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Simple 2000 Series Vol.81: The Earth Defense Force 2
  PS2Shooter_3DJ  
  opened by paleface at 02:37:21 10/27/05  
  last modified by paleface at 12:25:50 03/05/24  
  paleface [sys=PS2; cat=Shooter_3D; reg=JPN]
           
You may find the title romanized as "The Chikyuu Boueigun 2."
 
Earth is being invaded by giant ants. Strap on two weapons and jump into any of what I hear are 71 in all missions of sheer giant-ant destruction.
 
Actually, there may be other enemies later on; I've only done the first four or five missions. And the giant ants get trickier, starting to shoot acid, and then flying and shooting acid--whew! Fortunately, they also tend to drop powerups that unlock more weapons for you to use in the next mission. Choose from two characters--a flight-suited dude with machineguns and explosives, or a miniskirted space chicky with lasers and a jetpack--and go blow those ants away with extreme prejudice.
 
The stages are huge, and so are the ants! And so is the destruction; why, a single mis-aimed grenade can bring down a skyscraper! Fortunately there's no penalty for, er, accidental destruction, so go to it! You also don't seem to run out of ammo, though you have to reload now and then.
 
Controls are pretty snappy and simple, letting you move forward/back, turn, strafe, and jump. The game auto-aims a bit for you, and with some weapons you have a "shoot up at 45 degrees" button. It seems odd not to have the right analog do looking/aiming (it does, but only in a tank), but I think the developers were going for a fast, simple, arcade feel. And they pretty much got it.
 
The enemies are huge and dumb, which is just how giant aliens should be, you know. They die nice and messy, and make a lot of noise. Speaking of which, you're constantly getting radio messages of people screaming, presumably being overrun by ants, and this, coupled with some ripping, super-over-dramatic sci-fi B-movie music, makes for a rip-roaring atmosphere of monster carnage.
 
The graphics are low-detail close-up, but seem to run quite smoothly no matter how many giant ant bodies are packed into the camera, and give you unremitting views of huge cityscapes being quite literally overrun by gigantic creatures. It is quite impressive, and the subtle coloration and lighting gives everything a bleak, realistic feeling.
 
As if the massive single-player campaign weren't enough, you can, I think, play through the missions co-op with a second player, or just go head-to-head in a deathmatch of monumental destruction. The developers, Sandlot, also did Robot Alchemic Drive (see entry 229), so you know they know their giant destruction games.
 
You are not likely to find a game that kicks ass on a larger scale than this any time soon. It is preposterously simple. It is incredibly cheesy and violent. It has giant, acid-shooting winged ants. You will love it.
 
  paleface 03:33:43 11/07/05
           
Turns out there are more things to fight than ants. In the first ten levels you've got all those types of giant ants, then jumping, web-slinging giant spiders (eww!), flying saucers, War of the Worlds-style giant tripod thingies (really well animated, too), and a massive mothership. Just in the first ten levels! Man, this game rules.
    
 
references:
· Earth Defense Force 2017 (X360)
· Robot Alchemic Drive (PS2)
· Simple 2000 Series Vol.31: The Earth Defense Force (PS2)

 
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