Today I am going to review the Xbox game Panzer Dragoon Orta. While the game originally came out in January, I just got the game last week, and I've been playing ever since. Oftentimes I feel that not that much attention is paid to many great games on the Xbox, and Panzer Dragoon Orta being one of them. This game reeks of greatness. But I hear you: "What the hell is a Panzer Dragoon?" I guess you need a little back story.
When Sega Saturn was released back in 1995, there were not that many games that stood out in the launch line up. But there was one on-rails shooter by Sega's own Team Andromeda that did. In the original Panzer Dragoon, you commanded the blue dragon and went on your quest to destroy everything that moved on screen, literally. Saturn gamers dug it. It was a complete blast. The graphics were amazing for the time, the gameplay was original, and the premise was cool. So it spanned to more sequels on the Saturn, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei, which was a shooter like the first game, and Panzer Dragoon Saga, which was, surprisingly, an RPG. But after Team Andromeda broke up, gamers feared that they would never get to experience another Panzer Dragoon game. Until Smilebit, another Sega developer, decided to release Orta for the Xbox.
The game is an on-rails shooter. What that means is the path you take is not under your control like in games such as Rogue Leader or Robotech: Battlecry. Your dragon takes you to your destination so all you have to worry about is concentrating on shooting the enemies, of which there are A LOT. But that doesn't mean that you have no interactivity with controlling the dragon. You can move the dragon up and down and from side to side or anyway you like or screen, which you could use to dode enemies and other good stuff. I should mention that you can turn your field of view 360 degrees with the shoulder buttons Also, your dragon does take you automatically to your final destination, but you can choose multiple ways of going through each level. In a nutshell, the best way to describe how this game plays is to imagine you are on a rollercoaster that you can manuever and you are armed with a machine gun that locks on to enemies and blasts them into pieces.
One thing that I should tell you about this game is that it has AMAZING GRAPHICS. Quite possibly some of the best graphics on the Xbox. And that's a great thing because Orta's world is so beautifully detailed and contains such great scenery and enemies. Panzer Dragoon Orta is quite a fest for your eyes, but I'll let you see for yourself. Here is some media from IGN.
I didn't even metion the story yet. The story is about a girl named Orta who is locked up alone in a prison. She has no friends or family, and has been locked up since she can remember. In the begining of the game, the dragon comes and frees Orta from the prison, and thus begins her great journey to find out the truth about her mysterious past. The story is pretty great, even though the game would still be fun without one, so that is a plus. I don't to spoil anything for you so you will just have to play the game to find out more
I am telling you about all this good stuff and you are wondering about the bad. Well, hmmm let me see. Sometimes due to the nature of the rails concept, where the dragon takes you where you want to go, it can get a bit overwhelming and hard to get out of the way of some things. OH! And also be prepared to kill a LOT of time with this game. You won't eat, sleep, or bathe until you collect everything, and that could be bad. But it feels so good.
With it's addictive gameplay, awesome visuals, and excellent graphics, Panzer Dragoon Orta is work playing again and again. And not just because the gameplay rocks, but because theres a lot of secrets to find. I mean A LOT. Panzer Dragoon Orta marks the return of a feature called Pandora's Box, in which, by playing the game, you can unlock dozens of extra sub-missions, video clips, images, information abotu past games, and even the FULL VERSION OF THE SATURN PANZER DRAGOON GAME. This is about the coolest extra there is, to be able to play the original Saturn classic on Xbox. You will spend weeks trying to get everything, and you will be having a blast while doing it.
I couldn't reccomend this game more. This is the greatest rails shooter ever. If you are looking to pick up a new game, it wouldn't hurt to give Orta a try, even if you could only rent it(but you would want to buy it after that, trust me). On a scale of 1 through 10, Panzer Dragoon Orta gets a 9.0 from me. It's a great game, and one of Xbox's top 10 for sure, maybe even in the top 5. Don't take my word for it and rent it if you like, you won't be dissapointed.
Also, this is my first review for a game ever. I'm going to be buying a whole bunch of games now that I bought an Xbox. Tell me if you like this one and if I should continue writing them.
