Review: Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon

Platform: PlayStation 3/Xbox 360

Developer: Vicious Cycle

Publisher: D3Publisher of America

# of Players 1 - 2 (online: 2 - 6)

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: B+

The bugs are back and badder then before thanks to developer Vicious Cycle and D3Publisher of America. Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon manages to be a leaner, meaner, faster and in a few way, better game than its predecessor thanks to tweaks to the run 'n gun formula that streamlines the number of missions yet enhances the gameplay. Controls are tight, the action is more reasonably paced (initially) for new players and for the most part, the addition of online play is not bad at all. Some gamers whose experience with this budget series began with EDF 2017 (and those who seem to think the game ONLY appeared on the 360) might find nit-picky faults with some elements of EDFIA. However, those of us who've been around since the series debut on the Japanese PlayStation 2 and/or love original developer Sandlot's work on the franchise now have a new dev team to moon over because they've taken the gameplay and refined it for a just as fun (and at times, more fun) to play experience.

Official Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Survival Guide

OK, I was going to print the actual strategy guide PDF, but at a whopping 46 pages (!), that would be a bit too much in the way of overkill. Here's the EDFIA Survival Guide instead if you haven't seen it yet. Simple and easy to memorize. The game rocks by the way - review to come...

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Destruction Trailer (The Game Is Almost Here...)

Yes, yes... the game is in retail stores across North America on Tuesday, but here's a peek at another UK trailer, this time focusing on stuff blowing up and falling apart extremely well indeed. I'll post the awesome Survival/Field Guide tomorrow.

E3 2011: Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Trailer (UK)

Yes, it's the UK version (Namco Bandai is publishing the game there), but sonce D3 hasn't posted this yet, I'm running this version here (which is the same save for an ESRB descriptor at the beginning and D3Publisher's logo at the end) just to keep you EDFIA fans happy and ready for July 5, 2011. EDF! EDF!

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Japanese Trailer

D3Publisher is promoting the US-made sequel to its fan-favorite budget franchise with a couple of cool gameplay trailers. Here's a look at some bug blasting action from the upcoming game set to hit retail on July 5, 2011.

Gallery: Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Bestiary

Want to know what sort of over-sized opposition you'll be facing off against this July 5th? Well, here you go - a look at some of the enemy types from D3Publisher of America's upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 bug-blasting action game. Hmmm... Fireworks on the 4th and more fireworks on the 5th? Sounds like a plan...

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Hands-On

D3Publisher of America brought along bullet hell, beast hell and bug hell to their recent NYC press event and fans of insanely deep dungeon crawlers, trippy arcade shooters and giant bug blasting will all be well-served soon enough with a few key releases. I'm working on a separate hands-on for Dream Trigger, Bangai-o and Gods Eater Burst - from this point onward... this article is all about Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon and how much it simply rocks.

I've been waiting patiently for D3Publisher of America to drop into NYC with a build of Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon and after playing a bit of the very solid, very fun three-player online co-op and a bit of the intense Survival Mode, I can very safely say that the game's going to be a keeper for EDF fans old and new. The missions are lengthy and challenging even on the easiest setting with bugs appearing in differently sized packs that come from multiple directions, often mixing in different types of pests that end up being more than enough to keep you on your toes. I'm getting ahead of myself here, so I'll break it down from the beginning.

Earth Defense Force Insect Armgeddon Update: Pre-Order Kickoff GO!

D3Publisher of America has launched the pre-order program for its upcoming PS3 and Xbox 360 release Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon with a pretty neat deal for those who want a little more bang for their buck. GameStop and Best Buy locations will be offering those who slap down a deposit one of two different cool DLC weapons packs for the game's customizable armor sets.

July 5, 2011 is the official release date for the game and (YES!) D3 is dropping into NYC next week with EDFIA and a bunch of other upcoming titles, so expect a few hands-on reports once I finally come up for air. Three more screens and another trailer below the jump!

WIN FREE STUFF! D3Publisher Announces Sweepstakes 4 Gamers Facebook Promotion!

Lazy ol' me is finishing up a few articles and reviews (yes, that Dead Space Weekend thing I mentioned to one or two of you a while back went well - all three games played back to back over the weekend), but while you're waiting for new stuff to read, why not enter a cool contest and try to score some MAJOR prizes? Below the jump, you must go, Padawan...

Earth Defense Force Insect Armgeddon Update: New Screens + Pesticide Gun!

Where previous EDF games have similar acid-spewing or other weapons based on alien technology (which meant you couldn't reload them once you ran out of ammo, grrrr!), I like the all-new Pesticide Gun variants as well as the BIG explosions seen in these latest EDFIA screens (they almost look like a mini Genocide Gun with that blinding light). Go, Vicious Cycle! Spring is just around the corner and I'm pretty psyched about the final version (and still hoping we see some more surprises in terms of bonus materials). If you've been following this one from the beginning, you can see that the game is really shaping up nicely and should be quite a blast to play online or offline.

Note to D3: You ARE planning to get EDF 2 Portable out here in the US as well (on UMD and PSN, of course!)? Say YES and I'll be sure to tell too many people to buy the game. Hell, I'll go buy a few extra copies, for that matter!

Screens and details on the Pesticide Gun series can be found below the jump. I'll post the new game footage once D3 posts it on YouTube (as I'm away from a high-speed connection for a few days)

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon 2011 Calendar Brings Warmth To The Holiday Season (and how!)

