Silicon Fusion >> Reviews >> Panzer Dragoon Orta

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Review:

9th April 2003:
Panzer Dragoon Orta
At last Europe has access to the fantastic world of Panzer Dragoon Orta
Posted by John Grothier - Xbox - UK and Europe

Panzer Dragoon first appeared on the Sega Saturn back in 1995, and was so successful that is spawned two sequels - Zwei, another fast and furious shooter, and Panzer Dragoon Saga - a highly acclaimed role-playing game. Now Sega have taken Panzer Dragoon back to its roots with Orta, who is the Heroine of this epic story. Thousands of years after the fall of an ancient civilization the world is a wasteland, with the few remaining human tribes living in fear of the biogenetic terrors that roam the skies. As war wages over precious water resources, an old production factory is discovered from the ruins of the old century, and the humans succeed in creating their own organic weapon - the Dragon. Orta is the key to restoring peace, but unfortunately she is being held captive...

Panzer Dragoon Orta is best described as a 'rail shooter'. Players take control of Orta and her Dragon as you blast your way on a set path through ten beautifully designed levels. Once in a while you can change direction in the level by discovering 'forks in the road', and this allows for some freedom of movement, but you are still forced down a set route. Panzer Dragoon Orta is all about shooting, and believe me - there's a hell of a lot to shoot. There are two main firing modes, by tapping the firing button you will fire your dragons main gun, or by holding down the button you can lock onto enemies and release some devastating homing missiles. As well as controlling your dragon in the air, you can also pan the camera round to the sides and behind allowing you to take out attacking enemies as they approach from different directions. Controlling the camera, piloting your dragon and firing at hordes of enemies may sound a little difficult to master, but after only a short time controlling the dragon becomes second nature. You can also change your dragon's pace, and by pressing the button to speed up, the beast will burst forward and will also take out oncoming enemies. You can also slow the dragon to give you more time to avoid obstacles, and both speed buttons are usually necessary in boss fights to help find weak spots.

There are three main dragon forms in Panzer Dragoon Orta, and with a simple tap of the Y button your dragon will transform from Base wing to Heavy wing and then to Glide wing. The Base wing offers a good balance of attacking ability and can lock onto multiple enemies with devastating results. The Heavy wing is the most powerful form, but has slow manoeuvrability and cannot change speed during play, but has much more powerful attacks that the others. The Glide wing is the most agile of the three, and although it has no homing missiles, it has a very powerful gun that will home in automatically on the nearest enemy. Sega have kept a little role-playing element in Orta by allowing the player to level up each of the three dragon forms. Gene Bases are released when you destroy particular enemies, and by flying into these you will soon level up your dragon. The higher the level the higher your dragon's offensive and defensive abilities will be. Each of the three dragon forms also have a Beserk attack, and by pressing the black button when the gauge is full you can release a very powerful assault. These attacks are very handy when you come up against the many different bosses in the game, and the real strategy is working out which of the three are most effective.

Panzer Dragoon Orta comes with a plethora of options and extras to unlock. As you progress through the game items in 'Pandora's Box' will become unlocked. A lot of the fun in playing Orta is finding out what can be unlocked, and by completing the game once you have the chance to revisit the original Saturn game. Panzer Dragoon Orta also come with an in-depth training mode, that explains all movements, weapons and berserk attacks - this really is a must before taking on the challenge of the main game.

The graphics in Panzer Dragoon Orta are really some of the best I have ever seen - anywhere. Each of the ten levels in the game have their own theme, bosses, lighting and weather effects, and each and every one of them are simply stunning. The cut scenes and FMV are beautifully and lovingly rendered, and the whole game oozes style of epic proportions. The only gripe I have with the entire game is that if you want to play the game in 60Htz mode the game hangs off to the left hand side of the screen, loosing a small but substantial part of the picture. This really is such a shame as so much hard work has been put into this title. Sound in Panzer Dragoon Orta is excellent; sound effects, voice acting and the music matches the gameplay perfectly, and if you have access to a Dolby Digital 5.1 decoder you are in for a real treat. You might even recognize some re-compositions of the classic themes from previous Panzer Dragoon titles.

Overall Panzer Dragoon Orta is not only the best looking game yet on the Xbox, but it's also one of the most original shooters I have ever played. The whole of the game has tremendous replay value - and like me, you will be flying dragons for months to come.

John Grothier

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Review Summary:

You are Orta, a new and shining hope. Ride upon a fearsome dragon and fight to save the world from total destruction. Stunning 'rail shooter' combined with an epic story that takes the player on a fantastic journey across ten frantic levels. One of the best shooters ever to grace a console.

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