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Originally posted by mm how can it be GOTY? what about halo 2? or any other xbox game in yer sig?*yawn*
Originally posted by mm you dont like posting in the console discussion forum do you, rast?
Originally posted by mm no need for reasonyou should know by now i dont care what console titles are oni just have certain criteria i WILL NOT lower my standards for like you guys doits like 30 fps and blur on a top of the line console are ok for you guys when im saying "WTF?!"
Originally posted by mm rail shooters are crippled by naturei loved PD1 and 2 for what they were, and PDS was one of the finest RPG\'s, but its gonna take more than some pretty textures to make PDO an A+ title today, let alone compare to its much older siblings
More detailed gameplay impressions of Panzer Dragoon OrtaPosted on Saturday, October 05, 2002 by Justin Trade shows are terrible places to experience games. You\'re standing up, you have about 10 minutes if you\'re lucky, and you can\'t hear a thing above the din of screaming game trailers and fanboys. Thankfully, Microsoft put together a rather excellent little Xbox preview DVD for us to take home, and play in the comfort of our own homes with Digital 5.1 surround, widescreen vision etc. After playing through and beating all the demos available, I came away with these impressions. Bear in mind: these ARE NOT REVIEWS. They are impressions of work-in-progress games.1. PANZER DRAGOON ORTA I was lucky enough be the first journalist to see and play PDO back in April, and back then, it was pretty bare bones stuff. Not much detail, not a great sense of flow. And the visuals were nothing that couldn\'t have been done on either GC or PS2. The latest demo destroys all memory of that play test. The TGS build of PDO is stunning. This is a graphics heavy game, so I\'ll talk about that first. PDO might not look as clean as the resized hi-res frame buffer shots floating around, but it still looks damn good. At this stage, I would say it\'s one of the three best looking games around anywhere. The level detail is staggering. The demo starts with three massive red dragons chasing you through a middle eastern style city. Soon, you\'re being chased through the city streets in the rain at night, hundreds of tiny citizens fleeing the scene in panic below you, buildings toppling and mechanical reinforcements from the city firing off laser chunks everywhere in confusion. PDO really makes you feel you you\'re flying through scenes from a little world, and not just arbitrary game levels.The control feels wonderfully responsive, just enough variety without bogging you down in complexity. The analogue pad moves the dragoon, and even this basic element feels wonderfully \'swoopy\' and responsive. L+R buttons switch the view around 90 degrees -- a fluid camera switch that soon feels completely intuitive even in the midst of action. There are buttons for temporarily slowing right down, almost to a stop, or dashing fast ahead. These abilities recharge and can only be used once every few seconds. Finally, the black button sets off a truly stunning bezerk attack -- the entire screen detail bleaches to negative and your dragon unleashes an insane maelstrom of laser fire on everything. Very cool.But for me, the best control feature is the new dragon morph button. The A button instantly switches the shape of your dragon to one of three different formations:Dragon Form 1: Normal size dragon, controls well. Shoots standard fire at medium speed, medium hit range. Laser (blue, standard bolts) is weak strength, but can lock onto 12 targets rapidly before unleashing. Dragon Form 2: Dragon with a massive wing span, and also a little slow. Shoots heavy fire at medium speed, medium hit range. Laser is MASSIVELY powerful (red, swirly homing lasers which look very cool) but can only lock onto four targets at a time before unleashing. Dragon Form 3: Small dragon with tiny wings. Shoots very fast, powerful standard fire and has a huge hit area. But no lock on lasers at all. Very agile dragon with great control for caverns, small spaces etc.You can switch between any of these forms in an instant, and it adds a lot to the game. For example, the boss fight is against a massive air-ship loaded with gun turrets and dragon launching pads. You need to be constantly switching around your dragon type to counter barrages of incoming bullets (small rapid fire dragon), or go in for the big kill near the centre (large dragon) or battle against other dragons further out (default). You also need to be watching your radar all the time for enemies coming up on the sides or behind. Combined with the constant form-switching required, the basic play of PDO can be quite strategic.I also love the sensitive way in which the camera tracks around when you switch views. A dragon might be flying towards you from one direction, and as it swoops over your head out of view, you can keep tracking it with your fire as you switch the camera around. I\'ve no doubt that this makes for some superb, seamless 360 degree battles further into the game. Kudos must be given to Smilebit for really dressing up the spirit of old-style gameplay in next-generation clothes. PDO is nothing dramatically new. But the \'feel\' of the game is impeccable. Details can really make or break a game, and PDO gets all the small things right.Coming next: From Software\'s insane destroy-everything action game, O.To.Go.Justinjustin@tokyopia.com
