Developed by MOSS Co., Ltd
Published by UFO Interactive Games
Reviewed on PlayStation 4 (also available on PC)
I love shoot em ups. In the early days of my life I spent a decent amount of time in the arcade and shoot ‘em ups had always been a staple of my regular rotation. I had a lot of fond memories of the Raiden series. For its 20th anniversary, UFO Interactive Games has released the fifth mainline game, Raiden V: Director’s Cut, and we had a chance to play it on PlayStation 4. Does the legendary series’ most recent entry live up to the expectations? Read on, ace pilots.
Gameplay involves moving on a vertical plane and maneuvering your way through waves of enemies, bullets, and bosses. The frantic mix of shooting, dodging, and utilizing the variety of weapons you have is almost hypnotic. But if you drop your guard or don’t see the hidden patterns you will suffer damage or, of course, blow up. Successfully weaving through wave after wave of enemies and emerging victorious is very satisfying. The visual styling for the game is not particularly flashy or “Hi-Def” but it gives enough information that you can react appropriately if you’re skilled and quick enough. You also have the ability to combat your foes with a host of different abilities and shot types (which are upgradeable), screen wiping bombs, and a new ability called the cheer assist, a gauge that fills up over time and allows you to temporarily increase your fire power several times over. The ability it grants is random but almost all are equally useful. Managing your bombs is one of the most crucial are they clear the screen of enemies and huge bullet waves. I also found experimenting with the different shot types and plane varieties (three planes and nine shot types) to see how high I could get my scores, too. The game play is a blast and it’s backed up by a sweet rock and electronic soundtrack that really keeps the paces.
Another great aspect of shoot em ups that Raiden V: Director’s Cut has that is quite enjoyable is co-op. You and a friend can join forces with a simple button press and let the carnage begin. The only real downside to co-op play is that it can only be done locally with two controllers. There are online leader boards and additional firepower is actually provided by other players online, a nice little touch to help unite the community.
Raiden V: Director’s Cut doesn’t have any major weaknesses apart from the somewhat lack luster visuals. Also, the screen is loaded with way too much information. The left and right borders have a ton of details that make it nearly impossible to see everything. The game also attempts to tell a rather lack luster story about “crystals” that really makes very little sense and spends nearly no time elaborating. I’m all for getting back to game play but the effort here is bare minimum. It didn’t bother me too much as I focused on not dying, but it would have been nice if they went a little further with the story.
