Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair brings Sandlot’s patented Earth Defense Force formula of joyously blowing things to smithereens to the Sony PlayStation 4. With little to no story to speak of, EDF 4.1 relies heavily on its gameplay to give you a rewarding experience. And believe me, it is rewarding.
In EDF 4.1, the Ravagers are back on Earth after an eight-year hiatus and once again, it’s time to take down giant insects, spiders, and robots to repel the invading forces. One of the aspects I love most is its lack of pretense as to what the game is trying to achieve. There are other games you can play if you desire a deep story or rich narrative. EDF is more like your favorite monster movie (I am a big fan of Mothra myself) than your typical Oscar winner. The way the game embraces its nature is what makes it so great.
The gameplay is where this game shines. EDF is an action game through and though. You don’t really need to worry about ammunition or a tremendous amount of strategy. You simply need to run around and pull the trigger and cause damage. That damage can be administrated in many ways including a ridiculous amount of weapons for you to pick up. For the everyday, normal Ranger class, there are assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, grenades, grenade launchers, rocket launchers, missile launchers, and flame throwers – all with many variations in size, strength, range, etc. It’s ridiculous the amount of weapons at your disposal as long as you can find them.
There are 4 different classes, each with its own specialty. There is the Ranger, who is your everyday grunt. The Wing Diver, who has the ability to fly and use her pulse weapons based on their technology. The Fencer, who utilizes a shield to get deep into the thick of battle. Lastly is the Air Raider, who is more of a strategic class utilizing air strikes and mortar attacks to eliminate enemies. While the three new classes are fun, sometimes, you just need to grab the Ranger and blow things up.
There are also co-op modes, including both online and couch multiplayer to bring your friends in on the fun. If I had any complaints at all, it is that the weapons you receive on the Normal difficulty do not really put you in a position to become more powerful. On the Normal difficulty, you’ll get level 2 or 3 or sometimes level 4 weapons, and those will do you all right in Normal, but won’t really help you advance to the next difficulty up – Hard. On Hard, you’ll get weapons anywhere from level 15-25. Your level 2 weapon will barely cut it in Hard. So, you kind of have to find an “easier” Hard level and farm it for some decent weapons to mop up Normal levels and take on harder levels of Hard. It seems like such an odd way to improve the user’s strength over time.
Overall, Earth Defense Force 4.1 is an all-out action game made of pure fun. There is a ton of replayability with a plethora of weapons, enemies and features to keep you busy well into the new year. If you are partial to addictive action games with lots of explosions and flimsy plot lines, EDF 4.1 will have you chanting along with the troops in no time. EDF! EDF!