Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain

It had been several years since I had played Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon so I was a tad worried about doing the series justice in this review, but I can definitely say that outside of a couple of issues with giant insects blocking my camera view, repeatedly getting knocked down when surrounded by the critters, and the sensitivity of clicking L3 to turn around when moving backwards, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is a solid entry into the EDF series and one that anyone wanting to blast the heck out of giant insects should enjoy.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain shakes up the series at its core, and still manages to be a decidedly great EDF game. Character creation and the PA-Gear fit right in and offer a newfound sense of personalization and freedom, while the grim presentation and heightened difficulty will keep you engaged throughout. It’s a real gem.

With a dollop of polish, a variety of new locations and much more challenging enemies EDF: Iron Rain might just be the best entry in the series so far, and while the trademark jank remains, new franchise developer Yuke's has done a fantastic job of tweaking the formula without breaking it. EDF: Iron Rain is a must for fans of the series and fans of fast-paced, deeply fun shooters alike.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is the best entry in the series. It’s also just a ton of fun, in case you were worried at all that killing endless waves of giant bugs and aliens could be boring. I hope future entries will adopt and adapt everything Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain has added to the series. It’s certainly a better game for it and retains so many of the things longtime fans have come to love about the series. I’m happy to report that the EDF is back in business.

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.

The perfect addition to the series. Earth Defense Force 5 made improvements but it still felt like it was slavishly committed to the way earlier EDF titles operated. Iron Rain is different. It finally taking itself more seriously, which may or may not resonate with every player, but the end-to-end revamp in the way the game works on every level is exactly what the series needed to keep pushing forward.

It sadly lacks some of the ostentatious aspects of the mainline games and a few odd backend changes but overall, this is easily the best Earth Defense Force spin-off to date.

It sadly lacks some of the ostentatious aspects of the mainline games and a few odd backend changes but overall, this is easily the best Earth Defense Force spin-off to date.

Iron Rain might just be my new favourite Earth Defense Force game. Sure, it doesn’t throw quite as many enemies at you, and performance isn’t as smooth as usual, but the latter issue isn’t so bad if you’re playing on a PS4 Pro. The improved visuals and gameplay tweaks make it more of an immersive and enjoyable experience, and that’s what really matters.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain may be a different type of EDF but its heart is powered by the epic bug-blasting, kaiju fighting combat that has always been the hallmark of the series’ incredible combat.

If you want a game which is pretty much the polar opposite of the vast majority of modern AAA titles — in most of the right ways — I can wholeheartedly recommend Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain.

I just can’t quit Iron Rain. It’s just too addictively fun to give up on and any EDF fan that’s been around long enough is most likely used to these games having a few blemishes. In the case of Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain, in particular, the good definitely outweighs the bad.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is certainly the prettiest insect-splatting simulation to grace the PlayStation 4 and there are a number of innovations to appeal to a Western audience, but Iron Rain still falls into that campy B-movie aesthetic.

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.

Iron Rain isn’t going to change your mind, but the visual update and some other changes will make it very appealing for fans of this unique franchise.

This is Earth Defense Force. As it has always been. And as it hopefully will still be in ten years. E.D.F.!

Despite the marketing of a more 'serious' tone this is still very much EDF.

Iron Rain is a more-than-pleasant experiment, a game that feels like it was made by fans of the series with their own ideas. Some work, some don’t, but it’s never short of them – and if you can’t enjoy new ideas at the same time as shooting a 30-foot spider in its awful face, what are you even playing games for in the first place?

Earth Defence Force has stuck to a formula, and when a different team attempted to diverge from it, things didn't work out. Earth Defence Force: Iron Rain is like a fully-realised Insect Armageddon. The story is basic, but the world is thought-out, interesting, and populated with likeable characters. The combat is crazy and bombastic, yet refined and more contemporary than its mainline entries. Every class has its strengths and weaknesses, and the addition of a practice mode helps players better understand how each one works. It's quite satisfying when everything clicks. Iron Rain re-modifies the series formula, but doesn't abandon the no-nonsense approach of the other games.

Changes to the handling and upgrade system show a series maturing, but the focus on story means we get fewer missions. Offline and online, Iron Rain is fun, disposable nonsense. New to EDF? Start here. [Issue#162, p.90]

Iron Rain is a completely different animal than its predecessors, so it’s almost unfair to compare them. This one never aspires to offer epic action, so how can I criticize it for failing to deliver? Its goal is to offer a more grounded, focused take on the concept, and while I’ll admit that I missed seeing fleets of alien ships being blasted out of the sky by satellite weaponry, the new enemies can’t be ignored. Iron Rain won’t make it to the top of a best-of EDF list, but as a discrete experience, it’s pretty great.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain lets you blast away at hordes of alien enemies, making you feel powerful. The framerate drops when too many enemies appear, but it doesn't ruin the game. The story isn't very compelling, but manning your PA gear in combat makes up for that.

