Earth Defense Force 2017 (Xbox 360) > Reviews (4)

EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 2017

Earth Defense Force 2017 is a third person action shooter game that has some huge bugs and some nasty robots out for your blood. Earth Defense Force 2017 is the first game in what could be a great series because a follow up game was released recently entitled Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon. The game is exclusive to the Xbox 360 and isn't available on any other console. The game was first released in Japan and wasn't scheduled to be released in the UK but so many copies were released here. The game was developed by Sandlot and it was also published by D3 Publisher. Earth Defense Force 2017 is one of the most action packed filled games available on the Xbox 360. Earth Defense Force 2017 does feature a storyline but it isn't really that effective.

STORY

Earth Defense Force 2017 doesn't have the best storyline but its not exactly the worst ever. You take the role of an EDF soldier who is part of the elite unit Storm 1. Suddenly in 2017 UFOs hover above every major city in the world and start attacking people and causing complete destruction. Now you and a team of elite squad members must take on these alien lifeforms in all of the major cities and you must take out these overgrown bugs and robots in an all out relentless assault. You must tackle over 50 different levels from cities to inside massive caves full of giant ants, spiders and much more.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay to these type of games is what always gets me hooked on them. It is the type of game that is based mainly on action and other aspects of the game doesn't look like its been worked on an awful lot. The game is set in a third person perspective but slightly higher above than most games but the camera angle can be change easily. Most of the game is set in cities but they all look similar to each other because all the buildings look the same as do many other parts of the environment. The main aim of the game is to clear out all alien lifeforms in each area whether underground or in the cities. You are basically told what to do and you must follow your orders. You can explore a fairly wide range of the level and a barrier will pop up to say you cant go any further.

In Earth Defense Force 2017 there are absolutely hundreds of different weapons. Weapons range from missiles, shotguns, machine guns, rockets and many more. There are numerous different versions of weapons with different abilities such as bigger blast areas or quicker fire rate. You can find the new weapons in crate boxes that some of the aliens or robots drop after you destroy them. They may also drop health packs and armor packs that tops up your health and also adds a bit of extra energy so you can withstand more damage. Other than that there isn't an awful lot more you can find to pick up. Also the game features five different difficulty levels and the harder the difficulty you choose the better the rewards are from weapon crates. Also you have to complete it on different difficulty settings for secret bits.

In the game you can also find and use tanks, helicopters, hoverbikes and bipedal mechas. All can be used for a certain time until the respected equipment is destroyed.

This game doesn't let you pick any class or change your character like the newest version of the game but it does feature a lot more hectic levels. There is only one real game mode on this game but if you have two controllers you can play with a friend or family member in a co-op story mode. I recommend co-op more than single player because its more fun and gets very competitive when charging through the level to find more weapon crates than your so called partner. There are a ton of different bug like creatures that you will come up against such as overgrown ants, spiders and even wasps. You also must find many ant hills to destroy because ants keep on coming and coming until you get rid of them. There are also different types of robots from flying ones to massive ones that shoot lasers out. Earth Defense Force 2017 doesn't feature as many aliens as Insect Armageddon. On 2017 there are also numerous bosses that need to be killed including the major boss on the last level but I wont spoil it.

In the game you can literally blow everything up from cars to buildings and much more. The game is complete destruction and to be fair and I think it works well. You are constantly firing at enemies or other bits and barely have time to think. There are a few little disappointing bits to the game such as lack of variety in the aliens and many of the levels are over within 5 minutes. There are a lot of massive levels and over 50 levels sounds a lot but its severely let down with certain levels like the caves and underground because they are just too short. Overall its a good game in terms of gameplay features but it would definitely benefit from more game modes and possibly some online play.

