Panzer Dragoon Orta
EU RELEASE: 21-Mar-2003
Developer: Smilebit
Publisher: SEGA

De meeste mensen kennen Panzer Dragoon en Panzer Dragoon Zwei wsl niet.
Tenzij je ooit een Saturn hebt gehad..Helaas waren dat er niet veel..
Famitsu (het meest gerespecteerde gamesblad uit de industrie) gaf een 38/40 als score..Ze geven niet vaak zulke hoge cijfers.

Van IGN.com:

August 12, 2002 - Panzer Dragoon Orta may be the best looking Xbox game put out this year. It's hard to believe that Panzer could look so much better than what was shown at E3, but after playing Smilebit's beautiful shooter I'm left amazed by the visuals. It seemed a given that Splinter Cell could be the prettiest game this fall, but Sega may very well steal that title from Ubi Soft's Metal Gear Solid 2 killer.
The latest chapter in the Panzer saga (which began on the Sega Saturn), Panzer Dragoon Orta is a straight-up shooter. As Orta, you fly on your dragon basically shooting everything in your path. Using the triggers you can cycle to the sides or even shoot behind you. And enemies are everywhere. You can morph your dragon into three variations, each with their own advantage: Speed, power, and armor. Deciding when to use each form is part of the strategy.

But really, the game is pure action. And it's damn fun. Damn fun, I say! Targeting is only a matter of moving the cursor over targets. Two of the dragon forms allow you to target multiple opponents, so you can actually wipe out large numbers of enemies in a single shot.

The E3 demo only offered two levels to enjoy. While both of those were good and attractive, neither could prepare us for what else Panzer had to offer. The levels are mostly complete but there are a lot of AI programming and tweaks to be implemented before its November release.

Levels include the swamp, where you battle a giant worm that leaps from the murky depths to attack you. The level is filled with brilliant color and the water effects are some of the best I've ever seen. More stunning is a scene along a cliff side where you dash behind waterfalls while nailing a flurry of bright blue and red enemies. If the visuals in Panzer don't impress you, then you need to take your Xbox backs to your local retailer and tell them you're just not worthy of the 'Box.

Because I am such a whore for this game, I managed to sneak in a few more levels of the Panzer. The game isn't a fly-straight shooter though it is on rails. There are multiple branching paths and your flight won't just be on a horizontal plane. One level has you flying straight up in the sky at a sea of deadly sky barges. The level is jam-packed with enemies, including some ships with giant shields that rotate when you fire. Only by adjusting your speed quickly can you hope to get past their defenses.

You don't have to shoot everything in sight to pass a level, in fact you can avoid quite a few enemies. But you will be scored on each level and that score will not only affect the game, but also your entire life as you know it. The scoring system is still being tweaked, but currently you are scored on an S (superb) to E (excrutiatingly bad) scale in the following categories:

Shot down ratio
Score
Hits taken
Special mission
Boss clear time
If Panzer has any problems, it's that the special attack button (which create a white rage of destruction across the screen) is currently activated by pressing in on the left analogue button. But in the stress of battle this is very easy to do accidentally. That needs to change, because the game is far too fun and pretty to be the source of any frustration.

Outlook
We knew even before E3 that Panzer was gonna be the kind of dope kids would like to smoke. The visuals must be seen to be believed. Just think, Smilebit still has a few months to optimize the game. Of course looks aren't everything and Panzer is good enough to include some addicting gameplay. There really aren't many pure shooters out there so Panzer Dragoon Orta is a welcome addition to the Xbox library.

Voor de hands on review heb je een account nodig.
FF Chocobo of Bastard lief vragen. .

Wat screenshots.(vooral drukken!!)

1024x576

800x450

Klik hier voor een trailer met ingame beelden.
Dit filmpje is waanzinnig!! Zowel de ingame graphics als de filmpjes zijn echt ongekend mooi....

[Dit bericht is gewijzigd door Dr.Daggla op 08-12-2002 03:20]

Wanneer komt dit fantastische spel hier in de winkels?

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 02:28 schreef TheMarco het volgende:
Dit is grafisch zeker wel nog veel beter dan Splinter Cell...
Zelfs voor de XBOX is dit gewoon fucking unbelievable. Knap hoor van Smilebit dat ze er zoveel uit weten te halen!

Wanneer komt dit fantastische spel hier in de winkels?

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 02:28 schreef TheMarco het volgende:
Zelfs voor de XBOX is dit gewoon fucking unbelievable. Knap hoor van Smilebit dat ze er zoveel uit weten te halen!

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 02:31 schreef speknek het volgende:

[..]

Zelfs voor alles is het gewoon fucking unbelievable.

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 02:28 schreef TheMarco het volgende:
Dit is grafisch zeker wel nog veel beter dan Splinter Cell...

