[8] As with the first Virtua Cop, players earn extra points for "justice shots", meaning shooting an enemy's gun hand to disarm them without killing them.

[9] By consistently defeating enemies without taking hits or shooting hostages, the player increases the multiplier which is applied every time they earn points.

Meanwhile, the Virtua City Police Special Investigations Unit got a new member in the shape of Janet Marshall, an expert in criminal psychology profiling.

[2] Reviewing the arcade version, a Next Generation critic commented that "the action, enemies, variation of levels and backgrounds, and the fun are all so improved over Virtua Cop 1, and in all the right places, that no other laser-gun shooter comes close to it right now."

He especially praised the high frame rate, the level design, the need for skilled aiming, and the way the game is paced such that bouts of intense shootouts with "multitudes of terrorists" are broken by short pauses to give the player a breather.

[17][20] Reviews generally hailed the game as a considerable improvement over the already impressive original, due to its more interactive environments[19][20] and higher intensity, especially in the chase scenes.

Whether chasing down an armored car while picking off bad guys hanging out the window, or dodging bullets in a speeding subway train, this game is just short of being described as a roller coaster ride by some hack movie critic in the Midwest and even closer to being described as an 'edge of your seat thriller' by this reviewer on the West coast.

"[22] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly had similar reactions,[16] while Rich Leadbetter of Sega Saturn Magazine argued that even the shorter Virtua Cop has far more longevity than it is usually given credit for, as both it and the sequel have numerous modes and approaches that can provide players with new challenges on repeat plays.

[20] Tom Ham wrote in GameSpot, "While the first Virtua Cop set a new standard for light gun shooters, Sega and the AM2 team have delivered an incredible sequel that takes the concept to a whole new level.

[23] In 1997, they named the Saturn version number 98 on their "100 Best Games of All Time", citing its addition of branching levels and innovative stage design to the series' revolutionary use of polygonal enemies which move realistically and react differently depending on where they are shot.