Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (PlayStation 3)

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is the sequel to the B-movie-inspired, guns-n-splosions budget game Earth Defense Force 2017. Once again, the gameplay is hectic, fast-paced, arcade-style action with giant bugs, massive guns, and huge destructible environments. Players should expect a lot of bugs to be splattered, and a lot of buildings to come crashing down.

Story and Setting

EDF: Insect Armageddon takes place in New Detroit which has become the focus of a new intense alien bug invasion. Looking a little like Crackdown, players take to the city in one of four EDF troopers with their own armor, weapons, and quirks. Little is made of the story in the game aside from the bugs returning and hitting New Detroit, and players are part of a three-man team known as Lightning Alpha. A mission really only ends in a failure if all three soldiers are critically injured. As long as at least one remains standing, he can revive the other two and keep the action going.

Weapons and Armor

Insect Armageddon boasts over three hundred weapons, four armor classes, vehicles (like tanks) and turrets. Players choose an armor class before each stage, and as they progress through the game, they are able to earn experience and level up the armor, abilities, and weapons. In this sense, the game has replay value in that upgrades and experience are not shared. If you pick the Jet armor, your earned experience and weapons will only be available to the Jet armor. This allows for an opportunity for players to play through four times maximizing each suit of armor.

Speaking of the armor, the four types are: The Trooper, which is the standard class, has the most weapon options, and is arguably the most versatile. The Jet, which as it sounds, can fly briefly but spends most of it’s time hovering just above the ground and it uses energy weapons. The Tactical armor is considered in a supporting role and is the only class with deployable mines, turrets, etc. And finally, the Battle armor is rather like a “man-tank”, and is slow-moving and starts with powerful weapons.

Features

Whereas the previous game was missing an online component, but provided classic split-screen co-op antics, Insect Armageddon has ramped things up to “modern” gaming as it were. Two-player split-screen co-op returns as well as a full three-player online co-op campaign, and a larger 6-person online survival mode.

Beyond this, there are somewhat “modern gaming” standard special features including an art gallery, though, unlike a lot of games, players don’t need to unlock this one. EDF: Insect Armageddon’s art gallery is available right from the start.