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 07:56 schreef Chocobo het volgende:

[..]

Dit is nogal een statement zeg. Het zal vast fantastisch zijn, maar echt VEEL mooier zal het nou ook weer niet zijn. Tis een heel ander spel natuurlijk.

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Zeg..Zou jij die "hands-on review" van IGN.com willen c&p-en?

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 13:25 schreef Dr.Daggla het volgende:

[..]

Ign vindt van wel. .
Panzer Dragoon Orta may be the best looking Xbox game put out this year. It's hard to believe that Panzer could look so much better than what was shown at E3, but after playing Smilebit's beautiful shooter I'm left amazed by the visuals. It seemed a given that Splinter Cell could be the prettiest game this fall, but Sega may very well steal that title from Ubi Soft's Metal Gear Solid 2 killer.

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 13:25 schreef Dr.Daggla het volgende:

Zeg..Zou jij die "hands-on review" van IGN.com willen c&p-en?

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Today was a good day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and we held Panzer Dragoon Orta in our hands for the first time since the E3 Expo. We met with Takayuki Kawagoe at the SEGA headquarters in Tokyo to discuss Smilebit's upcoming Xbox exclusive game, the fourth in a series that dates back to the days of the Saturn. We asked Kawagoe about the game's development, features and future, and even got to play it for a while.

According to Kawagoe, the team has wanted to do another Panzer game for a while. The game was originally slated to appear on the Dreamcast, but when that system "went away," Smilebit began work to bring the game to another next generation console. The console that would eventually land the dragon was none other than the Microsoft Xbox.

Why the Xbox? The answer is simple. It was the console that was most capable of bringing gamers the "world of Panzer Dragoon," a brilliant vision that is reflected in the game's unprecedented graphics. Kawagoe called the Xbox a "great piece of hardware," and it's hard to argue with the results that the Smilebit team has managed to glean from it. The game was running throughout our meeting, and more than once we looked at each other with something bordering on worship in our eyes.

The Smilebit team most recently brought the oft-underrated GUNVALKYRIE to the Xbox, and it was a great-looking piece of software... but nothing compared to the visual splendor of Orta. The worlds in the game are cut from the same bizarre alien cloth as those in GV, but are more detailed, more imaginative and more fully realized. It's difficult to do the graphics justice with mere words. In fact, never has that picture's worth 1000 crud ever been more accurate. This game is a stone fox. The backgrounds are detailed, the dragon models are creative and well-rendered, and the animations are smoother than twice-whipped mousse.

Judging from what we've seen, the graphics are one half excellent art design and one half technical brilliance. It's all there, even this far out (the game is due in early 2003), and it's solid from concept to implementation. The dragon designs are well-conceived and original-looking, cool beyond cool. The enemies are equally brilliant. In one area, we fought butterfly baddies that transform into colorful evil as you approach. There are other gorgeous nasties as well-- huge Dune-like worms that plunge into and emerge from the ground.

Scenes like this are just the start...

In terms of level design, it's pretty straightforward. You're riding a dragon and shooting things, all the while careening through canyons, fields, fiery skies and desert wastelands. But there was one surprise that we weren't counting on. In one section of the demo, we saw the dragon actually running on the ground, and taking on enemies from that vantage point. That level looked amazingly fun, but unfortunately, we weren't able to play it.

Speaking of gameplay, players will get the opportunity to take three different dragon forms into battle right from the opening bell. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, as you might suspect. On form is slow but powerful, one is speedy with strong defenses, and one is the most balanced of the bunch. Controlling a different form is just a quick button press away, as are most of the functions in the game. The control is very solid and responsive, and easy to pick up.

To a degree greater than in earlier Panzer games, enemies can approach from the sides and back in the 3D environment, and you'll have to adjust your dragon accordingly. Luckily, you can change the view a quarter turn each time you press a trigger button. Another handy feature is the ability to lock on to large groups of enemies by holding A and moving the analog stick. Once all of your targets are highlighted, let the button go, and the dragon will shoot attacks at once at all indicated targets. This felt a little like the music shooter Rez, which translates to "very cool." Also available is the "berserker attack," a cataclysmic kill-everything maneuver that turns the screen into a negative ion storm and sends all baddies to their grave.

Overall, the game feels amazing. If you have no idea what it might feel like to control a giant flying dragon in combat against various otherworldly denizens of evil, the game will settle that issue for you in about a second. Everything feels smooth and natural, and that's absolutely everything for a shooter.

So why a shooter (like Panzer Dragoon) and not an RPG (like Panzer Dragoon Saga)? Kawagoe explained that the team felt like a shooter was the right way to reintroduce Panzer back to the world. Also, given time constraints, a shooter made the most sense. When asked whether there were more Panzer games planned in the series, he commented that the next game, should they do it (and from the smile on his face when we asked, we think they will), would be an RPG. Panzer Dragoon Saga fans, you're going to sleep well tonight.

