Machinegun pretty much serves as a temporary 30 round extension to your gun; finally the Rifle holds 24 bullets and fires a 3-round burst extremely fast.
The graphics are alright. They get the job done, however the scenery is relatively simple, with only the final stage really being visually interesting, inside the office building bursting with enemies and computers you can explode. There are no loading times during gameplay, at least! The framerate is 30FPS, however it's not quite as stable as you'd like. While not exactly common, there are instances where it does take a nosedive when the game gets really busy, particularly during Stage 2. This is a problem, as the game often gets really confused during slowdowns, not registering hits properly and sometimes not even letting you reload, causing you to take unnecessary hits... This is probably the biggest problem with the game. I suspect this probably has to do with the fact it's still a relatively early release on the Saturn. Still, this is still an extremely faithful conversion of the original game.
Added from the arcade version is a "Training" Mode, where you can choose to either go through a series of tests in a shooting range against target silhouettes to prove your aiming skills, or a vs. Mode where you go up against an opponent to compete for score. It's not much, but it's decently fun to try out and, if anything, serves as a good warmup before playing the real game.
Overall this is a great game you should definitely get for your collection, though odds are, if you already own a Saturn, you already own this game. It's a very popular game for a reason. If you're still getting into the Saturn, make sure to get it with the lightgun (and make sure you have a CRT TV you can use it on...) since this game is all about that accessory. You can play it using a standard Saturn controller, but really, what is the point in doing that?