Earth Defence Force 2017

Has such a fun game ever looked so bad?

	Version Xbox 360	Developer Sandlot	Publisher D3 Publisher	Genre Action

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As I said above, the sound is even worse than the sights. The mediocre soundtrack is thankfully kept very quiet. Soldier's dialog can be funny at times, but they keep shouting at you even after they've all been wiped out by the aliens. Explosions and gunfire are the only things that nearly hit the mark. If you judge Earth Defence Force 2017 by it's technical merit, there's no denying that the game is a mess of oil tanker spillage proportions.

Somehow EDF2017 manages to overcome it's flaws with classic arcade gameplay that it will take a long time to tire of. The controls are simple; move with the left stick, aim with the right and shoot/jump/dodge/change weapon and zoom in and out with the bumper and trigger buttons. A reload button would not have been a bad idea but the infinite ammo means if you do get a quiet second you can simply fire off the rest of your clip.

Infinite ammo is a grand idea, as most of the levels involve giant insects or arachnids attacking in ever increasing numbers. When you kill them there's a good chance they'll drop some 2D power-ups on the 3D battlefield. Pick these up for health, armour (boosts your overall health) and new weapons. You won't receive any new weapons and armour until the end of the level, and this is where much of the replay value for EDF2017. Weapons are unlocked at random, with the more powerful weapons only becoming available if you play on a harder difficulty level. Missions finish when you kill the last enemy, so it's worthwhile leaving one alive while you collect all the power-ups scattered around the map. If you find yourself stuck on a level it's also worthwhile going back to a level you've already finished and playing through on a harder difficulty so you can pick up as many weapon and armour power-ups as possible. With a bit of luck you'll pick up something badass and complete the level you're stuck on with minimal fuss.

The weapons are another one of the games star attractions. There's a massive selection of guns, from rapid-fire assault rifles to the super powered 'Tortoise' missile - the slowest moving bang in the universe! There are also super powered sniper rifles, and special weapons like flamethrowers and plasma guns. Getting the bigger weapons in the game certainly helps you through the missions, but a lot of the guns are so much fun you'll want to replay levels just to see what shows up. The guns soon get ridiculously powerful, such as the spread-shot rocket launcher which makes short work of armies of ants.

The scale of the game is another element which really draws you in from the first level, as the citizens run screaming past you, a sense of awe builds. When the giant ants clamber around your surroundings and charge towards you, you realise that this is a no holds barred B-movie shoot-em up that Godzilla and his rubber-suited friends would be perfectly at home in. Green gore explodes out the bugs as you kill them, and the robots are a majestic sight the first time you see them. They stagger when you hit them with something powerful enough and blow up in explosions that would make Guy Fawkes himself proud. Later bosses are even more epic in scale, and you'll find yourself destroying as much of the city as the invaders as you chase them down with rocket powered doom.

EDF2017 is the most fun I've had on the 360 this year. There's no online play, but playing with a friend doubles the amount of fun you have (although the battle mode is fairly crap). It certainly has it faults, but these kind of add to it's B-movie charm. If pest control with homing missiles, or slaying tower-block tall robots and causing more collateral damage than the bad guys would isn't your thing then it's safe to say this isn't the game for you. For anyone who's ever cheered on Godzilla, King Kong, the Power Rangers or screamed at the vile fiends from Them!, Mars Attacks or Starship Troopers, this is the game you've been waiting for. Now strap up those boots, reload the rockets and give them the best Earth has to offer! EDF! EDF! EDF!

Graphics Sound Gameplay Depth Presentation OVERALL 5.0 3.0 8.5 5.0 4.0 7.5

THE VERDICT: Anyone who sees EDF2017 will laugh when told that this is on the 360. Get past the bad graphics, bad storyline and woeful sound and it's possibly the most fun game on the console so far this year. It's a riot; something that you just have to roll with. Earth Defence Force 2017 has 'Cult Classic' tattooed across its forehead.

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