''Cosmic Cop'' is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...

produced by

Irem is a Japanese video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher and manufacturer of pachinkos. The company has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The full name of the company that uses the brand is Irem Software Enginee ...

in 1991. It is part of the popular ''

R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the ''R-Type'' series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful a ...

'' video game series.

Story

Taking place concurrently with ''

R-Type Delta is a shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Irem for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It is the fourth game in the ''R-Type'' series and the first to feature 3D computer graphics, 3D graphics. The game received generally positi ...

'', ''Cosmic Cop'' sees the player as a member of the like-named private security organization tasked with hunting down autonomous vehicles driven berserk by the Bydo, dubbed "Mad Cars".

Gameplay

The player pilots an R-Type fighter, the R-11B ''Peace Maker''. As in most horizontal shooters the screen scrolls continuously to the right, but ''Cosmic Cop'' is unusual in that the scroll rate can be controlled by the player. The further right the player's craft is oriented onscreen, the faster the game scrolls. Gameplay progresses through five different "zones", each culminating with a

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

. Significant bonus points are awarded for completing the zones quickly. The R-11B is armed with forward-firing guns, as well as a lock-on laser that automatically targets enemies, but whose energy depletes as it is fired. These weapons can be powered up twice by picking up a letter "P" and the laser's energy can be quickly refilled by picking up a letter "L". Picking up a letter "M" will equip the R-11B with a missile unit that will fire one of three types of munitions: anti-air missiles, anti-ground missiles, or napalm bombs. Contact with any terrain will cause the missile unit to be lost.

References to ''Cosmic Cop'' in other ''R-Type'' media

* The ''R-Type Special'' CD released in 1993 includes arrangements of the music from every ''R-Type'' arcade game, including ''Cosmic Cop''. * The R-11B has an entry in the library in the ''R-Types'' compilation for

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

. * The R-11B is once again playable in ''

R-Type Final is a horizontal shooter video game by Irem for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was planned to be the last mainline game in the ''R-Type'' series. However, ''R-Type Tactics'' was released for the PlayStation Portable in 2007, and the di ...

'', along with its improved successors the R-11S ''Tropical Angel'' and R-11S2 ''No Chaser''. ''Final'' also includes the anti-ground missiles that originated in ''Cosmic Cop'' as a weapon, usable by many of the craft in the game. * The R-11S variant is an available unit in '' R-Type Tactics''.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Cosmic Cop'' on their November 1, 1991 issue as being the thirteenth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.

Notes

References

{{R-Type series 1991 video games Arcade video games Arcade-only video games R-Type Science fiction video games Video games about police officers Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Takushi Hiyamuta Video games set in the 22nd century Video game spinoffs Single-player video games