Earth Defense Force 2017
| Earth Defense Force 2017 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Sandlot |
| Composer(s) | Masafumi Takada |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360 |
| Genre(s) | Third-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, two player co-op |
Earth Defense Force 2017, known in Japan as Chikyû Boueigun Surî (地球防衛軍3, lit. "Earth Defence Force 3") is a third-person shooter developed by Sandlot, and published by D3 Publisher, for the Xbox 360. It is the follow up to Global Defence Force, and is the first game in the series (as well as the first game based on D3's Simple series of budget games) to be released to North America. EDF 3 was the best selling Games On Demand game in Japan for 2009.[1]
Gameplay
The player takes control of a soldier who is part of a military group known as the Earth Defense Force (EDF) and combats a hostile extraterrestrial race known as the Ravagers. The Ravagers have invaded Earth with an arsenal of weapons including giant ants and spiders, robots, giant Godzilla type creatures and gunships.
To fight these alien forces the player can access over 150 weapons in the game, ranging from assault rifles and sniper rifles to rocket launchers, grenades and laser weapons. Some levels also contain vehicles which can be commandeered; a tank, a helicopter, a hoverbike and a bipedal mecha are available. The game takes place across 53 levels featuring destructible environments, taking place in settings such as cities and underground caves.[2] There is no penalty for collateral damage that is inflicted on the environment by the player, for instance buildings will crumble after sustaining a single hit from a rocket launcher or grenade. Other EDF soldiers can be allied with or followed, and attack enemies on sight, as well as provide radio chatter.
There are five difficulty levels. More effective weapons are dropped by the enemies in the game at the higher difficulty levels, encouraging players to repeat the missions. In addition to weapons, armor enhancements which function as permanent maximum health bonuses are dropped along with healing items. The player also has the option to select two weapons that they can take with them before starting any mission.
Reception
Reviewers pointed out the game suffered from relatively poor graphics, a lack of many standard features and characteristically poor voice acting (a typical vice for cost-effective English translations of Japanese games). However, the game still received solid reviews from American critics, whose general consensus was that the game is "inexplicably fun".[3] Some advocate it as a "gamers' game" with nothing in the way of the pure game, like Kieron Gillen in his 9/10 Eurogamer review[4]; the game's strong emphasis on arcade-style gameplay, with massively destructive weapons and hordes of enemies, suggests that this may have been the driving philosophy behind its design. Some outlets however, have claimed that the game pales in comparison to its predecessor, which had a larger range of enemies, missions, weapons and a second playable character.[5]
Earth Defense Force 2017 holds a Game Rankings score of 70.67%.[6]
References
- ^ http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/06/japans-xbox-live-stats-indicate-proneness-to-japanese-developed/
- ^ Navarro, Alex (2007-03-23). "Earth Defence Force 2017 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
- ^ Ahearn, Nate (2007-03-21). "Earth Defense Force 2017 Review (Xbox 360)". TeamXbox. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ Gillen, Kieron (2007-04-05). "Earth Defence Force 2017 Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ Turner, Benjamin (2007-03-20). "The Earth Defense Force 2017 Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ "Earth Defense Force 2017 Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
