Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space

Written by Jeremy Duff on 1/21/2016 for Vita  

The Earth Defense Force franchise is a bit of a cult classic. While none of the games in the series are particularly great, they're usually filled to the brim with fun. Their insane, quirky storylines appeal to anyone with a sense of humor and an appreciation of classic sci-fi. As I have said previously, they're like a bad horror movie that's been around for years that you can't help but watch while channel surfing. The charm of the games overshadows their various shortcomings—or at least they did. Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Space could be the exception to this rule.

This new Vita game is an enhanced port of the 2005 PlayStation 2 Global Defence Force, which never launched here in the United States. As you would expect with any remake or enhancement, the game features much higher resolution visuals. There are also tweaks to the experience, namely a new playable class and online multiplayer options. Just like the rest of the franchise, it's a simple but fun premise that has you mowing down seemingly endless waves of giant, intergalactic insects. The concept has all of the makings of another fun outing. But ultimately the technical problems hold it back from being anything other than a pain to play.

With the entire concept of EDF being simply to kill as many bugs as possible, things are relatively straightforward. You'll choose your soldier type from one of three classes: Infantry (a grunt who uses basic military weapons), Pale Wing (futuristic soldier utilizing more hi-tech weapons, including a jetpack). The Aerator (support class-style character), is new to the game. The new class really feels a bit different than the other two, mainly in the support role it fulfills. You will have a hard time playing solo as an Aerator. It's really meant to assist the other two classes in multiplayer.

Depending on the class you choose, you then pick from a variety of weapons and equipment, all dictated by your chosen class. There is a good variety of guns spread across all classes. You have everything from basic shotgun and machine guns, as well as rocket launchers, all the way up to laser beams and full-blown grenade launchers. Despite their visual differences, they all pretty much play the same. I was never better off with one gun over another. They all seem equally effective.

The mission structure is extremely simple from start to finish: Eliminate all creatures in a given area. Once you are dropped into a map, you will see all of the enemies shown on your radar and it is up to you to wipe them all out as quickly and efficiently as possible. Some of these missions may include larger, more difficult boss enemies, in addition to hordes of ants and spiders. Once that is done, you move onto the next area, rinse, and repeat. It feels old school, which is by design. Simple, fun, and accessible were obviously the main goals when the original game was made. That carries over to the modern version as well.

Most of the missions have vehicle options in battle. There are tanks, speeder bikes, and helicopters to launch attacks on the bugs. When you see these in a mission, I recommend walking right past them and just sticking to your main weapons. Every vehicle controls horribly. It really makes the game more frustrating to play than it already is.

As you tear through space bugs, they drop a variety of collectible items onto the battlefield. These loot drops are meant to encourage you to replay areas over and over, changing up the difficulty as your arsenal evolves. You never know what you have picked up until the mission is over. But the harder the level, the better the equipment.

One of my favorite features of the EDF franchise is that pretty much the entire world is destructible. You can blow up city blocks in an attempt to crush bugs with falling debris. Granted, this doesn't make a lot of sense considering you're trying to save the planet and not destroy it. But who doesn't want to simply lay waste to everything in your line of sight? The other soldiers and characters don’t seem to mind either. They will proudly cheer you on as you cause more destruction to the world than the attacking enemies.

As fun as the EDF concept can be, the game is a technical mess through nearly every second. The camera often gets stuck in odd positions that prevent you from seeing, let alone aiming, at enemies. When you do have a clear line of sight, many of the graphical assets pop in and out at random. This happens pretty much nonstop. It only gets worse as the action becomes more frantic. The animation also stutters horribly at these times. This happens when either a bunch of enemies have spawned or multiple buildings begin collapsing. I had one mission where a guardrail around a parking lot would continually pop in and out at random. When it was there, I would get stopped but when it would disappear, I could pass freely through the area. I was actually so amused by this I set there and made a game out of trying to run all the way across the parking lot before the rails would reappear and stop my progress. Sadly, this was the most fun that I had with the game.

Whether you choose to head into battle alone or online with up to three other friends, the progress and experience remain the same. Your progress is shared between the solo and multiplayer experiences. Things would, theoretically, be a lot better with friends—but they aren’t. First off, it's difficult to get into a match with people unless you have someone lined up ahead of time. Once you do connect with others online, the technical problems that inhibit the solo experience only become more severe, and continue to get worse as you add additional players.

I enjoyed this franchise in the past. But I did not enjoy my time with EDF2: Invaders from Space at all. It's kind of weird that the original game is often considered the best entry in the series, after seeing what I have here. The game is really showing its age and not much has been done to improve on the problems that have obviously existed since the initial release. While it may look a little better and the added online multiplayer options are nice, the technical issues prevent you from being able to enjoy any of them. If you need your EDF fix, you should consider the PS4 title that launched recently, because this is one that you will want to pass on.