Something like this looks straight out of Panzer Saga

If you do well in Orta, you can unlock features in Pandora's Box, which seasoned gamers may remember from the earlier games in the series. According to Kawagoe, you'll be able to open side stories by accomplishing tasks in the game. You'll also be able to peruse information about the world of Panzer in this area. When pressed to find out what else you might uncover by mastering the game, Kawagoe simply said "something special."

When we asked him if there was anything he wished Smilebit could have gotten into Dragoon and couldn't, he said quite simply, "No." This statement, spoken with authority, reminded me of a line from Amadeus. When one of Mozart's rivals criticizes him for having too many notes in his music, Mozart says, "No, there are exactly the right amount of notes."

Here's to fully-realized visions, games about dragon riding, and symphonies with exactly the right amount of notes. Here's to Panzer Dragoon Orta. It cannot come out fast enough.

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 13:43 schreef Chocobo het volgende:

Tis vaak moeilijker om bestaande elementen grafisch weer te geven dan het is om Science Fiction te maken, vandaar dat ik Splinter Cell een grafisch meesterwerk vind.

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Sure

-knip

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When asked whether there were more Panzer games planned in the series, he commented that the next game, should they do it (and from the smile on his face when we asked, we think they will), would be an RPG. Panzer Dragoon Saga fans, you're going to sleep well tonight.

Yeah. .

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 14:21 schreef Dr.Daggla het volgende:

IGN is echt LAAIEND enthousiast over Otra he?!
Er staat echt niets negatiefs in.. .
En wat mij persoonlijk erg blij maakte is dit:

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Downen

http://www.popcultureshock.com/media/movieclips/PDO/panzer.wmv

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Op donderdag 12 december 2002 23:18 schreef Chocobo het volgende:
OMG

Downen

http://www.popcultureshock.com/media/movieclips/PDO/panzer.wmv

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Op vrijdag 13 december 2002 03:36 schreef Vibromass het volgende:
Mooie filmpjes hoor. Lijkt wel een soort Space Harrier on LSD

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Op vrijdag 13 december 2002 15:18 schreef Bastard het volgende:
maar is het simpel gezegd " Een draak besturen door grote werelden en andere dingen kapot schieten?"

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Op vrijdag 13 december 2002 15:33 schreef Chocobo het volgende:

[..]

Yep !

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Op vrijdag 13 december 2002 16:35 schreef CloudStrife het volgende:

[..]

Nope! Het is een shooter on rails.

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Op zondag 22 december 2002 22:15 schreef febster het volgende:
Filmpje gezien en eerlijk gezegd is t niet mijn genre, en t lijkt me ook niet gek veel aan

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Op zondag 22 december 2002 22:17 schreef Dr.Daggla het volgende:

[..]

Jij hebt zeker nooit een Saturn gehad he?

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Overigens was II al stukken beter dan I welke bij zijn uitkomst al een hype was.

Overigens in het V&A forum staat mijn saturn nog steeds te koop MET PD I&II (o.a.)

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Op zondag 22 december 2002 22:30 schreef Swetsenegger het volgende:
Hmz, na Panzer Dragoon I en II op de Satrun moet ik nu de Xbox gaan kopen?

Overigens was II al stukken beter dan I welke bij zijn uitkomst al een hype was.

Overigens in het V&A forum staat mijn saturn nog steeds te koop MET PD I&II (o.a.)

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Op vrijdag 10 januari 2003 14:00 schreef PBateman1978 het volgende:
Capcom's NGC Exclusive ''Dead Phoenix'' ziet er net zo mooi uit....

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[Dit bericht is gewijzigd door Dr.Daggla op 10-01-2003 15:11]

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Je maakt jezelf trouwens behoorlijk belachelijk met deze opmerking.

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Dr Daggla's van Dale :

Fanboy Iemand die iets negatiefs zegt over de XBox of over een game van de XBox

Enneuh...

Als jij tussen deze 2 plaatjes ZOVEEL verschil ziet in grafische kwaliteit (niet lettende op het verschil tussen high-res en low-res), dan wil ik graag weten van wie je die super-ogen gekloond hebt.....

edit : kijk voor de grap ook even de trailer van Dead Phoenix....

Een aanrader.

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Op vrijdag 10 januari 2003 15:18 schreef PBateman1978 het volgende:

[..]

Sure

Dr Daggla's van Dale :

Fanboy Iemand die iets negatiefs zegt over de XBox of over een game van de XBox

Enneuh...

