A staple of its genre of rails-shooter, PDO is a classic masterpiece that shines like a work of art. Works on a 360 too!
Setting and Story: Orta is a young girl who has been imprisoned by a tribe of Seekers. The Seekers believe that should she escape, she will bring destruction to the world and have kept her locked away in seclusion at the top of a tower. Not long after the opening, the power hungry Empire descends on the village with their Dragon Mares, intent on destroying her, however, she is saved by a The Dragon of Destruction and they escape with the dragonmares of the Empire in pursuit.
To completely understand the story, you need to pay attention to the dialogue sequences and interludes that take place between chapters. Although simple, the story does get quite interesting as you learn about Orta's past and the plans of Abadd and the Empire.
Game play: As I said, this game is a Rails-Shooter. Orta and The Dragon follow a set path through each stage but still retain some freedom. The dragon can be moved about the screen to dodge projectiles and there are certain places in each stage where a choice of paths is given.
Being on rails is no way a bad thing, as it lets the player focus on the action, of which there is plenty. The game uses a simple mechanism for shooting. Rapidly tapping (A) will have Orta fire a strange handgun which can destroy missiles and such, while holding it enables a lock-on. When a target is locked, releasing (A) will have the Dragon fire powerful Arrows of Light, the primary way of dealing damage.
The Dragon isn't a one-trick-dragon however, and can actually transform into two alternate forms each with a specialization. The Heavy Wing fires very powerful lasers, dealing roughly 3 times normal damage but can't lock on to as many targets but it cannot Glide, and the Glide Wing doesn't fire lasers at all, but has a rapid fire (A) attack that can shoot down missiles very quickly without aiming. The Glide Wing also has more Glide Power, which allows the Dragon to speed up or slow down to change position. This becomes essential during some Bosses, where the player must rotate around the boss to find a weak point or dodge attacks. Additionally, each Wing has its own Berserk Attack, which can be unleashed after dealing enough damage. The Base Wing fills the screen with laser fire, the Heavy fires a powerful concentrated laser, and the Glide will absorb health from its target, useful since there is no other way to regain health during a stage. Performing a Berserk Attack also makes you invulnerable for e few seconds.
The field of combat is also 360 degrees, and the triggers are used to rotate the camera 90 at a time. Enemies won't restrict themselves to attacking from in front at all. Luckily, you have a radar that lets you know where they are coming from. The 360 view also has the largest flaw in the game play. It's hard to explain, but the camera basically only shows what is behind you relative to the dragon's orientation, even though enemies are coming from above you so you must pan the camera up manually. An arduous process, since moving the camera with your reticule is very slow and you can only do it to a certain point until you must use the triggers. Luckily, this doesn't happen very often but when it does, it can really ruin your fun. Chapter 2 has a sequence in which you're facing enemies who cover about 120 degrees of your screen and you would like to move the camera manually just a little to reposition your view but must move it a whole 90 degrees instead, hiding the other enemies that are attacking you. Chapter 6 has the most confusing sequence by far. Orta is moving down a horizontal shaft of about 70 degrees slope while enemies attack from above, and rotating the camera still keeps them out of sight until you pan upwards. A boss battle in Chapter 4 has the boss hiding in the corner of you view screen at times, so rotating with the triggers still keeps them out of the center of your view.
Aside: Why is it that cameras in 3 person games always suck in some way? Anyway, enough negatives.
Graphics: Stunningly beautiful for its time and they still amaze me when I look at them today. Enemies are unique and interesting and scenery as well. Each environment is unique and the effects are great.
The enemy designs are wonderful, from the Imperial Dragon mares and carriers, to the Bioengineered creatures you will find in abundance, and don't forget the all the boss and mini-bosses you will face.
Sound: The soundtrack to this game was so great that I bought it! There were only a few tracks I didn't bother with. All the music sounds like it was played with instruments you would only find in the game world of Panzer Dragoon. Very tribal and well paced to fit with the environments perfectly. If you're curious, the tracks The Fallen Ground and Ancient Weapon 2 are two of the best.
The sound effects fit very well with the environment. Everything from the beating of wings and sound from the Dragons lasers have a great feel to them and never seem out of place.
Although the characters do not speak in English (but actually in Panzerese, a combination of Greek, Japanese and Russian made up by the games creator), the voice acting is very good and emotion and feeling can be felt even in this foreign tongue, although sometimes you will be skeptical about the actual accuracy of the subtitles. "Damn you imperial! You almost had me fooled!" is said in about 3 words.
Length and Replay: I can't count the number of times I have played this game. And yet, I still play it. Along with multiple difficulties, the game also features Pandora's Box, which contains information on all the enemies and world technologies for the curious, and even a mini game centering on the life of an Empire youth which can be challenge since you don't have Arrows of Light or a Dragon, but it's an interesting change. Unfortunately, the game is pretty short. To play the 10 chapters should take less than 5 hours for a first time. If you don't skip the cinematics or the interludes, a good player may take about 2.5 to 3 hours.
One of the features that lends value to the game is that, since enemy appearances don't change when replaying the chapters, you may find yourself trying to memorize all of them and complete the stages with 100% shot-down ratings and 0 damage taken. A daunting task, but surprisingly rewarding when done.
Final Thoughts:
+An interesting story if you pay attention.
+Stunning graphics
+Wonderful music and sound
+Multiple dragon forms and the option to level them up allows for deeper game play than simple shooting. The use of the Glide Mechanic makes boss fights deeper as well.
+You'll be playing this till the end of time. At least I will.
+The Pandora's Box is worth looking through (and playing through)
*The characters speak in a made-up language which is cool but it doesn't really seem to match the subtitles. This can lead to some confusion but it doesn't take anything away from the game. It doesn't really count as a negative
-It's short. You'll be sad when it ends since it's great fun to play.
-At times, the camera can be unreasonably restricting, which is a huge problem in a game where the camera is also your weapon, so to speak.
Buy It! Love It! If you aren't familiar with rail-shooters this is a great place to start. You will love every minute of it. I guarantee it. What with next gen games focusing on big explosions and shallow dialogue, this game is a refreshing change. The experience is unforgettable and since it's old, you can probably pick it up cheap too. Did I mention that it's backwards compatible and plays perfectly on a 360?