Before I begin here, I have to preface this Games Time Forgot with a warning -- if you go pick this game up thinking that you are going to find a diamond in the rough when it comes to quality, this is not your game. The voice-overs are terrible, occasionally even cringe-worthy (although they certainly aren't
Chaos Wars bad -- that's a whole new level of wretched), and the graphics are simplistic ... certainly nothing to write home about when it comes to looks.
Why, despite such major detractions, is this game so incredibly fun to play, then, leaving me laughing my ass off and determined to advance as far in it as I can?
Hit the jump, where I'll explain (from a very different standpoint than the usual drivel I'm always spouting) why a great story isn't always what makes a great game.
Story:
You play a soldier who is a member of a paramilitary group called Earth Defense Force, in a most distressing predicament -- you are fighting the Ravagers, a hostile extraterrestrial race hellbent on wiping humanity off the face of the earth. Frankly, there's nothing unique about it, and as I said before, this game's strength is not about the story. The fun begins in two major parts of the game -- the moment you see the Ravagers for the first time, and the moment you get your hands on a weapon and realize you can actually blow up buildings.
Gameplay:
The game allows you to play single-player or co-op and presents you with five levels of difficulty. The higher the difficulty level you play on, the better the weapons drops, which definitely challenges you to learn and replay the levels. A basic level will drop you and your team on the map with a few moments to prepare until you get hit with an onslaught of massive alien creatures. The key to what makes it so much fun is the scale -- first giant ants, then spitting spiders and eventually giant robots come after you. It feels like an invasion movie from the fifties without intending to, and you find yourself actually mumbling "holy shit!" as you try to get out of the way.
As long as the world is being invaded, you may as well enjoy what pleasures you have left, and in Earth Defense Force 2017, that pleasure is heavy weaponry. The game has over 150 weapons, not to mention the tanks, speeder bikes, helicopters and mechs you gain access to in certain levels. As for the weapons themselves, you can wield machine guns, rocket launchers and grenade launchers, some of which can do obscene amounts of damage, as evidenced by the video at the top of the article. If you get antsy (BAD PUN), feel free to target your enviroment to amuse yourself, as all structures around you are fully destructible.
Earth Defense Force 2017 is actually a follow-up to the PlayStation 2 title Global Defence Force (also known as Earth Defense Force, or published as Chikyū Bōeigun 2 in Japan). Some reviewers thought the original title was far better than the sequel, as it features more missions and double the weapons, but since these were budget games to begin with, the original got very little US attention. I can't speak on its quality just yet, but as soon as I track a copy down I have a feeling I'll be ranting about the fun of it all over again.
Why you're probably not playing it:
Simply put, the game looks like a generic piece of shit at a glance. It's 20 bucks full price, and it blends flawlessly with a lot of third-party shit that came out for the 360 around the same time period. I watched a friend buying it and was a little befuddled about why he was spending his money on it until I was blasting ants and scrambling to avoid my own demise a few hours later.
For a gamer as obsessed with solid storylines in my games of choice, I was impressed that I could have such a blast with a game that had a fairly inconsequential one. Of course, sometimes you just need to blow shit up, and Earth Defense Force 2017 fills that need to perfection. If that sounds like a great night after work to you, you should definitely consider picking this one up.
Contest:
3:04 PM on 06.17.2008
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I would pay top dollar for a sequel with online co-op.
Man this game is fun, and doubly so in co-op. I but this out at parties when everyone's tired of Rock Band and there's always continuing great times.
I'm serious.
They actually say something like "We have no idea if the RAVAGERS are hostile"
that just struck me as hilarious, also fantastic game
-EDF2017 Soldier
Incredible.
I think the one-hit missiles or grenades that blow up buildings is my favorite feature.
I gotta hand it to them for packing in replay value too - 53 levels, 5 difficulties, and something like 200 unique guns for $20 bucks? I wish a big budget production would put together some gameplay like this with an online squad mode. That would be a blast. Essentially, I want a Starship Troopers MMO!
While the graphics are definitely pretty primitive by 360 standards, I'm actually quite impressed with the amount of detail that they put into the levels. Seriously... vehicles, buildings, yards, bus stops, walkways, parks, playgrounds. All there and all and really make the city seem populated (well, once populated) and significant. Many buildings have useable staircases as well, so you can get up top for a better view. And as cheesy as the voice overs are, there are some memorable moments like soldiers underground saying how they just want to go home and see the sun again, or most of the chatter in the final couple of missions.
Awesome writeup. :)
But isn't it a bit early for games time forgot, since the game is only one year old?
I've played it so much and now I'm helping two of my friends complete Inferno as well.
A note on the graphics though: While they may not compare to something like Gears, they are on many occasions beautiful. Taking out a giant robot and seeing another one emerge from the fireball looks great, and the swarming bugs coming over the horizon is a sight.
Despite having no heavy gameplay "angles" this game continues to reward again and again and again.
If I was stuck on a deserted island, this is the one game i'd bring, no question.
Go out and get it now folk, it's really that good.
I'm glad I was introduced into this game. It's a awesome co op game. Loads of guns to find, lots of silly useless shooting at giant ants/spiders/robots/saucers. I still find it funny how 1-2 random peons can take on so much damage.
Awesome, game is awesome.
I rented it after all the "omg its so fun hype".
I think i might have been able to stand it for a bit longer if the achievements were worth playing for but it has the most ridiculous achievements ever. what is there 6?
Only way to play this is co-op, IMO. I love me some co-op EDF.
I don't know if this is a good or bad thing. I'm still trying to figure that one out.
I bought it when it first came out and it's still one of my favorites on the 360. I recommend it to everyone that asks.
I really like the second game on PS2, as it has a second character with a jetpack, crazier weapons, and real-world locations. Accidentally destroying significant landmarks in London is very amusing. The only problem with the PS2 titles is the framerate. The games tend to run at single digit framerates until you're down to the last couple of creatures. Despite that, they're still impressive thanks to the retarded number of enemies onscreen and the HUGE cities. It's too bad the 360 game doesn't have recognizable real-world locations or the jetpack. But at least vehicles have been improved and are now mostly useless instead of totally useless.
I'm glad the 360 game (mostly) fixes the framerate, but they really dropped the ball with achievements and co-op. This game was just BEGGING for online co-op, and they should have had achievements like "ride on top of a saucer for 60 seconds" or "destroy x number of enemies with <your favourite joke weapon here>" instead of just "complete all missions at x difficulty" and "find every weapon."
Goodtimes.
Search Youtube for the video "The Manliest Video Game Ever"
I <3 EDF.
I always laugh at the voices..
I love this game. Definitely one of the best games to get totally smashed and play. I play Crimson on Inferno all the time; it's easy if you have the C26 explosives. Let the ants chase you, plant one, get three side rolls away and detonate! Piece of cake. All you have to do is equip a good short range weapon to pick off the floaters. I do this over and over to get more armor and weapons.