[XBOX] SEGA's Panzer Dragoon Orta

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 02:28 schreef TheMarco het volgende:
Dit is grafisch zeker wel nog veel beter dan Splinter Cell...

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Op zondag 8 december 2002 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 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 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:

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Yep !

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