For those who may not be familiar with the Earth Defense Force series, we’ll give you a brief history on the title before jumping into more details. The series was built around being a niche title, a simple concept that aimed to create a chaotic-yet-entertaining experience for fans of shooters. Many compare the franchise to being somewhat like a B-budget action film, somewhere along the lines of the 90’s classic Starship Troopers, in which a group of brave soldiers faces off against space creatures to save the world from destruction. The gameplay is very simple in that most of your focus is situated on blasting away any gigantic creature that stands in your way, doing so in a comical manner. What makes Earth Defense Force so striking is very much in its simplicity; it doesn’t try to be a blockbuster title but it still provides enough firepower that you can’t help but play for hours on end.

With that out of the way, let’s look at the latest title Earth Defense Force 5 and see what’s in store. The version we played at the Bandai Namco Pre-TGS press event felt very much complete, and allowed us to traverse this open world filled with destructible buildings, enormous space creatures, and crazy weapons that allow you to dispose of them. It’s a game that’s all over the place and constantly shifting direction at every moment’s notice, always throwing a new wrench into the fray and encouraging you to stay on alert at all times. The thrilling part about Earth Defense Force 5 is that you have a plethora of weapons to choose from (over 1000), all of which are upgradable. Everything in the game is just non-stop as you’re constantly being bombarded by new enemies every time you blink, and with there being over 100 missions in the game, online support, and a split screen mode for local co-op, according to producer Nobuyuki Okajima, Earth Defense Force 5 is looking to be the most content-heavy the series has ever seen. Not only can you experience all of what we mentioned very soon but you can also customize your character and their loadout, giving you the advantage in battle against these vicious aliens! Be sure to check out our gameplay feed to see just how crazy, wild, and fun this game truly is!

We saw new additions in the build we played, like the Pure Decoy Launcher 16 variations set, which acts as a special decoy on the battlefield that will sing and dance like an idol to distract the enemy. Another cool tool was the Volcanic Cracker, which you can only receive through pre-ordering the game, but as the name suggests you’ll be causing a lot of explosions on the battlefield.

Earth Defense Force 5 is shaping up to be a fantastic title, and we’re totally stoked to dive deeper into the game once it officially releases in the west for the PlayStation 4, on December 11, 2018. Be sure to follow us here at Honey’s Anime to get an in-depth look at the game and of course, our 1-on-1 interview with Okajima-san himself!