Raiden X

The definition of a web-shooter

Reviewed by Shawn from afro-ninja.com

Unfortunately, I never got to play the original versions of Raiden. That doesn’t stop me from loving this version though. Raiden X is a classic top-down shooter with enough powerups, enemies, and action to satisfy any hardcore gamer.

There’s no particular story that I’m aware of in Raiden X, you just pilot your ship through level after level of enemy forces and destroy everything in sight- and there’s nothing wrong with that. This is old-school shooting with no extra fluff- arrow keys to move, z to fire, x to lay a bomb. It’s easy to compare this to a game like Drakojan skies, since they’re of the same genre and quality, but you really shouldn’t. Drakojan is a little more laid back, a little less frantic, and spends more time developing story and implementing special items. Raiden is just non-stop blasting.

As simplistic as the mechanics are, there’s enough weapon variation to keep things interesting. You have three main weapon types- red, blue, and purple. Each one is fairly weak, until you upgrade it. When killing enemies they will occasionally spill out power upgrades that change color. Match the color to your current weapon, and it gets stronger. Collect a different color and your weapon will stay the same power, but change to a different type. This can be quite challenging, while trying to maneuver around enemy fire while waiting for the powerup to change to your weapon of choice. There are also two missile types, homing and regular, that can be upgraded in the same fashion.

The graphics are good but lack details at time, especially the backgrounds. I have no problem with it though, because it keeps the game scrolling smoothly. The sound effects and music sound like they came straight out of arcade machine, and fit perfect. The sense of destruction is really apparent in this game. There will be times when the screen is absolutely brimming with enemies and bullets, while you fire away with fully powered cannons. That seems to be a criticism with the game though, and to some extent it’s true. With a fully powered weapon it’s easy to sit back and hold down the fire button. Sure it makes things easy but you can still get caught off guard by an enemy bullet and start back at 0 again. And if you really want a challenge then feel free to bump the game up to hard difficulty- I barely made it to the end levels on medium in my first couple plays.

Raiden X is a true classic in terms of flash. There have been plenty of attempts at shooter games of this variety, but I think Raiden set the standard. It’s even got a save feature so you wont get too discouraged by having to start over. I can only hope we’re able to handle a sequel.

Click here to play Raiden X






Comments (0) [view all]
Click here to leave a comment