While there are some weak spots that can't be ignored in Raiden IV, as a shooter, the title excels in all of the areas it should – solid presentation stacked on top of intense and satisfying action. UFO Interactive is clearly catering towards fans of the genre and series with this installment and these gamers will no doubt enjoy their time with the title that now graciously comes at about half the price as the imported version. However, it would have been nice to see the series advance the shooting genre a little more as opposed to merely extending what players found in Raiden III and a few omissions such as online gameplay really prevent the title from being much more than an arcade port. Casual players will no doubt be intimidated by the difficulty balance even with practice and very easy modes and, unfortunately, Moss extends the replayability with a cheap repetition, but, overall, Raiden IV does what any shooter fan will ask of it. People unfamiliar with the series might want to approach with caution, but fans of the series and franchise should be able to pull a good amount of fun out of this sequel.
