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GameTap Confirms Panzer Dragoon, Zwei For Service

- Here's another of these cross-posted Gamasutra stories on GameTap that I worked out thanks to the Angled Whiteboards folks - and working at home on Thursdays, so having access to the GameTap client easily! As I wrote over at Gama:

"Following the recent news that Turner's GameTap subscription PC 'all you can eat' gaming service has now added Sega Saturn games, the company has confirmed the seminal Panzer Dragoon and Panzer Dragoon Zwei as forthcoming titles.

Alongside the official launch of platform game Bug! today, the 'Coming Soon' page within the GameTap PC client now lists the Saturn versions of both the classic Team Andromeda-developed on-rails shooters. No specific arrival date has yet been given for the titles.

Gamasutra sister weblog GameSetWatch has recently published a detailed history of the Panzer Dragoon series, with writer J. Fleming noting of the first game in the series, released in 1995: "Set in a post-apocalyptic future in which the planet has been rendered unrecognizable by genetically-engineered super technologies, Panzer Dragoon was a sophisticated mix of 60’s and 70’s science fiction filtered through the visual sensibilities of the French comic magazine Metal Hurlant."

As for the second game: "Panzer Dragoon was a commercial success and Team Andromeda followed with Panzer Dragoon II Zwei in 1996. Expanding on the promise of the first game, Zwei was a refinement in every sense. The game engine was enhanced to provide a smoother frame rate. The graphics were an explosion of retina sizzling color and the somber narrative was as memorable as the game play. As a shooter, Zwei was regarded as one of the finest. With elegant control and visual drama, it fully satisfied the pleasures of reflex and spectacle."

Although at least one [EDIT: Ta, RoushiMSX!] of these titles have appeared in little-known converted PC versions around the time of the original release, sources close to GameTap have confirmed that the titles are indeed running in a Sega Saturn emulator, rather than simply the PC SKU."

Comments

Nice. If they ever add Saga, then I'll totally subscribe to their service.

Yaaaaaaaay SATURN!

I don't believe Zwei ever had a PC release, fine sir. ( http://www.panzerdragoon.net/game_info/index.php )

It's been about a year since I last played through Zwei, so I guess I'm due. Hell, I've never played the english version of the first game, so it'll be nice to read the subtitles for a change :)

Gotta wonder if adding Saga would drive up interest in the service or not...it seems like the biggest problem is that people either think that GameTap has a crap selection (wtf?) or that they'd have to buy each game (like XBLA or Virtual Console). :(

Totally unrelated, but when did SKU become the accepted replacement terminology for "version"? It seems to have sort of snuck up on the place over the past year or two.

the addition of saturn games just might be what pushes things over the top to get me to subscribe to gametap. i never had a saturn but there were several games for that platform that i've wanted to play. the saturn games, and sam & max... gametap is kicking ass!

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