GRAPHICS

The graphics are actually not the best on the Xbox 360 but it doesn't make much difference because the game is still fantastic. The basic level design is a little poor and most levels look the same especially the cities and caves because you cant really tell where you are or what level your on until it says. Also the main character who you play as incredibly poor and just looks like a normal EDF (Earth Defense Force) soldier. Most weapons also look the same until you fire the weapons. Explosions are very different which is good but that's as far as variety goes. The buildings look the same before they're destroyed and after which is also disappointing but it does look really well the way they are brought down. The scenery in the game doesn't look too bad and most of the aliens look okay. I was however very impressed with the massive ships and some of the boss designs and that definitely made up for a lot of the other disappointments. Overall the graphics aren't the best but I feel the game has enough elsewhere to make up for that.

SOUND EFFECTS

The sound effects to the game are a little better than the graphics.

I loved the way the full on sound effects takes effect in the midst of all the action and I think it sounds absolutely phenomenal. Music to the game is okay but there isn't an awful lot in terms of variety but I do believe it works and fits in well. The giant overgrown man eating bugs make the best sound effects as do some of the ugly looking bosses. I was impressed with most of the sound effects and only a few little bits were very weak and sounded slightly wooden. When buildings, cars and other bits are destroyed it doesn't sound at all that great and it should of been much better but other than that I was fairly pleased overall with the sound effects.

DIFFICULTY & LONGEVITY

The games difficulty basically depends which difficulty setting your playing the game on and I think its always best to start this game on easy because its extremely hard on Inferno difficulty especially when you first start because you don't have an awful lot of weapons. Easy is very easy and most gamers will whiz through it. Normal is okay and shouldn't cause many problems. Hard takes time but is definitely worth doing before even attempting hardest and inferno. The controls to the game aren't that hard to master or remember and there isn't a lot of controls anyway. Overall the difficulty to the game varies but I don't think its that hard and I do believe it will suit most gamers.

The length of the game is really good and that's mainly because you have to go through the game numerous times to get the achievements. Also there are 53 different levels of different sizes which seem to last a long time overall. I would say one playthrough is about 20 hours long and I think that's quite good because of the five different difficulties available. It will probably take most gamers a lot longer on inferno difficulty because of the amount of times you may die and need to restart the current level from scratch. Overall Earth Defense Force 2017 is great in terms of length.

ACHIEVEMENTS

This was a massive surprise to me because i was expecting a huge amount of achievements and most games especially action shooter games feature close to 50 achievements. There are a miserable total of just 6 achievements to acquire and none are secret. There are five achievements for completing the whole game on each difficulty setting and the final achievement is acquired for finding all weapons in the game (which is a lot). So overall a little disappointing but it does take time to get all of them.

PROS

• Lots of non-stop action with lots of alien bugs and robots.
• Hundreds of different weapons from rockets, grenade launchers to assault rifles and shotguns.
• Over 50 levels with complete mayhem in almost every level.
• Blow your enemies away, blow cars up and obliterate buildings completely.
• Fun game and play with a friend using a second controller in a multiplayer co-op mode.

CONS

• The graphics are fairly poor for this sort of game.
• There are a few too many short levels in the game.
• An expensive game and hard to find in local Game shops.

• Sometimes lags when there is a lot on screen at once.
• Doesn't have enough game modes and there is no online play!

FINAL THOUGHT

Earth Defense Force 2017 is a very good game in my opinion and has a lot to offer even to the fans of the newest game in the series it still can offer a lot. Earth Defense Force 2017 is probably the best action shooter game available for the Xbox 360 mainly because of the relentless assault your up against on every level.

I would recommend the game especially if you like killing overgrown bugs and are a massive fan of action shooter games. It has its ups and downs and most gamers I feel would really enjoy playing this game as I did. The game manual that comes with it isn't anything special but it does list all relevant information needed. The game also has an age rating of 12+.

I bought the game a few months after it was released back in 2007 and it only cost me around £18 from my local Gamestation. The game however is fairly rare as there wasn't an awful lot of copies released in the UK and its now retails around £30-£35 for a brand new copy. Used copies usually sell for around £15 on Amazon which includes postage. Overall its definitely worth owning a used copy and its worth its price but for a brand new copy at £30 for a game that's 4 years old is a little expensive in my eyes.

Overall its a great game and i would give it a reasonable 7/10!

Review also on dooyoo under the username: simon020187!