So... guess what showed up today courtesy of D3Publisher of America? Yow-za. Now, D3 just NEEDS to answer that musical question: "Will Pale Wing be in EDFIA?" All kidding aside, that "exclusive interview" cover teaser, has me HOPING she's added into the upcoming game as a playable character (and they've had Vicious Cycle use one of the lovely ladies in the calendar as a model for her). One can only hope! Note to D3: the more fan service the better!
By the way... What, NO screen shots at all in the calendar? (Just kidding!)

A Date With D3...

Heh. Got an email from UPS that says D3Publisher has sent me an Earth Defense Force Calendar... This should be really interesting (I need to take a pic of the huge fold-out Onechanbara calendar they sent back when those games were released and post it one day). Expect an update with pics around the 15th (the expected delivery date)... I do love the holidays!

In unrelated news, I'll be giving away some spectacular stuff this month, so watch this space for a big ol' announcement...

(Later Than Usual) Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Update: Split Screen Is In, But The Whining STILL Continues...

Proof positive that you can never, ever, EVER please ALL pf the people all of the time, D3Publisher of America recently updated the official Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon page as well as the game's Facebook page last week with the absolutely grand news that split-screen cooperative gameplay (or couch co-op) is now a part of the upcoming release. While a good deal of cheers and back-slapping has lightened the mood of assorted message boards, there are STILL some die-hard hard-heads griping about aspects of the game that would ONLY be truly justified complaints if these posters actually got their hands on an up-to-date (and still in-progress build).

Yeesh. Cue any sort of facepalm theme music or related animated GIF at this point

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Update: Official Site Is Up and Running

Hah! D3Publisher has quietly updated the official EDFIA website with screens, videos as well as pre-order info through GameStop and yup... Facebook and Twitter links. Go take a look NOW and sign up if you're a fan!

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Update: Two Gameplay Videos

Color me impressed. Vicious Cycle is so far, doing the EDF name justice. Yeah, I miss the retro-futuristic visual style of the Sandlot-developed games, but what's here is updated nicely with faster gameplay, better animations and that nice sense of stuff going *BOOM* the EDF games all share. My minor gripes: MORE and more varied voice comments would be nice.Trying to replicate the cheesy charm of the older games doesn't quite work with the more "serious" style EDFIA is going for. Also, a few more enemies on screen in later gameplay movies would be nice just to see what the engine is really capable of. I'm not quite getting that "Eek! Overwhelmed" feeling found in the crazier missions from the older games. I guess we'll have to see what's what when D3Publisher updates us with new movies and screens, right?

Video # 2 is below the jump, by the way.

Gallery Update: Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon

So far, so good and a LOT of changes in the visual style from the older games. That's a nice new controllable mech from one of the game's loading screens above. The two gameplay movies I'll post later show off much better character animation and some nice visual effects, but I do miss Pale Wing's cute getup and the bigger, slower moving shiny Hectors. That and a few other things (such as seeing more enemies onscreen in future builds), but overall, I'm excited at how well the game is looking with quite a while to go before its Spring 2011 launch. More EDFIA updates as they come in - stay tuned...

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Teaser Trailer

This EDFIA teaser packs in 38 seconds of suspense while lending itself to as few minutes of questions. If it's created using the upcoming game's engine, I like the elements not found in the Sandlot-developed EDF titles such as the flames coming from buildings, exploding vehicles and blowing debris. That giant metal spider is a great touch, as are the redesigned spider models and better animation from those screaming civilians. OK, I'm sold - just get me some actual gameplay footage along with full details on all the game modes and I'll be even more giddy.

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Update: No Sandlot (!), BUT It's Still Going To Be A Blast

In only slightly shocking news (well, to some of you out there - I predicted this a few weeks back), Earth Defense Force series creator Sandlot is not involved in the development of the upcoming Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon. Instead, D3 has announced that veteran developer Vicious Cycle (Dead Head Fred, The Return of Matt Hazard) has taken on programming duty for the upcoming third-person shooter set for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as a Spring 2011 release. The company's Vicious Engine is quite a versatile one, so I'm expecting the game to be a more than worthy expansion to the groundwork laid by Sandlot.

Breaking down the announcement piece by piece, let's start with the cover art:

Excellently done and it's nice how it's a riff on the cover to EDF 2017 (I see flying ants or wasps are back in the mix - yes!). So far, so good...

As for the developer... Even if you've never heard of Vicious Cycle, I'll bet you've probably played some of their games...

Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Update, Small Version

Yes indeed, the game does exist (yes!) and D3Publisher of America is indeed publishing it. More news to come when D3 is ready to announce it in "the near future" according to my source. No problem at all, folks (as long as it's NOT a 2017 release, ha ha). 2011 is going to be a very good year for gaming (indeed!).

Updates to come as we get more info.

Sort of Breaking News: Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon Confirmed!*

I was HIGHLY skeptical for about a week or so, but a few pokes around the Internet has pretty much confirmed this. Now, all we need to find out about are who's developing and publishing (I'm thinking Namco Bandai might be involved here), which consoles it's on and if there's going to be an actual retail package (a MUST in my book). I have to run out in a few minutes, but I'll edit this post later or cook up a new one next week on my unrepentant love for the EDF series, Sandlot and the Simple 2000 lineup.

Awesome news - now let's hope it's playable at this year's Tokyo Game Show!

* Well, more or less confirmed, folks. I'm in the process of digging around for actual screens or game footage. GameStop Manager's Conference banner and "official" looking logo on an otherwise empty game page or not, true 100% proof only exists if we can see what the darn game looks like!