Accessories

inexplicably one of the best games I have ever played
When I first saw it I was completely turned off---the graphics are off-putting to say the least---but was I wrong. It's been a staple of gaming with a friend for a few months now. We are almost done with the entire thing, every weapon obtained, every level completed on every difficulty. All this probably took us, oh, seventy hours. This game brings the goofy spirit of Japanese monster movies to the Xbox 360, but it hides an incredible tactical challenge under the silly graphics and "Hoh! Gojira!" storyline straight out of Ultraman.

What floors me is the tactical depth. Early on you have it rough because you have little health and no good weapons and, frankly, lack the skills to do what you need to do. After you get some good weapons you can defeat many more maps just blasting away with guided missiles and rocket launchers. However, as you raise the difficulty the better weapons don't do the job anymore and you have to really reach down to get creative tactically. What's more a well-executed, aggressive plan based on close combat will work on, say, Hard or Hardest difficulty on nearly all maps but fail miserably when you move up to Inferno, where some of the monsters (spiders!) become essentially instant death if they get a grip on you and others take a truly ludicrous amount of punishment before going down under your onslaught. So even though you're playing the same maps, the way you play them changes completely as you move through the game. As time goes on you have more weapons and health... and boy do you need them. The harder maps on Inferno are, well, they're really, really, really hard.

The destructible environments, huge explosions, rockets firing into giant UFOs in the air, Hector robots, acid squirting terror ants, leaping spiders, crazy vehicles, and so on. It's so bad it's got to be good... and it is.

Worst 360 game I have played... yet
I purchased this game to play co-op with a friend. I played it a few times to try to get into it. I just never could.

I cannot describe how lacking it was. The graphics are mediocre. The gameplay is lame. It is one of the one or two games I have not played through to completion.

Very fun!
This is an old-school shoot-em-up remade into a last-gen quality 3rd person shooter. Doesn't sound exciting, but the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Lots of weapons, destructible environments, giant bugs, robots, vehicles, funny radio chatter... This game isn't trying to be great, it's trying to be fun and it succeeds admirably.

WoW! Intense Addictive FPS - Escapism at $20
Bought this based upon reviews on Amazon and thought what the hell $20. Yes, it seems to be brainless shoot em up in the mode of Serious Sam somewhat which I'm a fan of but damn is this thing addictive.

It starts out sort of corny and seems damn is this easy but damn does it build level by level and took 2.5 hours to go through 5% of the game at level 13 of 52 levels and walkthru's seem mandatory to choose proper weapons. The intensity of the levels are amazing just on Normal levels a notch above easy and the vibrations on the controller so extreme the controller is about to pop out of my hands.

As others have noted this doesn't pretend to be an RPG combat game but you best use some strategy as the game progresses the intensity levels are extreme. Also, the destructability of the surroundings is amazing while you battle and the scope and vastness of enemies are amazing. Oh well, if you need safe escapism for a cheap $20 this is the ticket IMO.

I finished Halo3 on Legendary but this is a totally different creature again in the mode of the Serious Sam series IMO. Fun as hell in it's own way. I've bought so many games that sucked it's wonderful when you come across sleepers you've never heard of before.

The EDF Wants You!!!
This game has been highly overlooked and underrated as it is fantastically fun. I bet most people see this in the stores and think it looks generic by the cover art. I'm sure the bargain price doesn't help that either but anyone who does pass it over is really missing out.

The Plot: The earth is being attacked by aliens(when are we not?)and the Earth Defense Force is mankinds only hope for survival. Simple.

The Hook: There are quite a few different types of monsters ranging from giant insects to giant robots and even more gigantic mechanical walkers and ships. There are also a ton of weapons to aquire and power up to deal maximum damage.

The Challenge: 53 levels of pure insanity that punish the player by increasing enemies and difficulty. Speaking of which, there are 4 levels of difficulty that'll truly test your skill.

The Payoff: Every level has swarms of enemies and when each is destroyed, drop armor level power ups, new weapons (the higher difficulty, the better), and health. There are also vehicles strewn about the stages ( Tank, Helicopter, Mech, and motor bike). I wish they were a little easier to control, but they work enough to work and are a nice change of pace.

The Controls: They work very well when your on foot but as I said, the vehicles could really use some fine tuning. For example, you have to hold down a face button to keep the helicopter up, and use another face button to shoot. Most every other game has solved this by using the analog sticks. The tank, mech and bike are all a little awkward to drive too. Even if they could've allowed you customize them would help some. I wish they worked like they should but oh well.

The Visuals: They don't rank up there with the best of the next gen crop but the art style is really nice. The larger monsters and ships are also impressive, so they're definitely not last gen graphics. Some of the animations are a little jerky and the landscapes can be a little bland but it's not a big deal as you'll be too busy blasting away. There are also some massive explosions that are truly a sight to behold. You can destroy pretty much everything including the city buildings and freeway overpasses, which all come crumbling down. The end boss fight is truly a sight to behold. But what truly sells this game here is the scale. Many monster games give you that level or top down camera which makes everything look small. Here, the camera is on the ground, so you really get the effect of these giants stomping down the street and coming after you. It's a really great perspective that I wish was used more in games like these.

The Audio: Again, not up there with the top of the heap but satifying. Theres an epic Godzilla score that's doom and gloom. The machine gun fire and rockets all sound good. It's actually pretty loud and chaotic when so many things are going on at the same time. Your fellow solidiers make some funny comments and cheer each other on along the way. The sound works fine.

The Recommendation: I had and continue to have alot of fun with this game. It's a real pick up and play type arcade shooter with all the challenge you could want. Earth Defense Force is a hybrid mix of Godzilla, Independence Day, Starship Troopers, War of the Worlds and Serious Sam. If you like any of those, you'll definitely like this game. And with the bargain price, how can you go wrong? Don't miss it.