Hands- on impression of PANZER DRAGOON ORTA...^_^

**jae_hoon_MOTW** · 21 May 2002, 05:56 PM

Xengamers.com editor, Brendan Sinclair, updated with a hands on impression of Panzer Dragoon Orta for the XB. It seems the sequel is living up to the standard set forth by the first installment...

I quoted the article below
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We got our hands on a copy of Panzer Dragoon Orta in the Microsoft booth today and walked away absolutely stunned. Classic gameplay never goes out of style, and Smilebit knows it. Panzer Dragoon Orta plays very much like the original title in the series.

For the uninitiated, Panzer Dragoon is an on-rails 3D shooting game. You have direct control of crosshairs as you fly through beautiful levels on the back of a dragon, tracking and locking onto enemies while you hold down the fire button, and then unleashing multiple attacks on all targeted foes when you let go of it. In this aspect, the game is somewhat close to another Sega title, Rez. The right and left trigger buttons on the Xbox controller adjust your view by 90 degrees each time you push them, so you’ll find yourself fending off enemies from all angles. A handy radar in the corner of the screen makes sure you always know where you should be looking. The big twists to the original’s gameplay are the addition of a power gauge which is used to change dragon forms or unleash a spectacular berserker attack. The attack unleashes a barrage of missiles from your dragon steed and creates an amazing photo-negative effect on the screen to boot.

Fortunately, the berserk attack isn’t the only spectacular visual here. The level we played took place in the middle of a spectacular battle scene through rocky cliffs and canyons. The draw distance was impeccable. The frame rate was rock solid. The number of things moving and shooting and exploding on screen at once was just unbelievable. Our test run of Panzer Dragoon Orta was painfully brief, but intensely rewarding. Expect more on this one shortly.

--Brendan Sinclair
http://xengamers.com/sections/news/7426/

**ruhztee** · 21 May 2002, 06:03 PM

Argh...
That just makes me want this game even more. No word on the music/sound yet. I hope the music lives up to the previous games, as it's some of my favorite vg music. I'm happy to hear that Smilebit left in the trigger 90º turns and Berserk Modes.

For those who might've missed it, a PD Orta video clip can be found here.
I'm guessing the first segment of that clip is the same stage this guy played in.

**Klonoa** · 21 May 2002, 06:05 PM

sweet.

system seller, no doubt. (I will be getting an Xbox with this game)

**Mode7** · 21 May 2002, 06:16 PM

Be sure to watch the MS press conference footage at Xbox.com as well. Lots more game footage, PDO included. Some of the areas... damn. Tears to my eyes.

Music was excellent as well.

**ruhztee** · 21 May 2002, 07:40 PM

Thanks a lot for the heads up.

I'm thoroughly excited for Panzer Dragoon Orta. Hot damn it looks sweet as hell... Hmm, I oughta try to get screencaps of those two little text blurbs in the trailer. They went too fast for me to read them.
I'm actually interested in Blinx now too, after seeing it in action.
The Ninja Gaiden trailer segment in that press briefing was much clearer and colorful than the one IGN posted in QuickTime format.

So much awesome stuff coming up...