Panzer Dragoon Orta

"Game Of The Year 2002"

Eight years ago ‘Team Andromeda’ released a Saturn launch title: The first in a trilogy that was to receive huge acclaim from the games industry and gamers alike. The concept was simple – a 2D shooter in a 3D world. The player controlled the arsenal of a dragon and its rider as they followed a pre-defined path through an epic world of ancient creatures.
Panzer Dragoon spawned a superb, technically superior shooter sequel, Panzer Dragoon Zwei and one of the greatest RPGs of all time, Azel Panzer Dragoon RPG (aka Saga). With the demise of the Saturn and the break up of Team Andromeda, so ended the Panzer legacy. Or so we thought, until Smilebit announced they were to release a fourth Panzer Dragoon, a shooter, exclusive to Xbox. Well, the wait is over and the hype is indeed great, but have Smilebit captured the spirit of the Panzer world or has a classic franchise been scorned?
Enter the dragon.

Story

The game follows the story of Orta, a young girl who, after spending her life imprisoned in a tower, was saved from the clutches of the Imperial forces by the legendary dragon of destruction. The story continues to tell the tale of Orta’s quest to discover her identity and escape her ensuing enemies.
From the very moment the first cut-scene begins, you know the story is going to be something special. In true Panzer fashion the player is taken on a truly unique journey through a mystical world. The storyline in Orta is very impressive indeed. There’s something of an RPG like quality to it with solid direction, superb Panzerese voice acting and breath-taking CG cut-scene ‘Events’ and full-screen intermissions that are without equal in terms of technical excellence. All this is very unusual for a ‘shooter’ and very much sets the tone for the amount of effort Smilebit have put into every aspect of the game. A good quality and well executed storyline can make or break a game. In Orta, it makes it, and story and gameplay flow seamlessly.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Orta remains largely unchanged from previous instalments. For the unfortunate few of you who thought the 32bit era began and ended with Sony PlayStation, I’ll explain a few things. Panzer Dragoon Orta is an ‘on-rails’ shooter. Your dragon follows a set path through 3D levels with limited mobility given to the player. The gameplay is focused on the shooting which consists of the player blasting away at enemies from all around the dragon, using the shoulder buttons to rotate your view around all four sides. There is also the ability to use the dragons lock-on lasers by holding the fire button and passing the cross-hairs over multiple targets.

Panzer Dragoon Orta however, has a couple of new features. Firstly there are three dragon forms that can be instantly selected with the Y button. Base wing is your basic balanced dragon that shoots fairly quickly, has multiple lock-ons and good speed. Heavy wing is slower but is more robust. It has very powerful lock-ons and shots but cant lock on to as many targets and fires slowly. Finally Glide wing is fast and manoeuvrable. It has rapid fire that auto-targets but no lock-on.
The three forms have different beserk attacks too. The forms can also ‘level-up’ by flying into power ups, thus increasing performance and altering the dragon’s appearance.

Another new feature in Orta is the fact that the Base and Glide wings have boost meters so you can speed up or slow down. Not only does this mean you can melee charge enemies and alter your speed to dodge fire and objects but there is also the inclusion of weak-points on bosses, meaning you can speed up or slow down to get a different angle to inflict more damage or avoid attacks, very much as in the battles in Panzer Dragoon Saga.

After playing the Tokyo Game Show build of Panzer Dragoon Orta, I had fears that the potential of these new features might not be realised. Playing the finished product proves this is definitely not the case. The morphing feature becomes second nature after a few plays and becomes essential with the higher difficulty levels and also an integral part of gaining high scores, as does the boost system and even choosing which dragon to ‘level-up’ to suit your playing style. The new features are the perfect evolution to Panzer gameplay.

So what about the rest of the gameplay? Well, it’s just as impressive. Level design is excellent, control is perfect, the bosses are, in true Panzer style, spectacular and imaginative, as are all the weird and wonderful enemies you’ll meet (no spoilers here). It’s all exactly how you would want a next-gen Panzer Dragoon to be - An epic and enjoyable experience from start to finish. There are tutorials for newbies and three difficulty levels, all well balanced – challenging but not to the point of frustrating. Above all, its huge fun.