[afbeelding]

[afbeelding]

Als jij tussen deze 2 plaatjes ZOVEEL verschil ziet in grafische kwaliteit (niet lettende op het verschil tussen high-res en low-res), dan wil ik graag weten van wie je die super-ogen gekloond hebt.....

edit : kijk voor de grap ook even de trailer van Dead Phoenix....

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Op vrijdag 13 december 2002 14:25 schreef C2000 het volgende:
Voor mij wordt dit iig een reden een Xbox te kopen..

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OMG,....de score van IGN voor PDO:

Presentation
Outstanding visuals, great music, and solid story, and plenty of extras. Detailed flight records, a world encyclopedia, even the original Panzer. Sweetness. 10.0

Graphics
Let me wipe the drool from your mouth. Stunning. Gorgeous. The prettiest console game so far. 10.0

Sound
Great music, good voice acting (thankfully no English dub!), and solid sound effects. And it's all in 5.1 Dolby Digital. 9.0

Gameplay
Sure you can just point and shoot, but it takes time to master the small things. Incredibly difficult, highly addictive, simply fantastic. 9.0

Lasting Appeal
A lot of fun, but it will only take a couple of hours to beat it once. But it's meant to be replayed, and you will play it over and over. Great extras as well. 8.0

Wat een score *kopen gaat*

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Op zaterdag 11 januari 2003 12:10 schreef Chocobo het volgende:
post het hier ook maar
[/b]

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Het ziet er allemaal heel mooi en vermakelijk uit maar ik zal toch eerst crimson skies kopen, kan ik me wat meer bij inleven

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Op zaterdag 11 januari 2003 12:00 schreef FluxC5 het volgende:

[..]

Als dat zo is kun je gelijk deze kopen:
[afbeelding]
De panzer dragoon orta special edition xbox

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Op zaterdag 11 januari 2003 12:19 schreef WouteRF het volgende:

[..]

Helaas is die al lang en breed uitverkocht Try Ebay, maar dan ga je dus flink meer betalen

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Ik kan haast niet wachten!!!! Ik ben sowieso gek van dit soort games. Ik heb Rez ook al grijsgespeeld op mijn Dreamcast....

Nevermind ik zie het al... nog wachten tot 21 maart

Da's zelfs nog na Xbox Live....

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Op zondag 12 januari 2003 01:06 schreef TheMarco het volgende:
Wanneer arriveert deze geilheid in ons kleine kikkerlandje?

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Op zaterdag 29 maart 2003 22:56 schreef HAL9000S het volgende:
vette game!!! Als je hem uitspeelt krijg je de Saturn versie van PD!!!

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Ach Panzer Dragon op de Saturn was in ZIJN tijd de mooiste consolegame ever. En deel II deed dat nog dunnetjes over. Dus wel cool dat Sega nog ff refereert aan het verleden

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Op zaterdag 29 maart 2003 23:02 schreef Swetsenegger het volgende:

[..]

LOL.

Ach Panzer Dragon op de Saturn was in ZIJN tijd de mooiste consolegame ever. En deel II deed dat nog dunnetjes over. Dus wel cool dat Sega nog ff refereert aan het verleden

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Op zaterdag 29 maart 2003 23:05 schreef HAL9000S het volgende:

[..]

Ik kan niet w88 tot ik hem op de saturn kan spelen

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Op donderdag 25 december 2003 22:25 schreef Nkjez het volgende:
ik ga hem lekker kopen voor 15,- bij de bart smit

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Op vrijdag 26 december 2003 13:04 schreef taart het volgende:

[..]

jij ook al

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Op zaterdag 11 januari 2003 12:10 schreef Chocobo het volgende:
post het hier ook maar

OMG,....de score van IGN voor PDO:

Presentation
Outstanding visuals, great music, and solid story, and plenty of extras. Detailed flight records, a world encyclopedia, even the original Panzer. Sweetness. 10.0

Graphics
Let me wipe the drool from your mouth. Stunning. Gorgeous. The prettiest console game so far. 10.0

Sound
Great music, good voice acting (thankfully no English dub!), and solid sound effects. And it's all in 5.1 Dolby Digital. 9.0

Gameplay
Sure you can just point and shoot, but it takes time to master the small things. Incredibly difficult, highly addictive, simply fantastic. 9.0

Lasting Appeal
A lot of fun, but it will only take a couple of hours to beat it once. But it's meant to be replayed, and you will play it over and over. Great extras as well. 8.0

Wat een score *kopen gaat*

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Op vrijdag 26 december 2003 13:07 schreef Nkjez het volgende:
ja had het niet door

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Prima spelletje als je ervan houdt, kan ook totaal niet je ding zijn. Ik vind het een prima aankoop voor 15 euro, dat is een ding wat zeker is.

[Dit bericht is gewijzigd door Pershing op 18-02-2004 21:21]