Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain has arrived on PC via Steam so you can crush bugs without the frame cap.
If you’ve never heard of Earth Defense Force, strap yourselves in because you’re about to go for a ride. EDF, as it is commonly abbreviated, is a Japanese third-person action-shooter where the player takes on the role of a soldier in the Earth Defense Force. Earth has been invaded by aliens that are usually bug-like creatures, but sometimes they’re Godzilla-like monsters or giant robots. Because this game is from Japan and it needs to tick-off all the appropriate boxes.
Historically, it’s never been a franchise that took itself too seriously, and that’s part of the charm. The preceding game, Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair, is rated as “overwhelmingly positive” over on Steam thanks to crisp gameplay and a fun co-op campaign. However, it remained mostly a niche game that never broke out against other co-op shooters.
Hoping to change things, the developer decided to take Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain in a bit of a new direction. The same alien invasion co-op gameplay remained, but the tone was made a bit more serious to appeal to Western audiences (although it’s still pretty ridiculous by our standards--think Starship Troopers in terms of tone).
Iron Rain released on the PS4 back in April and has received somewhat mixed reviews mostly owing to some technical glitches at launch and balance problems with the in-game currency system. Hopefully that’s all been figured out for the PC release, which launches on Steam today.
In Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain you’ll be able to create a fully customizable character and then choose between one of four classes: Trooper, Jet Lifter, Heavy Striker, or Prowl Rider. Each has its own set of unique abilities to use against the alien horde. There are 52 missions, support for up to 5-player co-op in the campaign, and PvP “Mercenary Mode” to combat against other players as well as alien insects.
The game is 20% off for its debut, so if a 3rd-person action shooter that pits you and your friends against waves of enemies sounds good, consider Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain.
(via Gematsu)