Graphics & Presentation

The graphical style of the Panzer Dragoon series and the way it is presented to the player has always been a very important part of what makes it so special. The design of the environments, characters and creatures in the original trilogy was quite unlike anything else and had the unique ability to draw you into the games. Somewhat surprisingly, the departure of Team Andromeda from the formula has not resulted in a lack of imagination and beauty. Far from it. The design teams at Smilebit have done a sterling job.

Firstly, to the technical side of the visuals: The graphics in Orta are without equal on any current console. The game looks fantastic. Beautiful high-res textures, smooth particle effects, stunning lighting, amazing detail, fancy water effects, they’re all there. All presented with a rock solid 60fps frame rate with a lush 16:9 widescreen mode and HDTV support. Words or even pictures cannot describe just how ‘pretty’ it all looks. Admittedly the development of this graphical punch was made a whole lot easier by the fact that the game is on-rails but nonetheless it’s a great achievement by the developers. I found myself wasting many lives from just gawping at the visuals.

There has always been more to Panzer Dragoon aesthetics than the technical level of the graphical design though and Orta is no exception. The games style and atmosphere is of such high quality that it draws the player in and prompts them to marvel at the Panzer universe as they blast their way through. It’s a very imaginative and unique universe and it becomes obvious that the game was very much a labour of love for Smilebit. Obvious examples of this would be the stunning artwork, the panzer themed menus or the sheer depth of detail the unlockable ‘Encyclopaedia’ goes into. Impressive stuff indeed.

Sound

As with graphics, audio is another very important Panzer ingredient. The original Panzer Dragoon wowed players with its moody orchestral soundtrack, Zwei expanded it and Saga was just plain brilliant. The soundtrack in Orta remains fairly consistent with its predecessors. This is hardly surprising considering four members of the original Panzer Dragoon sound team were involved in Orta’s musical production. The soundtrack does however have a slightly different tone, with Orta’s music incorporating more, varied instruments and a mix of styles. This is perhaps in keeping with Smilebit’s determination to create a few original ideas of their own to add to the game’s formula such as the later levels in the game, which include one that almost feels like a tribute to UGA’s ‘Rez’. Nonetheless, the musical accompaniment feels every bit as epic as the story itself, climaxing in the sublime end credits theme ‘Anu Orta Veniya’.
The game also features a mixture of great re-mixed classic and new sound effects. Everything from Dragons screeching to ships exploding sounds impressive, especially in Dolby Digital 5.1, which, although not as immediately impressive as in games like Halo, is of very high quality, surrounding the player with the action and adding to the intensity of the cut-scenes.

Lifespan

Usually, this is where the review of a shooter would start to go wrong. Most games of the genre, past and present have a shorter life expectancy than a suicidal masochist. It’s the price we pay for non-stop shooter action. Panzer Dragoon and Zwei were no exception but helped make up for the fact by including a seriously addictive scoring system. Fans will be pleased to hear that the system is back and better than ever plus there are now a fairly impressive ten episodes to test your skills. But it doesn’t end there. Pandora’s Box, a bonus mode of unlockables returns from Panzer Dragoon Zwei. This now features an amazing wealth of extras including Artwork, Films and Cut-Scenes, an Encyclopaedia including facts and enemy models, several Sub-Scenario missions which follow related storylines (although they are somewhat less impressive than the main game) and the full original Panzer Dragoon game (albeit the less than perfect PC version). Also included is ‘Box Game’, a level select plus a variety of other options similar to the Pandora’s Box found in ‘Zwei’. The extras are unlocked by completing the game on various difficulty levels and by obtaining certain score ranks. Interestingly, Smilebit have also included a system to reward less experienced gamers whereby the same features can be unlocked by attaining a certain amount of play time, thus rewarding both skill and perseverance.

All these extras show a tremendous amount of effort to add longevity to the game and coupled with a balanced, challenging main game and a scoring system should provide hours of gameplay. Granted, some may buy the game, complete it after two hours and dismiss it as short but they are missing the point. Orta is old-school gameplay brought into the 21st century with a wealth of extras that would make any Panzer fan drool.

In conclusion, Panzer Dragoon ORTA is a fantastic game that impresses on all fronts. Being a fan, I had high expectations for the game and it has met and surpassed all of them. The gameplay is refined, fun and addictive and it evolves from previous instalments perfectly with visual splendour quite unlike anything else. Newcomers to the series will love it, Panzer veterans will worship it. The best Xbox game since Halo and an essential purchase. Smilebit have done Team Andromeda proud.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/14/03, Updated 01/14/03