Panzer Dragoon Saga

You are a young worker at a mine where an ancient stone relic is uneartheed. Suddenly a group of pirates lands at the dig and proceeds to kill everyone at the site, including your beloved father. You are cast into a large cavern, landing in a pool of water, you survive the fall only to be beset by a group of armored monsters. Suddenly, a large dragon swoops in and saves your @$$ from becoming kibble. With your newfound friend, you begin a hunt of vengeance for the man who slew your father and to solve the mystery the beautiful woman imbedded in the stone whose face haunts your memory...

GRAPHICS: In a word, stunning. Capturing the unique look and feel of the Panzer Dragoon universe. Great CG which actually enhances the overall experience instead of trying to take its place.

SOUND: A masterful musical score you will likely listen to on your stereo. And dont be suprised if you start making the "dragon laser" sound effect when you play Buck Rogers with your friends...Or is that just me?

CONTROL: A very intuitive interface, flying the dragon is quite an experience in and of itself.

GAMEPLAY: Unless I've missed something, this is the first, and to date only, shooter/RPG genre hybrid I have ever played. The battle system is incredibly intuitive with individual enemies having varying safe-normal-danger zones from which you can launch attacks either via your gun or dragon's laser, both of which can be upgraded/changed throughout the adventure.

GRAPHICS: 9 SOUND: 10 CONTROL: 8 GAMEPLAY: 10 OVERALL: 9

One of Sega's final Saturn releases ironically turns out to be a game that could have saved the system from its premature demise in the first place. Funny isnt it! HAHAHAHahahaha*SOB* Waaaaaah!

-Ragnarok the Red