Play It:
For the Arcade, Saturn, and PS2 (as part of Virtua Cop Rebirth. However, it is only out in Japan, and I don't think it is coming out in America.)



Story:
Well, let's see what the manual says...
Virtua City was once a peaceful city. However, a "veteran police detective" (Nick Anderson? See VC2.) Has uncovered a large gun smuggling operation within the city. He works hard on the case for a long time. One day, he turns up dead, and his evidence has disappeared. It's up to you to take down the bad guys.

Yeah, not much of a story here, but it does the job. There really is no logical level progression either, unless you really stretch your mind. You assume the role of either Michael "Rage" Hardy or James "Smarty" Cools. The story plays out like all those buddy cop movies. Let's see: 2 partners who are the top cops on the force; one is headstrong and likes to simply rush into danger (Rage) while the other is calm, cool, and collected, and generally the opposite (Smarty); a main character who has either a "cool" or tough guy name (James Cools), kinda like Jack Stone, Mason Storm, Adam Plexiglas, Vick Kevloc, or Nick Pigiron; a gun smuggling ring (come on, they all have one); while the normal police officers drive Crown Victorias or whatever, the Virtua Cops get a custom-built police cruiser.



Graphics:
Well, this game is about a decade old now, so obviously it doesn't look too pretty now. Back in the day, it looked great.



Sound:
The music is pretty good, although outdated. The sound track has one of those 70's vibes, and that's very fitting for this game. The music for the first level is pretty sweet. Unfortunately, they do recycle a few bits from each other, and there is only one song for each level, plus the boss theme. As for sound effects, they are all good. It's mostly gunshots and death groans, which are well done, but do get a little old after a while. Boss comments can be really hard to hear. The voices are all pretty corny, but that just adds to the feel of the game, and won't have you cringing.



Difficulty:
Fully customizable. Adjust difficulty settings (Easy, Medium, or Hard, plus more when you beat the game), life allowances (1-9), and continues (none-9, plus free play when you unlock it). Want to be need mad skills? Want to let your younger brother effortlessly walk through the game on his first try? You can set it for whatever you want. Considerably easier than part 2, though.



Enjoyment:
Rock solid. Good blasting fun the whole time, although short. Also double gunning this game is just so badass, although it could use some more destructible objects.



Replay Value:
Not really, unless you beat the levels out of order the first time around. Also, the ending does change slightly depending on which level you beat last.





Rant Session:
The evil corporation that is backing the syndicate is called EVL.
Evil? Oh, think that's funny? The first boss you fight is named Kong, and the second is King. Hmmm... King and Kong... oh, that is just so fucking hilarious! Well, actually, I can't really think of anything to bitch about, cause this game is so awesome. Although, is that a suit Smarty is wearing under the bulletproof vest? I don't think I would dress in a suit while raiding a firearms convention. Also, Rage has Terminator (red) eyes. Serves his badass image, but not very realistic.





Bottom Line:
Even though I played every Time Crisis game before I played this one, I wasn't disappointed at all with this one. I think it serves as a testament to this game's greatness. Go get a Saturn and this game.

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