Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain
By David Chapman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Fun, frantic B-movie shooter series gets a polished reboot.
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Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain
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What’s It About?
In EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: IRON RAIN, humanity is on the brink of extinction. It all began with the arrival of the "Aggressors", an alien race that appeared suddenly in the skies above Earth, sending giant insect-like creatures to decimate the population. Humans fought back, forming the Earth Defense Force, the first and last line of defense to push back the alien invaders. Eventually, the EDF seemingly defeated the Aggressors, but the cost was high. Not only were the EDF forces annihilated, but the Aggressor technology continued to run rampant. Massive bugs and other strange mutated creatures bred and eventually took over. It's been a rough seven years for the world since the day of the Aggressor defeat, and since the day you fell into a coma during that final battle. Now, awakening in a world you thought you'd finally won back, you're called into action yet again. Donning your PA-Gear exosuit once more, you'll head out into frontlines of battle and fight to reclaim what's left of the planet, proving that humanity won't go down without a fight.
Is It Any Good?
While this franchise loved being quirky, cheesy, and unpolished, this installment wraps the over the top B-movie action into a more realistic, dramatic package. Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is like one of those late night, low budget popcorn flicks re-imagined and rebooted with bug budget directing and theatrical effects. The result is an intense arcade shooter that's an adrenaline-fueled roller coaster, serving as both a great jumping on point for newcomers as well as a fresh but still familiar feeling for longtime fans.
One of the first big changes in Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is its deep and detailed character creation suite. This should come as no surprise, since developer Yuke's has long been known for its similar creation tools in various WWE and UFC games. This gives players a sense of both creative freedom and personal attachment to the character. Another major, and equally welcome, change comes in how the game handles players' weapon loadouts. Previously, certain weapons could only be used by certain classes. This time around though, any weapon you find can be used on any class of character. This opens up a slew of new potential strategies and combinations to best deal with the swarms of invaders. The game's controls feel more fluid than before too, although there are still some issues with things like the camera angles and getting overwhelmed by enemies that can be disorienting, making it difficult to keep up with the onscreen action. And there's still some issues with repetition, because there's not a lot of diversity between the missions. Despite this, Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is an absolute blast to play, especially when shared with friends in either split-screen or online co-op. The game might mark a new stylistic direction for the franchise, but underneath, it's still the same frantic fun that EDF is known for.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Is the impact of the violence in Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain affected by the over-the-top, sci-fi based violence against insects and aliens. Would it be intensified if you committed the same violence against human enemies?
How do character creation tools help to add a more personal element to the gaming experience? How can these tools help spark more creativity with players?
Game Details
- Platform: PlayStation 4
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: D3Publisher of America
- Release date: April 11, 2019
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires, Robots, Space and Aliens
- ESRB rating: T for Violence, Blood, Suggestive Themes
- Last updated: July 1, 2022
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