I'm not much of a shooter fan of any variety, although I've found a couple of rail-shooters that have really gripped me.

Panzer Dragoon Zwei is ace. It took a while to get used to, but it really is phenomenally paced and expertly designed, and is light years beyond the original. Its unique, artistic approach to its design and atmosphere also paved the way for a lot of my favourite future games (like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus).

Rez is an absolute jaw-dropper. Its pacing and overall design are superior even to Zwei, and the game's overall concept and brilliant execution absolutely floored me. No surprise, as it was designed by many ex-Team Andromeda members (including Katsumi Yokota, an artist for Zwei and LEAD artist for Panzer Dragoon Saga).

Lastly, Panzer Dragoon Orta for the Xbox is pretty brilliant. It's quite different from Zwei. It's not nearly as tight and tries perhaps a bit too hard to inject complexity into the simplistic mechanics of the rail-shooter design. Additionally, after coming off of the RPG/Adventure high of Saga, it was a bit weird going back to a rail-shooter format. Also, the story, though good, had some odd inconsistencies (as it wasn't headed by series creator Yukio Futatsugi). However, Orta was still an impressive experience. It had wonderful controls and enemy designs, and I enjoyed many of its almost RPG-like strategic additions (boss encounters used a system almost entirely ripped out of Saga, for example). Its world was gloriously presented, the music was as beautiful as ever... Orta is probably THE most gorgeous game of the entire previous generation! In many ways, it combines the best aspects of Zwei and Saga. Although it doesn't quite equal them, it actually has ended up becoming a perfect starting-off point for potential fans of the series. If you aren't sure of where to begin, and don't want to commit yet to the cost of a Saturn and the previous games, Orta is a phenomenal preview and it was a wonderful love-letter to the series' fans! Have no doubt, Orta alone is very much worth owning an Xbox for. Speaking personally, Orta is THE reason I own an Xbox. If it weren't for that glorious, beautiful game, I'd have gotten rid of mine.

So yeah, Zwei, Rez, and Orta are masterful.