Earth Defense Force: 2017

A few weeks ago, I was able to pick up one of my most highly sought after Xbox 360 games, Earth Defense Force 2017 ( EDF ). I fell in love with this game ever since Petedorr, a YouTuber with a great channel for gaming, posted his top 10 underated Xbox 360 games. EDF, was his number 10 on the list and boy, did it look like fun.

After many months of searching, normally forgetting to look for it, I finally obtained this highly addicting 360 arcade shooter. EDF, developed by Sandlot, was released in North America during the first quarter of 2007. For those of you who are not familiar with Sandlot, they created Robot Alchemic Drive ( RAD) for the Play Station 2. You will be reading references often about RAD and hearing us in our videos. This game went under the radar by most gamers. Everyone is missing out on this game.

However, EDF has many drawbacks. In this day in age, gamers are too focused with brilliant graphics, quality story telling, and innovative, yet pick-up-and-go controls. EDF does not meet any of these requirements. Naturally, it was not picked up by most gamers. And, as time went on, slowly dropped in price at used game stores until it was dirt cheap. That's where Base 2 comes in.

I, along with the other members of Base 2, were fortunate enough to snag a copy of EDF at Gamestop for roughly $14. This is a steal. Booting up the game, players navigate their way though simple options menus. They are basic and easy to use, allowing players to choose what level they would like to play, the weapons they carry into each mission, and the difficulty level. EDF has 53 levels ramping up in difficulty with every next level. As you make your way through the game you will unlock multiple weapons. Weapons, along with health packs and armor upgrades are the three items a player can collect in any mission. To obtain these weapons, the player simply has to defeat his enemy. This can be easy or extremely difficult depending on what difficulty the player has chosen. The difficulty levels are as follows: Easy, Normal, Hard, Hardest, and Inferno. The last one is my favorite, sadly, it is highly challenging.

EDF has a wide array of enemies to defeat: Black Ants, Red Ants, Spiders, Robots, Drop Ships, Tiny Spacecraft, Queen Ants, Giant Spiders, and mecha-dinosaurs. Some enemies are harder than others to defeat. Luckily, there are a few vehicles at every players disposal. Depending on the level, players are able to control a mech-like robot, tanks, speeder bikes, and Helicopters. Helicopters have very clunky controls and are very frustrating to use.

EDF, at its core, is a classic arcade shooter. Think of it as a high detailed Dreamcast title. The controls are quirky, and could use work. But, this doesn't take away the experience the game has to offer. It's simply mindless fun. Get together with a friend or family member and prepare to laugh from the beginning of mission 1. If EDF has Xbox Live support, then it would be eating up all of my time, along with my friends, and fellow members of Base 2.

Earth Defense Force: 2017 is a unique game. It simply can not be overlooked. It's price is almost too good to be true, and its replay value is extremely high. Gamers that are looking for next-gen graphics will be disappointed. Track this game down. Purchasing Earth Defense Force: 2017 will not be in vain.