E3 2002Panzer Dragoon Orta impressions

Sega's Panzer Dragoon series ranks as one of best series to have emerged from the days of the Saturn. Developed by Sega's Team Andromeda, the games were a unique combination of style and substance. The first two installments rank as the most stylish rail shooters ever seen on a console, thanks to their unique design and atmospheric music. The last installment in the series, Panzer Dragoon Saga, was an RPG that took the series in an entirely different direction and stands as one of the best and most original entries in the role-playing genre. However, following Saga's release, Team Andromeda disbanded, significantly lowering the chances that another installment in the critically acclaimed series would be developed. Fortunately, Sega has decided to create a new installment in the series for the Xbox. Developed by Smilebit, of Jet Set Radio Future and Gunvalkyrie fame, the game is called Panzer Dragoon Orta, and it looks to continue the unique story of humans and dragons working together to fight oppression in a strange futuristic world. We had a chance to check out two levels from the game and were very pleased by what we saw.

Very little is known about the game's story, which is apparently set after the events in the Saturn games. The main character is a young white-haired woman named Orta. In the game's stunning opening cinema, she is seen chained in a cell. During an attack on the building where she is being held, she appears to be liberated by a dragon, which helps her escape from what appears to be a prison camp of some kind. Much like the openings of the previous entries in the series, the first level of the game throws you into the events shown in the intro cinema.

In the first level of the demo, City in the Storm, you'll take control of Orta and her dragon just after she climbs on it and heads to freedom. The core structure appears to be patterned after the second entry in the series, Panzer Dragoon Zwei. While you'll still go through each level on rails, shooting enemies and destroying various structures, you'll come across branching paths at various points in the game that will let you take alternate paths through to the end. As before, you'll have to face off against boss characters at key points in order to progress. It also looks as though you'll interact with NPCs a bit more than before. The other demo level, The Fallen Ground, temporarily adds some other characters, and they help you battle your way through what looks to be a barren land covered in ash.

In terms of control, Orta stays pretty true to the setup used in the shooter installments of the series on the Saturn, although Panzer vets will find some significant additions as well. You'll control your dragon with the D pad and shoot Orta's pistol with the X button. Holding down the X button will let you lock on to multiple enemies and dispatch them with your dragon's energy blasts. For situations where you find yourself overwhelmed, pressing in on the analog stick will trigger your dragon's berserk attack, which fires off an intense volley of blasts that is perfect for dealing with hordes of enemies. The right and left triggers will allow you to rotate your view in 45-degree increments in order to deal with attacks from every direction. To supplement the classic control setup, you'll find some new moves to make your dragon more versatile. By holding both triggers, you'll actually be able to perform a 180-degree turn to backtrack. The Y and A buttons will allow you to speed up and slow down, respectively, allowing you to shoot past or get behind your assailants, which is key when fighting enemies that have shields to block your attacks. During boss fights, you'll use the Y button in tandem with the D pad to position your dragon around your enemy, much like the battle positioning used in Panzer Saga, in order to find the best direction to attack from. However, the most significant addition to the game's control is the ability to morph your dragon on the fly. By tapping the B button, you'll be able to cycle through different dragon forms that will offer you specific boosts in performance. Once you've settled on a form, your dragon will instantly morph into it. Our demo let us pick between three forms that boosted our speed, our defense, or our attack power. From the sound of it, players may be able to gain access to more forms later in the game.

Graphically, Orta is stunning. The two environments we saw featured amazing detail. In City in the Storm, we flew through a prison camp built in a valley surrounded by mountains. The camp featured prisoners and guards alike running on the ground below us in search of cover, and a raging storm brought rain down around us and lit up the sky bolts of lightning. The texture detail was high and incredibly clean, bringing out the detail in our dragon and the surrounding mountains. In the Fallen Ground level, we flew through waves of falling ashes as we fought through enemies. One of the cooler effects in the level was the death animation when we dispatched enemies--they dissolved into ashes. Our first boss fight at the end of the level had us facing off against a creature that reminded us of the forest boss seen in Panzer Zwei. Its animation was smooth, albeit disturbing, much like most of the animation in the game.

In terms of music, the game stays true to the unique atmospheric feel of the previous games. The music we heard sounded like a mix of the industrial tunes heard in Panzer Zwei and Panzer Saga's more melodramatic pieces. The Fallen Ground level featured a very sparse piece that perfectly complemented the level's look.

Our taste left us eagerly anticipating a more in-depth look at the game, which is set to feature roughly 10 levels. The gameplay is a nice mix of classic Panzer and new features, giving the combat a more strategic feel. The graphics promise to show off the game's slick design, which stays true to the unique aesthetics of the original games. Panzer Dragoon is set to ship exclusively for the Xbox. Look for more on the game from the E3 show floor.