Panzer Dragoon Orta

STORY / GAMEPLAY
The game focuses on a young girl named Orta, who's been held as a prisoner her entire life before being freed by a mysterious dragon. Riding on the dragon's back through a post-apocalyptic world, Orta must defend herself from a military and oppressive Empire that sets to seek and kill her as the harbinger of their destruction. While it may sound limiting, the idea of the game is to let you focus on shooting and not worry too much about getting lost or making a misstep and lose a life. The gameplay is pretty simple since all you have to do is to destroy every enemy. There are no pits to leap over and no puzzles to solve. You can make it through with basic maneuvers but you'll never survive since the normal and hard modes are really tough. The controls are quite straight forward as long as you understand the abilities / weaknesses of your three available dragons you fly with! Oh yes, your dragon has three alternative forms (Base Wing, Heavy Wing and Glide Wing). You can switch to every form whenever and as often as you like by pressing the Y button. Each dragon has different strengths and weak spots and if you wish to succeed you'll need to use each one in certain situations and against certain enemies.

GRAPHICS / SOUND
Panzer Dragoon Orta is one of the best looking games ever released for the Xbox console. Every visual effect seems nearly perfect, textured to the slightest detail and the lighting is phenomenal. The awesome movement of the Dragon, the enormous amount of particles effects, the flying objects that swarm your screen, the eye-dazzling attacks and the richness of the entire universe are elements that make this game a unique experience. The sound effects are equally awesome with everything, from high-pitched dragon screams to laser fire blasts and explosions, with the proper "thickness" and volume. Don't just look at the pictures! Instead, play the game yourself to see what I mean and you'll get the idea of what a visually awesome game can offer.