Panzer Dragoon Orta

"I Swear I'll Stop Playing. Honest."

Panzer Dragoon Orta is the fourth installment of the Panzer Dragoon series that originally flowered on the, now late, Sega Saturn. PDO promises everything that was loved from the originals, and adds SOOO much more.

Its A Bird! A Plane! No, Its A Weapon of Mass Destruction!

Orta begins as a mysterious dragon frees a young girl from her prison. Its not known why in the beginning, but the story un-folds as the game progresses. And what a story you'll be listening to. The story is just breath taking, and is a very well crafted tale that ranks right up there with any Final Fantasy game. Its that damn good. Its so good, in fact, that I'll just stop talking about it due to the fact that I don't want to ruin anything.

Gameplay, for the most part, consists of you shooting everything in site. You can lock on to multiple enemies and shoot devastating ''light arrows'' at them, or you can use Orta's gun to fend of enemy missiles, or any other projectile for that matter.

Your dragon has 3 different forms that it can change to on the fly. Like the Heavy Wing whose strength lies in sheer power, or the Glide Wing whose speed and lock on makes it useful for many situations, or the Base Wing, and normal, average form. And you'll need every one of these as you progress through the game, and you'll need to know when the best time is to use the right one.

Now, the gameplay may seem boring to the casual gamer, but it is, in no way, boring. There will be so many enemies on the screen, that you may accidentally wear all the skin off of your thumbs. Not to mention, its very addictive and is worth playing many, MANY times.

Being a rail-shooter, your not going to have to much control over where your dragon can go. But thankfully, PDO (and every Panzer Dragoon game for that matter) lets you see a full 360 degrees around you, being the only rail-shooter, that I know of, to let you do such a thing.

A big high point in the gameplay is defiantly in the unique boss battles. Nearly ever boss has some sort of weakness that can be exploited, but it doesn't mean its easy to find. Every boss has an epic, old school, vibe to it, and its all incredibly fun. From giant, laser firing statues, to hulking battle ships, they're all incredibly fun.

This is old school gaming folks, this is the way its meant to be. Not running around mindlessly wondering where to go next. This way, you focus on just the action, and generally, blowing everything to tiny pieces. But incase you fell to much like you have no control, there are usually different routes to find in each level. These routes REALLY manage to change the level into something different. Route A will be nothing like that of Route A. Its amazing really, and adds a lot to the replay of the game.

That being said, the game is relatively short. But for a rail-shooter, its quite long. It will take you about 3 and a half hours to beat the game on Easy. And maybe twice that length on Normal. This game is no walk in the park, it will take you many tries before you can finish off a boss. But luckily, you get the same amount of satisfaction when you beat the game on Easy as you would on any other difficulty.

The gameplay is near perfect in every way, it never feels like ''the same ol' thing'' and is never repetitive. And with other routes to take in the game, it can totally take 1 experience you had, and turn it into something completely different. Its just that good.

Gameplay: 10/10

You Be Lookin' Fine

PDO is the pinnacle of what the Xbox can do graphics wise. Every thing in the world is breathtakingly gorgeous in every way, shape or form.

Animation is smooth and fluid. There are even little detail, like how the skin on the dragons wing rises when its wings are caught in a draft. Or the realistic movement of the dragons tail. Its all just so well articulated, and so very realistic, its hard to believe.

Textures are off the wall! Every little detail on your dragon can be seen. From the cracks on the dragons armor, or to the rocky side of the mountain, it all looks amazing.

And PDO comes with some amazing wowie-zowie effects. Like how some of the walls make you feel like your trapped in a gigantic bubble of sorts. Or the neat little flash of light that comes from the dragon when it changes form. And the water is off the hook! There are so many amazing effects in the game, you just can't describe them all, but needless to say, they all look spectacular.

The worlds have a magical, twisted, feel to them, but they all seem very realistic. Everything in the world, all be it odd, comes to life in a bizarre, psycho kind of way. Its impossible to describe, but a marvel to look at.

The graphics of PDO are some of THE BEST available right now on any system. The sheer amount of enemies on screen, while missiles are flying, and light arrows are zooming is mind blowing, and there is zero slowdown. Just amazing really.

Graphics: 10/10

Say What?

If there is one (all be it minor) complaint to be had with the game, its the sound. Some of the enemies all pretty much make the exact same noise, over and over again. Which can be kind of annoying when your stuck in a heard of millions of the same type of enemy, only to hear the same noise time and time again. It would have been great to have a bit more variety in the sound effects, but its nothing that'll make you want to throw a brick at your TV.

The people in the Panzer Dragoon world speak their own language. Its been in every PD game so far, and its good to see that its still there. This is not Japanese, nor is it any other form of language, its a made up language that was made specifically for the game. That’s why you see subtitles, so don't be a sour puss just because you have to read.

The music in the game is great too. You can tell Smilebit did some research, because a lot of these songs are remix's of the classics. And it all manages to set a very nice mood and a great feel for the game.

Sound: 9/10

Somebody Stop Me!

After you've beaten PDO for the first time, your probably going to think ''I paid such and such amount of cash to play this? Its so short!'' But fear not, Smilebit has included so much un-lockable goodness into this game, that its not even funny. From artwork, film, creature bios, and even a port of the original Panzer Dragoon, you'll be playing this game forever.

And these short cuts that I told you about? They're not easy to find. Its worth playing the game a few times just to see if you can find a different route to take in a level. It changes the level so damn much, you'll get a totally different experience the first time than what you had the second time. Honest.

There is so much to do in PDO, you'll never seem to stop playing. This is a rail-shooter, its meant to be played many more times than once (or even twice). And with all the stuff they give to try and un-lock, you'll defiantly be playing this one for awhile.

Replay: 10/10

All In All

PDO, for the most part, is an experience. And its one that shouldn't be missed by any Xbox owner. Whether your a fan of the originals, or you just a newb to the entire rail-shooting genre, there’s much fun to be had with this one. Its something that shouldn't be over looked by anyone, and is worth whatever sum of money you forked over for it. A true artistic masterpiece.

Final Score: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/03, Updated 01/18/03