I love Japan. They have great snacks, the people are exceedingly polite, and companies like D3 make unpretentious (mostly low quality) games like Earth Defense Forces 3. The sequel to the under-the-radar fan favorite is focused on one thing: blowing shit up.

You're a lone agent in the Earth Defense Forces armed with a machine gun and a rocket launcher. With infinite ammo and a giant ant problem, you should know what to do. Whether you're taking down giant robots or alien spaceships, its all about the destruction. There's something very satisfying about firing a tank turret into a sea of colossal fire ants. This is old school gameplay, with a required strong ability to suspend disbelief. I mean, 12 foot tall spiders drop armor and health, people. Take off those thinking caps, k?

Graphically, it's good and bad. Character designs are cheesy, but in a great way. The frame rate is all over the place, which should come as no surprise to EDF2 players, but enemy models and environments are suprisingly detailed for a D3 game.

Hopefully, someone will bring EDF3 outside of Japan, but North American gamers ought not hold their breath. Michael McWhertor

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