PS3, Xbox 360, Namco Bandai, cert 12, out now
As games grow more sophisticated, tethering complex character development and thorny moral dilemmas to their core action, the more simplistic pleasures of the medium's early years are becoming increasingly rare. So it's a thrill to play something as straightforward as Insect Armageddon, which really is all about an apocalyptic invasion led by gigantic arthropods.
Though the series is relatively unfamiliar to western gamers, previous titles Earth Defense Force 2017 and Global Defence Force were admired by critics, belying their low-budget limitations with an almost unparalleled sense of scale. In EDF games, building-sized enemies are not restricted to end-of-level encounters but are instead the norm, arriving in huge swarms alongside screen-filling spaceships and towering robots. And this onslaught usually starts from the opening minutes of the very first level.
The sensibly priced Insect Armageddon (RRP £29.99) is the first of its kind to be developed by a western studio and, as such, a few tweaks have been made to the template. It's technically superior to its Japanese predecessors, although this comes at the expense of a little ambition. The waves of oversize insects have been scaled back, with single enemies offering a little more resistance so as to retain the sense of fighting against overwhelming odds.
The action is a little more structured, too, with an unseen adviser pointing the player in the right direction, though the objective rarely changes, commonly requiring little more than the wholesale slaughter of insects, arachnids and laser-firing mechanoids.
Solo players are accompanied by two very capable computer-controlled allies, though the game really comes to life with a friend – or two if playing online. Players have the choice of four different armour classes, each with its own speciality.
The two big disappointments are the excessive length of the levels and feeble sound effects: weapons wreak impressive visual devastation yet barely sound capable of cracking the carapace of a real insect. But faced with the tricky balancing act of retaining the ramshackle charm of the game's antecedents while making it more appealing to western audiences, developer Vicious Cycle has handled a tough assignment with aplomb.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/24/earth-defense-force-review
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