I'll admit that I really enjoy the rival game, Star Control Origins. But I don't think I was compelled to play that game quite like I was this one. I've spent hours tweaking exactly how my ship is laid out.
I've been playing Raiden games since 1996, when I got Raiden Project for my PlayStation 1. I fell in love with the pure arcade action, the narrative subtly woven through the gameplay, and especially how it makes you feel that you're in control of a very powerful little ship.. No distractions, just surprisingly tactical gameplay in a simple package. While I love the selection of ships and weapons, I can't forgive the removal of TATE mode. ESPECIALLY in this day, when we all have monitors which can easily be turned for a proper RAIDEN experience. Most of the action is drowned out with excessive information outside of the game window... and very bad voice acting. It's truly irritating to hear about how you haven't destroyed enough for so-and-so-level, while focused on an artificially small window that always feels claustrophobic. I'll admit that I don't really understand the Cheer system, only because I haven't played enough of this formerly-anticipated game to truly understand it. I truly hope that the Raiden series can survive this unfortunate chapter in its history. It deserves better than this.