Cliff Notes: Panzer dragoon is an addictive game with wonderful graphics, tight gameplay, and lots of replay value. Buy it. Now.
When Sega Saturn was released back in 1995, there were not that many games that stood out in the launch line up. But there was one on-rails shooter by Sega's own Team Andromeda that did. In the original Panzer Dragoon, you commanded the blue dragon and went on your quest to destroy everything that moved on screen, literally. Saturn gamers dug it. It was a complete blast. The graphics were amazing for the time, the gameplay was original, and the premise was cool. So it spanned to more sequels on the Saturn, Panzer Dragoon II Zwei, which was a shooter like the first game, and Panzer Dragoon Saga, which was, surprisingly, an RPG. But after Team Andromeda broke up, gamers feared that they would never get to experience another Panzer Dragoon game. Until Smilebit, another Sega developer, decided to release Orta for the Xbox.
The game is an on-rails shooter. What that means is the path you take is not under your control like in games such as Rogue Leader or Robotech: Battlecry. Your dragon takes you to your destination so all you have to worry about is concentrating on shooting the enemies, of which there are A LOT. But that doesn't mean that you have no interactivity with controlling the dragon. You can move the dragon up and down and from side to side or anyway you like or screen, which you could use to dode enemies and other good stuff. I should mention that you can turn your field of view 360 degrees with the shoulder buttons Also, your dragon does take you automatically to your final destination, but you can choose multiple ways of going through each level. In a nutshell, the best way to describe how this game plays is to imagine you are on a rollercoaster that you can manuever and you are armed with a machine gun that locks on to enemies and blasts them into pieces.
One thing that I should tell you about this game is that it has AMAZING GRAPHICS. Quite possibly some of the best graphics on the Xbox. And that's a great thing because Orta's world is so beautifully detailed and contains such great scenery and enemies. Panzer Dragoon Orta is quite a fest for your eyes, but I'll let you see for yourself. Here is some media from IGN.
I didn't even metion the story yet. The story is about a girl named Orta who is locked up alone in a prison. She has no friends or family, and has been locked up since she can remember. In the begining of the game, the dragon comes and frees Orta from the prison, and thus begins her great journey to find out the truth about her mysterious past. The story is pretty great, even though the game would still be fun without one, so that is a plus. I don't to spoil anything for you so you will just have to play the game to find out more
I am telling you about all this good stuff and you are wondering about the bad. Well, hmmm let me see. Sometimes due to the nature of the rails concept, where the dragon takes you where you want to go, it can get a bit overwhelming and hard to get out of the way of some things. OH! And also be prepared to kill a LOT of time with this game. You won't eat, sleep, or bathe until you collect everything, and that could be bad. But it feels so good.
With it's addictive gameplay, awesome visuals, and excellent graphics, Panzer Dragoon Orta is work playing again and again. And not just because the gameplay rocks, but because theres a lot of secrets to find. I mean A LOT. Panzer Dragoon Orta marks the return of a feature called Pandora's Box, in which, by playing the game, you can unlock dozens of extra sub-missions, video clips, images, information abotu past games, and even the FULL VERSION OF THE SATURN PANZER DRAGOON GAME. This is about the coolest extra there is, to be able to play the original Saturn classic on Xbox. You will spend weeks trying to get everything, and you will be having a blast while doing it.
I couldn't reccomend this game more. This is the greatest rails shooter ever. If you are looking to pick up a new game, it wouldn't hurt to give Orta a try, even if you could only rent it(but you would want to buy it after that, trust me). On a scale of 1 through 10, Panzer Dragoon Orta gets a 9.0 from me. It's a great game, and one of Xbox's top 10 for sure, maybe even in the top 5. Don't take my word for it and rent it if you like, you won't be dissapointed.
Also, this is my first review for a game ever. I'm going to be buying a whole bunch of games now that I bought an Xbox. Tell me if you like this one and if I should continue writing them.
Cliff Notes: Panzer dragoon is an addictive game with wonderful graphics, tight gameplay, and lots of replay value. Buy it. Now.
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