play station official magazine

085

REVIEW

INFO
FORMATPS4
ETAOUT NOW
PUBD3 GO!
DEVSANDLOT

EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 5

Earth’s only hope? God help you

T

here’s something to be said for the

Japanese budget titles of the early

noughties. Specifically, the no-frills

approach of the Simple series, whose

games cut straight to whatever nonsense was

promised by their covers. Who among us

doesn’t have fond memories of mindlessly

slashing through zombies in OneeChanbara?

Of course, yours truly was only in it for the

hack-and-slash gameplay.

Monster Attack, as the first Earth Defense Force

game was known over here, released in 2004 and

plonked you straight into the middle of a playable

B-movie to blast away giant ants invading a

city. It was cheap and cheerful cheesy goodness.

With gaming looking very different today, there’s

certainly something to be said for such a title

released in 2018. Given the series’ purposefully

dated premise, it makes sense that not much has

received an upgrade in the intervening years.

Series fans will be pleased to hear this entry

runs the most smoothly to date... but we still

can’t help wincing as the framerate chugs during

especially busy missions and the seconds tick by

before textures pop in.

Thankfully, every aspect

of Earth Defense Force 5 is

in on the joke. From giant

jumping spiders to alien ships

and towering frogmen, there’s

decent variety to the ridiculous

kaiju threats you go up against.

Your AI comrades bemoan

the fact they can’t take that

long-planned trip abroad due

to, y’know, the global pest

problem, and an eye-rolling

fake-out with a blast door clues

you in to what tier of schlock

to expect. Unfortunately your

fellow soldiers aren’t the

brightest bunch and often all

wind up dead by the end of

any mission. The over-the-

top heights of later missions,

where you’re exploding

spaceships and trying to avoid

being chewed up by oversized

insectoids, is best shared.

SINGE YOUR WINGS

Team OPM mixes and matches

classes but the Wing Diver

is our favourite. The jetpack

gives this class the edge over

all others, allowing you to

fully appreciate the scale of

the stages. The Wing Diver’s

selection of firepower, from

homing missiles to charged

multi-shot weapons, coupled

with its range of movement

makes it the go-to class. The

other, more ground-based, ones

simply can’t compete. However,

after a story timeskip, we

couldn’t help but question why

members of this all-female unit

ditch their practical jumpsuits

for avant garde armour and itty

bitty denim shorts.

Hotpants aside, the game

struggles noticeably during

busy split-screen play, but

co-op as two Wing Divers

co-ordinating to take back the

Earth presents it at its... uh,

best? Which is to say, despite

introducing some questionable

uniforms, it isn’t going to

recruit any new EDF members

to the cause but it’ll certainly

satisfy hardened veterans.

DON’T FORCE IT @KoeniginKatze

VERDICT

If you’re on the ground

you’ll need to get a hoof

on. The Wing Diver can

make a speedy escape.

Familiar thrills from this no-frills

series. Saving the Earth is

worth a flutter, especially when

you’re playing as a Wing Diver,

but not at its definitely-not-

budget price. Jess Kinghorn

“THERE’S DECENT VARIETY

TO THE RIDICULOUS KAIJU

THREATS YOU GO UP AGAINST.”