Earth Defense Force 2017
Earth Defense Force 2017 on the Xbox 360 makes no sense. Earth becomes invaded by giant insects and robots and its up to a bunch of tiny humans to repel their forces with the biggest guns they can find.
The game is a mess. The graphics are far below what the 360 is capable of, the voice acting is abysmal, and most of the game’s missions are identical–run around and kill everything. There is virtually zero variety to the environments, as most of the game takes place in a barren city, a beach, or inside a confusing cave. There is co-op, but it isn’t online–despite the harder missions essentially requiring a partner to tackle, meaning you’d have to find a friend to sit through the entire game with you in person. What is this, the 90s?
The list goes on–and yet Earth Defense Force 2017 has an undeniable charm. There is just something about a game that feels unabashedly sup-par and embraces it. Make no bones about it–the game is not good. However, there is a B-Movie appeal in its awful voice acting and premise that many find appealing.
There’s also something to be said about the visceral feel of wanton destruction that the game offers you. If you feel so inclined, you can run around the entirety of the game with a rocket launcher and blow up everything in your way. Literally, everything–as you can level any building in the game by firing one or two rockets at it. The game doesn’t punish you for doing this, giving the entire experience a sort of Team America hilarity where it appears you are actually doing more harm to the city than the actual giant bugs.
As a result of this game’s charm, the Earth Defense Force series continues to this day. There’s even an upgraded port of this game on the Vita which rectifies the aforementioned lack of online co-op. So really, despite being fundamentally a bad game, Earth Defense Force 2017 exuded a campy style that ultimately saved it and in many ways can be considered a success, not just a bad game that was almost good.
