Earth Defense Force 2017

"An overlooked gem"

With the xbox 360 well into its life cycle there a lot of excellent games being released for the platform. So many good ones that it is hard to pick up on every single game that is released for it. However, one day when cleaning up at work I discovered a discounted game. It's title was Earth Defense Force 2017. It was on sale for less than 20 bucks. Being a collector, I simply forked over the change and picked it up, then took it home. There on the shelf did it stay for a good solid week while I sank many hours into my favorite games. Then finally, late one night I decided to give it a try. Since that moment, I still haven't been able to put it down. Let's explain what makes this game so great.

Storyline(01/10)
The Earth is under attack from aliens and you must defend it. A lot of depth here......har har.

Graphics(07/10)
EDF has some pretty slick graphics, but lets face it, this game is no Gears of War. EDF is basically an updated PS2 game and as such the graphics are sharper but nothing super incredible. What it does well though, it does very well. The texturing and spray effects look good. The screen shaking effects at a visceral element to the game that I wish other games added. A dramatic cam can go a long way..... The only complaint I honestly have about the graphics are the animations. Three things happen that can be quite annoying. First of all, and probably the worst is that when there is a lot of mayhem going on on the screen every once in a while the framerate drops dramatically. This usually happens on co-op more than anything and can be frustrating, however it is not very common. The second complaint is the animations. There are somewhat blocky and not done very well. Your character runs as if he has a limp and the ants animations can sometimes look down right stupid. The final complaint which is only a big deal to me is that there is over one hundren and fifty weapons. Thats awesome except all the weapons of the same type are the exact same gun. I at least expected different models for different guns. For example, an AF-14 looks exactly like an AF-18 which is a superior rifle. Only a minor gripe that can be overlooked but still a gripe.

Sound(10/10)
Suprisingly, this game has very awesome sound. Though the music is lame but sound in the game is very, very excellent. Explosions are loud and have a thunderous base in them that will make you feel as if you are right there in the battle. The guns rattle off shots loudly and once again give that visceral experience that I wish more games had. The creatures let off screams and everything is loud. It literally sounds as if the world around you is falling apart. This is one in the game that honestly doesn't lag. It does an excellent job. The voiceovers are also kind of lame but at the same time this game is meant to be that way a la' Godzilla. You will actually learn to love your squadmates comments as they fight beside you, simply for the fact that they say things that you are thinking in your head. It makes you really want to have their backs and protect them from the destruction around them.

Gameplay(09/10)
No matter how good a game looks or sounds, at the end of the day all that matters is how it plays. This game honestly hands out gameplay in spades. EDF is a simple game that can be picked up and played at any given time. It is broken down into 51 missions each with five different difficulties to choose from. The difficulties actually make a difference as they can effect enemy A.I., enemy strength, and my favorite, better weapon drops. The mandate of this game is simple. Blow stuff up and kill. When you kill something blood flies all over the screen and the creature flies away very dramatically. It is very fun to shoot things. Probably one of the best things in this game is the destructible environments. The city levels can be completely leveled which is very fun especially when running away from boss creatures that crash right through then to get to you. You fight all manners of creatures from ants, spiders, robots, to Giant dinoscaurs, gunships, UFO's, fortresses, etc... There is a lot of variety and an every slightly amount of strategy. There are also pilotable vehicles that you can man on certain missions, though they have steep learning curve on controlling them. As you progress you can collect more powerful weapons which can cause some serious mayhem. The levels are frantic and you are always on the edge of your seat trying to stay alive, especially on the harder difficulties. This is what makes the game so fun. The inclusion of co-op adds a seroius amount of gameplay as you and a buddy can team up to defend the Earth from aliens. Sadly, there is no online support or Downloadable Content.

Replayability(10/10)
I can honestly say that you can easily sink over 100 hours into this game and still have fun with it. With the tons of weapons to collect, the different difficulties, and the variety of missions there's a lot here to keep you coming back. Especially with a friend. As I said, I bought this game a while ago and still am having fun with it. Also, the creator of Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden 2.....this is his personal game of the year, so give it a shot.

Last Impressions
If you like shooting things which I know you do(you have an xbox), then this game is perfect. Not only that but its darn cheap as well, so don't be afraid to give it a try. I guarentee you'll have a blast with it. I know I did.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/14/08

Game Release: Earth Defense Force 2017 (US, 03/20/07)