"Virtua Cop" was notable for its use of real-time polygonal graphics, which were subsequently used in both "The House of the Dead" and "Time Crisis", instead of the two-dimensional sprites and static backgrounds used in previous games in the genre. Emphasizing the real-time nature of the game, enemies would react differently depending on where they were shot. It was one of the first games to allow the player to shoot through glass. Its name derived from this graphical style, which was previously used in "Virtua Fighter", "Virtua Striker" and "Virtua Racing".