Developed by: Vicious Cycle Software
Published by: D3 Publisher
Sale Price: £11.24
Standard Steam Price: £14.99
The premise of the game is simple, aliens are invading Earth using giant bugs and even bigger robots, as the leader of strike force Lightning, it's your job to defend the streets of New Detroit from this menace. That's it. Still, the story is pretty much irrelevant, this isn't a game about tight narrative, or even vaguely comprehensible narrative. No, EDF is a game all about spectacle and unremitting cheese.
No more than anything else I've ever played, EDF feels like a B-movie. Objectives and 'story' details are given by the disembodied voices of 'Ops' and 'Intel' (no character interactions or story cutscenes here), and are without fail delivered with all the passion and believability of an actor in an Asylum film. Yet, instead of being awful, the combination of the cheesy voice acting and the giant bugs (especially as they're called ravagers in game) just works. The cherry on top is the sprinkling of nonsensical or inappropriately used military jargon. The Modern Warfare favourites of "Oscar Mike" and "[callsign] actual" make frequent appearences and just add to the campy B-movie feel. The best part is that it's never entirely clear whether it's being done intentionally or not. To continue the B-movie comparison, some of the magic is always lost when it's obvious that the schlockiness is being done on purpose. EDF: Insect Armageddon never falls into that trap, something that is very much to its credit.
Thankfully, the great job that was done in setting the campy scene does not bleed into the gameplay too much. It's generally fluid and tight, if verging a little into the repetitive by the end of the game. Missions take place on large square maps, full of destructible objects like buildings. Objectives are simple, usually involving fighting to a specified map marker, planting a bomb on either a destroyed aircraft or ravager tunnel,or killing all of the ravagers in a set area. That's really it, the fun of the game doesn't come from complex objectives or scripted set pieces, it comes from dealing with the threat presented in any way that gets the job done. By the end of the game, you'll be demolishing every building on the map as you kite huge robots around, shooting missiles into their weak points and desperately trying to avoid their attacks. It's very simple, but it works. The lack of guidance on the objectives and the freedom that gives you in return makes for a great gaming experience.
Admittedly, the gameplay does admittedly get a little stale by the end of the game. Mainly due to the lack of standard enemy variety. There are three main bugs, metal versions of each plus a few others like exploding ticks and flying interceptors, but you face so many at a time that a new enemy will become a familiar sight within the level that it's introduced. There are bigger boss-like enemies that require more thought to defeat, either because they have specific weakspots or are just very tough, but even these get a bit stale after a while thanks to the game's very Serious Sam approach to using these enemies: what was a boss that you fought mano-a-mano two levels ago, is now going to appear in pairs backed up with a mob of fodder bugs too. The game does try to prevent monotony by giving access to tanks, walkers and various types of turrets at different points of the game. These do make a change, but you're never going to be relishing the chance to use one. Using them is also, as is the spirit of the game, totally optional.
Combat is also varied up by the use of a class system with each having access to different weapons and abilities. The four classes (or armors) are the Trooper, Tactical, Jet and Battle. Troopers are the basic all rounders, capable of using the largest array of weaponry; Tactical can build turrets and other support structures; Jet uses a jetpack, unsurprisingly and energy weapons; the Battle armour, my personal favorite, carries the heaviest weapons, has an energy shield, the most health, but moves the slowest. At the end of each stage, the class you're using gains experience based upon your kills in the mission. As classes level up, they gain more health as well as access to new abilities and higher tiers of weapons. The maximum level for each class is dictated by the difficulty level played. Higher difficulty: higher level cap.
The class system is a nice idea, giving that little extra depth to a game that could be far too easily written off as shallow and basic. However, the way that classes level up means that unless you want to replay missions many times, you'll want to stick to a couple of armors at most for the majority of the game, lest you spread your xp too thinly and end up at too low a level to deal with the latter stages of the game. Your experience per armour is cumulative though, and you can replay any mission once it's completed, so you can at least resort to level grinding if necessary.
Game modes are restricted to the Campaign, a 'remix' version of the Campaign, and a wave based survival mode. All can be endlessly replayed on the various difficulties. They're also all available in single or multiplayer. By default in singleplayer, you have two AI squadmates that can revive you when you're downed and provide general combat support throughout the levels. In hosting a multiplayer game, you allow other people to jump in and out of one of those slots. So you play as you would in singleplayer and unless you create a private match, other people can jump in and out of the squadmate slots as they please. If you're joining a game, it works like any other console matchmaking
service. You select a specific mission (or any if you aren't fussed) and the game will automatically search for appropriate matches connect you to that host. The multiplayer is smooth, the drop in, drop out system doesn't impede gameplay, and also means that you can set up an online game and just play as you would offline without having to sit waiting for people to join before you can get started. Online multiplayer really isn't my thing, but this implementation is at least strong.
Earth Defence Force: Insect Armageddon is a very strong game hidden under a well applied layer of b-movie charm. It's not going to be for everyone, nor is it a competitor to the big triple-A blockbusters, but it doesn't need to be. This is not a £40 Activision or EA backed monster, it's a fun £15 game. A B-game if you will. The thing is, this B-Game happens to be to other B-Games what Escape from New York is to B-movies. It's just good. It has it's flaws, and yet when you're demolishing half a city battling a robot whose foot is taller than you, whilst your AI companion is suggesting starting a construction company, they don't seem to matter any more. If you can appreciate a bit of cheese with your third person shooting, I'd heartily recommend EDF: Insect Armageddon, especially for the price it is, it's definitely worth a look.
Good Campy Fun 8/10
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