Panzer Dragoon: Remake Reviews

80 minutes to view the intro cut scene, beat all 7 stages, and sit through the credits. I paid only $2.50 for the game on 90% off sale, and still feel like I overpaid. Granted this was on Normal difficulty using Mouse & Keyboard, and I died a couple times to the huge difficulty spike that was the 6th stage. Had I been using a controller (only works if you plug it in [b]after[/b] starting the game, btw), or played on Hard, it would've likely taken me far longer. Or, more likely, I would've quit in frustration due to the game using the old school "limited continues" mechanic. You start with 2 (IIIRC) continues and get 1 more for every stage you beat, or 2 if you shoot down 90%(?) or more of the enemies, something I only did in a couple stages. Maybe you can get more than 2 if you do particularly well. The point is, if you die on a stage, you get a Game Over and can use a continue to try the stage from the beginning. Run out of continues, and I assume the game over is for good. You also don't start every stage with full health unless you finish the previous stage with sufficient health - you heal up between the stages, but only a limited amount. So basically, there's very little content here for the asking price, and the playtime is only extended if you are a high score / achievement chaser or keep trying to tackle difficulties / control methods above your skill level. Gameplay wise it is ... OK? Nothing special, really. You click to shoot enemies, or click-hold-drag to lock on to multiple enemies at once and release to shoot at everyone locked on. Rotate view in 90% increments to target enemies around you. And try to dodge enemy fire and obstacles by maneuvering the dragon itself, though this sounds easier than it is as the dragon maneuvers like flying barge weighed down to its limit. There's a helpful radar showing enemies around you along with which direction your POV is pointing. Story might as well not be there. Graphics are pretty pleasing, and easy to run - rock steady 60fps at 1080p max settings (resolution scaling at 1.00) on my puny i7-920 w/1050 ti. Note: I have no nostalgia for the game as I never played the original.

Fun on rails shooter game with interesting game mechanics. I don't think I've seen another on rails shooter game allowing the camera to look 360 degrees all around. I'm glad there's a radar that let's you know where enemies are coming from. I like being able to move your dragon around the screen to dodge attacks. In concept anyway. It's not well executed in this game. There are other games that did the moving your character around the screen in on rail shooters better. I do like the music but it's not anything memorable. The game took me around an hour to beat it. There's only 6 levels about 5 to 10 minutes long each. It's a short game. whether that's good or bad I'll leave up to you. The negatives: Moving your dragon is very sluggish. It's like trying to walk in thick mud. There's like a 2 second delay before your dragon starts moving. It's like you have to predict incoming attacks before they happen. That annoyed me. The crosshairs can be confusing during chaotic moments. You have 3 crosshairs to represent distance. All 3 crosshairs are the same colour and can blend together causing me some confusion where I was trying to aim at. It would have been better if the 3 crosshairs were different colours. The only other negative I have is a radio narrator talks in the first cutscene. The radio voice sounds like blasting high volume static noise scratching voice sounds that would make your ears bleed! Why did they have that in the game? That should have been fixed or changed! Luckily that voice is only at the beginning and the end.