Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain Reviews
With a different developer, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain brings a lot of new elements to the series that can revive or break a certain nostalgia and familiar style of its veteran fans. Still, it's still a fun EDF-esque game and a great way for newbies to get their first taste of Earth Defense Force.
Review in Czech | Read full review
Overall, Earth Defense Force: Iron Raid is rather lacking as a whole. While the gameplay is ok and I don’t particularly mind repetitive stages (heck, I finished Robotron 64), some of the unfair situations you can get into really put a damper on it. While not unplayable, the combination of choppy frame rates and frustrating mechanics leave you feeling like Iron Rain can often feel like more of a demo than a full game. While I would recommend picking it up if it’s on sale or packaged with something else, I would be a little more reserved about getting it flat out, unless you’re a fan of the series or are looking for a multiplayer game to play with your friends.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain improves on class and loot mechanics but fails at delivering an entertaining level design. The new war movie inspired presentation falls flat compared to the previous B-movie horror aesthetic.
Iron Rain echoes Insect Armageddon as a spin-off that tries to take the well-loved series in a new direction. Unfortunately, it drained out a lot of the charm that made the older titles so fun to begin with.
If you're a fan of the previous titles, go ahead and buy Iron Rain, you're not going to be disappointed by this one. If you're not a rabid fan of giant bugs, give it a miss or pick it up in a sale. It's a giggle after all if a little frustrating.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is a buggy masterclass in third-person shooter fun.
Iron Rain is a good game on its own merits, but it's simply not as good as EDF5. It is a pretty different experience that's easy to recommend to series fans that are hungry for more, though.
It’s a different kind of EARTH DEFENSE FORCE, but not necessarily a bad one. IRON RAIN carries on the B-movie schlock in a new series, all in good fun. It’s like the newer Starship Troopers movies, they have newer CGI but it’s still not that great, and it has changed many things about it that you’re used to. You still watch of course, because it’s a good time. EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: IRON RAIN is bug-squashing fun at its finest, with some changes to core systems you may or may not like.
When compared to the other entries in the series, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is a major low point. The various changes that improve on the formula are outweighed by other design choices that actively hurt the title's overall appeal. The actual combat still has some of the magic the series is known for, and even if online co-op is barely there unless you coordinate with others beforehand, the game is still fun to play with friends. If you're new to the series, playing Iron Rain won't be so bad, but if you've already killed bugs several times before, this title won't be able to scratch that itch again.
EDF: Iron Rain is a game that the even fan of the genre can not unseen the technical and artistic weaknesses.
Review in Persian | Read full review
EDF: Iron Rain is big, it's dumb and it's also a ton of fun thanks to fantastic split-screen and online multiplayer. Pack your biggest auto-cannon, switch your brain off and you'll be chanting 'EDF! EDF! EDF!' in no time.
Iron Rain re-modifies the series formula, but doesn't abandon the no-nonsense approach of the other games.
EDF is probably never going to reach the heights of the mainstream, and that’s all right. It trying to be different from other games is exactly what makes it appealing to certain gamers. For the time being, being aware of its strengths and weaknesses are good enough for now.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is more of the same Earth Defense Force, and that’s great for fans. You will still spend your time battling giants, trying the save the Earth from certain doom. Even for how cheesy the acting can be, for how slow it feels, and for how janky the animation looked, I still had fun doing it.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain introduces some big changes to to the B movie-style shooting franchise, including universal weapon use among classes, streamlined gear acquisition and improved visuals. Some of the changes might not necessarily please some series veterans, especially when it comes to the lower enemy counts. It does make the game more accessible to newcomers, though, so this can be a good time to try the franchise out if you've never played EDF before.
Iron Rain makes some changes to core features of the series, bringing a new and somewhat familiar experience. It's a great shooter game due to its absurdity, combat possibilities and, especially, for its cooperative modes with friends.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Despite the disappointment I, as a veteran EDF trooper, endured at first glimpse of Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain in action, it soon grew into one of my favorite EDF games in the series, right behind EDF 4.1 and 5. And even with the reduction in the enormity of enemy swarms, it still offers the fun and frantic bug genocide that only the EDF really knows how to provide. Now, not all fans or newcomers will value the compromises Iron Rain makes; however, it cannot be denied that this spinoff was a necessity. In time, it may prove to be filled with a lot of great ideas that progress this underappreciated franchise in profound directions.
Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain has a lot of good ideas that mostly come together well but it still doesn't feel as fun to play as the mainline series.
Everything about it makes sense, and it’s a better game at the end of the day due to the added polish. However, it’s not nearly good enough to get recommended with the games it’s now competing with and has lost much of its original appeal along the way.
One of the best and worst things about Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is that it continues to use a tried and true formula, only changing a few necessary elements, and adding in a few minor ones to make itself really stand out from the rest. While it sounds as shameful as it could be, it isn’t, and it’s a welcome change in a series that had begun to grow stagnant over the past few releases.