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Having never partaken of the Cotton series I was pleasantly surprised by its intense take on the traditional side-scrolling arcade shooter, so I was intrigued to see a very different take on it with Panorama. With its quasi-3D feel that immediately brings back memories of my enjoyment of the arcade classic Space Harrier I’ll absolutely say that out of the gate I was completely on board. Perhaps just a bit too similar to that arcade title I spent an enormous amount of time with back in the day, I was a bit let down that unlike the last title I played this iteration was lacking in originality. The other big issue is how quickly the second stage jumped up in difficulty, but more in a cheap-ish way with a lot of enemies coming from behind, really requiring more rote memorization than being in the flow of things. The port is absolutely spot-on though, with pixels flying by smoothly and without even a stutter. I would say this firmly lives in the shadow of the likes of Space Harrier but if you’re a fan of that style of play and would enjoy some time in that unusual experience it offers it does deliver some fun.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.4]