Crimson Dragon, the spiritual successor to Sega’s Panzer Dragoon line of on rails shooting games, was first announced as Project Draco on the Xbox 360 back in 2010 as a Kinect only venture. In response to all the fan backlash, the game’s head developer had responded that adding a gamepad control scheme would be impossible, as the game had been designed around the Kinect from the ground up.
However, now, with the move to Xbox One, the game supports both Kinect and controller. That’s not all- there’s a whole spate of other improvements to the game.
Speaking to Polygon, director Yukio Futatsugi said Microsoft approached him around the time of last year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo to suggest switching to Xbox One. When shifting to the next generation hardware, Futatsugi revealed that initial fan reaction prompted him to take this opportunity to include am option for controller enabled play as well.
“Balancing the game is the most difficult part of development at the moment because playing it with Kinect and playing with the gamepad are two totally different ways to enjoy the game,” he said. “That’s what I’m suffering through right now.”
The game will be the exact same game, with no differences in level design, regardless of how the player chooses to play; moreover, you will be able to switch controller schemes on the fly. Rather than selecting an interface up front, players will be able to hold the controller or put their hands up and the game will automatically identify how they want to play. However, the game will subtly increase the size and speed of the aiming reticule to compensate when players use Kinect controls, though this will be invisible to players.
Other changes include better AI (since the game is intended as a multiplayer experience, but can be played solo), and the inclusion of Kinect voice commands. The game will also have role playing elements to add replay value.
Crimson Dragon will release exclusively on Xbox One. We will have more for you on the game as it develops.