Earth Defense Force 2017

Written by Troy Matsumiya  on January 31, 2007

First Impressions: Honey, call the exterminator Ц I think we have a bit of a bug problem.

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Remember those old Japanese sci-fi monster movies from the 1960s? The ones that were so bad and corny you couldn't help but love them? Well thanks to D3 Publisher and Sandlot, you'll soon be able to play in one of those classic flicks.

Earth Defense Force 2017 is the sequel to the PS2's Chikyuu Boueigun УSimpleФ budget series of games released in 2003. These were fun old-school run-and-gun shooters that had you blasting giant insects and robots from outer space. EDF brings the series to the next gen with improved graphics and more frantic action, but the heart of the gameplay remains the same: blowing the tar out of insanely big alien bugs.

The story is pretty simple: you are a member of the EDF and must stop an alien invasion. Okay, so it's not exactly original but with enemies that include swarms of giant ants, massive leaping tarantulas, lumbering dinosaur-like creatures, deadly spaceships and towering killer robots, chances are you probably won't have time to ponder the literary merits of the story. The action looks frantically crazy, much like a Japanese version of Serious Sam, as your pathetically tiny character dodges and rolls between the legs of giant insects that literally fill the screen dozens at a time. Yikes.

Your character will only be able to carry two weapons and a handful of grenades at a time but you will eventually be able to select from a whopping 150 weapons split between seven different categories; with special upgrades, the weapon variations number over 400. New weapons are unlocked as you progress while upgrades (like faster reloads and increased power and range) and armor/health powerups are dropped by dead enemies. Weapons include your standard shooter fare like assault rifles and rocket launchers, along with cool ones like a water gun that squirts acid.

You will also be able to pilot a wide variety of vehicles ranging from a Star Wars-like speeder bike to tanks, helicopters and even a huge mech. You won't have to take on the bugs all by yourself, however, since helpful AI teammates will be fighting by your side. Better yet, you will be able to play co-operatively with a buddy via split-screen Ц but sadly, there will be no online co-op or adversarial modes. Even so, with 53 levels, five difficulty modes (easy, normal, hard, hardest and inferno) and environments that are almost completely destructible, you should get more than your fill of frantic action.

As you might expect, the game looks like a classic Japanese sci-fi movie with monster, robot, spaceship and even uniform designs straight out of the campy 1960s. The graphics are decent but nothing special so don't expect any jaw-dropping eye candy here. To be fair, though, the emphasis is on providing crazy action jam-packed with enemies, not dazzling you with pretty details, and on that front the game seems to deliver with good framerates that might otherwise be compromised with higher res graphics.