I wouldn’t recommend Iron Rain over Earth Defense Force 5, since it fails to deliver the distilled, charming experience I adore from the Sandlot series. That said, it makes some welcome advancements to the formula, with deep customisation features and plenty of loadouts to mess around with. It’s just a shame technical problems are so pronounced, even on the enhanced console. But, for fans of the series, this is worth a gander.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain offers players with a nice change of pace from the hyper-connected and competitive nature of contemporary gaming, with a game that actually feels like a game.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is another vision of the franchise made by an other studio. The new approach is quite good, more serious and more accessible.

Fun, mindless entertainment with plenty of diverse missions which are a blast to play due to the large arsenal of weaponry at your disposal. Technically the game follows the rest of the franchise by which we mean that the game is still as messy as the other EDF games. Unstable frame rates, long load times, pretty much all the things you'd expect from an EDF game. There are some difficulty spikes as well which can lead to some frustration but overall this is a fine addition to the franchise.

Iron Rain is a decent spin-off which focuses on a more Western Market. Although the game has a better story driven campaign and upgrade in terms of graphics, it delivers less of a comical arcade experience than the original titles do.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is ultimately more of the same, just seen through a slightly different developer lens. Most of your time is still spent fending off waves of marching ants, which is still somewhat fun in an overly familiar way.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is some of the most pure, unadulterated fun we’ve had in 2019 so far. It’s not pretty and it’s not stable, but if you’re able to look past its technical drawbacks, then you’re in for a supremely wacky, boisterous, and delightful takedown of humanity’s greatest threat. Earth Defense Force is proud of its simplistic nature, and that’s probably the best thing about it.

Although Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain attempts to take the franchise in a bold new direction, the latest installment in the long-running series makes too many mistakes to be anything other than a letdown.

Despite huge changes, Earth Defence Force: Iron Rain remains loyal to EDF roots, and this is great news for the fans of the series. On the other hand, the graphical upgrades help to convince new players to join up as well. Iron Rain still needs improvements to be considered an elite action title, but it is arguably the best EDF ever made.

The game itself it the standard shooter from a third-person viewpoint. The controls are basic enough for younger fans to play, and not very difficult to learn.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is light on narrative and heavy on fast paced action. The soundtrack keeps your heart pounding and the variety of weapons and abilities unlocked through your armor really let you play your own unique style. The character creation is a bit lacking – especially from a studio which has made so many WWE games – and the cast is mostly forgettable but the intense combat and overwhelming number of enemies really makes you feel like the underdog in a story about fighting for survival against alien forces.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain has its heart in the right place. Instead of simply treading water, it wants to push ahead. Such a drive makes the game entertaining, especially if you're already invested in the series and are curious about the evolution. Sadly, the game doesn't match its own ambition, grasping at greater heights without fully solving the problems its ideas create. Even so, there's something valuable here, and hopefully Yuke's gets another attempt to refine its direction.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is definitely a very different experience to past games in the series. Fans will likely not appreciate many of the changes although the more focused combat makes for a rather satisfying challenge.

Character creation could have had a little bit more variety, but the feature does make it easier to empathize with your character, which benefits the more serious tone of the scenario. However, the balance between item prices and the amount of currency you can obtain make it hard for the player to spend money when needed, which makes the game less enjoyable as a whole. There are several other issues such as bullet-sponge enemies, resulting in an experience that can be hard to enjoy.

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.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain sacrifices the franchise standards of city scale battlefields and hundreds of enemies for the sake of flashier graphics, but in doing so loses some of the unique charm the series offers. The grind required to unlock exciting weapons undermines the fun potential, unless you're looking to spend a lot of time with the game.

Where Iron Rain fails as an overarching plot, it succeeds in creating a stronger and more engaging vibe than its predecessors.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain plays around with the concepts players have gotten used to with previous EDFs. Classes are open, and the new Prowl Rider offers a new flavor of play that hasn't been seen in the franchise before. Weapons are open, giving more player freedom in terms of character loadouts. But Iron Rain loses some things from the main series, notably the huge swarms of enemies in favor of larger, more meaningful enemies. It's a fine entry in the EDF franchise, but it doesn't step far beyond its predecessors sadly.

Iron Rain feels like it should have come out over a decade ago. There are a few fine ideas and some fun moments, but this kind of game just doesn’t hold up when there are so many other fantastic titles releasing so frequently.

If this was the first EDF game, we'd likely be falling over ourselves to praise it but EDF5 exists and does everything this does but better. Yuke's have done a solid job with it but EDF is Sandlot's baby and they are who you should go to for your alien insect slaying fun.

Unpretentious entertainment that drags too many technical and artistic aspects that are too outdated today.

After a promising start, Iron Rain becomes a special kind of frustrating sequel that’s too inconsistent to realize its potential as an incisive comedy or exciting shooter.

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.

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.

The featured gameplay is too samey and numbing to hold excitement through longer spells of playing. Even in shorter sessions, you can’t help but wonder if you’re just wasting your time. The thing is, everything in the game, from visuals to the gameplay, is definitely B-grade stuff - except for the price tag.