Defend the Planet
Published April 3, 2007
Defend the Planet
At A Glance
- Treit defends the planet in this addictive new shooter.
From time to time a game so charmingly campy and ridiculously old-school comes along, you just can't help but root for it. Not every game is meant to boast a multi-million dollar budget and push the technological envelope to the next-gen edge. Occasionally, the breath of fresh air you're looking for comes from uncomplicated gameplay that understands that simplicity and accessibility are actually virtues worth embracing.
They're attacking!
Welcoming the Concept
Enter Earth Defense Force™ 2017, the latest entry in the cult-favorite series, and the first to be released for Xbox 360™. Its premise is as follows: Aliens are plowing through earth like Master Chief through a room filled with slumbering Grunts, and it's your job to slaughter the invading armies by the thousands before it's too late.
It is a game of white-knuckled survival
and brutal difficulty that does justice
to old-school classics like Robotron.
This is, for lack of a better phrase, a balls-to-the-wall arcade shooter whose prime purpose is to place you in an interactive, constantly engaging, completely destructible shooting gallery.
Essential Gameplay
The game's mechanics are precisely what you would expect from a third-person-shooter. Using the dual-analog control scheme made famous by Halo®: Combat Evolved, aiming, shooting, running, and jumping are smooth, responsive, and entirely intuitive.
In a game where constant waves of enemies pour out of every crack and crevice, you need a control scheme you don't have to think about, and Earth Defense Force 2017 provides just that.
Furthermore, you'll have access to dozens of different weapons, and perhaps more impressive, hundreds of variations of those weapons. The name of the game is chaotic action, and each machine gun, rocket launcher, and laser rifle adds variety and depth to the proceedings. You can also mix things up with a variety of vehicles (Mechs included!) to pummel your enemies and flee to safety.
Setting the Scene
Earth Defense Force 2017 wastes no time making its point. Within moments of beginning the game, you find yourself shredding enormous ant-like creatures with machine gun fire as they pour through the streets. They crawl over obstacles, spit acid, and even scale skyscrapers in their quest to annihilate the earthlings.
Open fire!
The destructive nature of your environment is also brought home early on when an errant rocket (trust me, there will be several) sends an entire building crumbling down around your ears.
Free Roaming
Unique among arcade shooters, Earth Defense Force 2017 doesn't force you onto a path. Instead, you drop into each level (of a staggering fifty!) with a single goal: Withstand the assault and drive back the enemy. Where you go, who you engage, and in what order you do it is all up to you.
Use the radar in the upper right hand corner to spot large groups of enemies, and trust me when I tell you that you won't ever have to go looking for a fight.
Earth Defense Force 2017 is an all-out assault on your senses at every turn. It is a game of white-knuckled survival and brutal difficulty that does justice to old-school classics like Robotron and even Space Invaders, only this game takes place in a next-gen, three-dimensional world set to collapse around you at any second.
You're in for a treat when this sleeper hit releases, so do yourself a solid and don't ignore it in favor of more traditionally hyped titles. It's a back-to-basics thrill ride and it's worth every penny of its budgetary price.
Article by Ryan Treit
