Raiden V: Director’s Cut Review – A Shooter’s Paradise, For A Price
Shoot-em-ups – or “shmups” as they’re called by many fans – deliver a great little [...]
Good Fun, But Why's It Cost So Much?
Raiden's gameplay will be very familiar to players who have gotten into this sort of thing before. You hold down the fire button to deliver your deadly spray of armageddon (that sounded weird) and drop bombs when you need to. That's about it. Fortunately, you can adjust the difficulty if you really want to step things up, and try out the boss challenge, where you take on an incoming plethora of big ships and tanks. That's really all there is to the game, but, then again, that's all it needs to really succeed. It plays well, and that'll be more than enough for "shmup" fans.
In addition, you can call in a friend to help you out in two player mode, though it's local only. That's fine, because had the developers gone for an online thing, we probably would've seen a whole lot of lag. This is fine, and really allows you to work better as a team when it comes to dropping off explosive devices and hammering away at a boss.
So, the game has a pretty good presentation and wild gameplay to suit any "shmup" fan. So what's this big drawback that stands in the way? Well, it's the price. A game like this usually goes for $19.99 and gets a good audience that way, but, for some reason, Director's Cut is priced at…$35? There are those that are probably willing to make the jump, and will get their money's worth, but here's hoping the publishers find it in themselves to drop the price and make this affordable for everyone. Otherwise, it feels like a limited club that only a select few will join…until the price goes down.
I reiterate, Raiden V: Director's Cut is not a bad game. It's entertaining for "shmup" thrills, has plenty of difficulty, and no shortage of imminent destruction. But the game needs a smaller price point to really find its appeal…and hopefully it'll get there sooner rather than later.
RATING: Three and a half stars out of five.
Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.