Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon

The guiltiest of pleasures. Indulge yourself and a few friends, but go read a book afterwards or something. [March 2012, p.62]

On its own merits, the PC version of Insect Armageddon is a strong port of the most modern and proficient Earth Defense Force yet. The downloadable version is even cheaper than its console counterparts too, currently "e-tailing" for £14.99 on Steam.

Terribly cheesy in all the right ways.

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is an archaic, explosive and entertaining experience that deserves to be played. It's a great way to unwind after a long and tiresome day, and the co-op and character classes should appeal to whatever niche audience it may attract – while it's short and lacks variety in just about every department, it still deserves a few hours of your free time, provided you find yourself in the right mindset while playing it.

For $20, though, this game offers a lot of fun. Compared to a typical $50 to $60 title, it's an incredible bargain for what it offers, and since it's so easy to pick up and put down, there's a spot for Earth Defense Force in practically every gamer's library.

A frenetic, old fashioned monster blaster best played with friends. Creepy-crawlyphobes, look elsewhere.

If you're fond of mindless carnage and have friends to play with you in co-op mode, you might enjoy Earth Defense Force. Otherwise stay clear of it. [February 2012, p.64]

The biggest letdown of all, however, may be the quick-and-dirty nature of EDF's PC port, evident from the "Press A or click to start" opening prompt. It didn't crash on me, but that's it. Beyond that, however, it's locked at 30 frames per second, lacks any significant graphical options, and has a multiplayer match-finding tool that could be unfavorably compared to a maze filled with minotaurs.