Developer: YUKE'S
Publisher: D3 PUBLISHER
Platform: PC, PS4, Switch
Tested on: PC
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: WORLD BROTHERS – Review
IT COMES ACROSS AS A BIT SHOUTY WHEN A TITLE IS IN ALL CAPS. Nonetheless, the new EDF game does try to feature itself prominently with its new peculiar title. World Brothers is a spin-off title that employs new mechanics that motivate players to play together even more. The game has now been released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Switch, all with their respective multiplayer options. Sadly, only the PS4 version received local co-op support, which is a shame for those buying it on another platform. That being said, we now dive into a new EDF adventure, one that uses ‘gotta catch ’em all‘ mechanics in order to upgrade your very diverse troops.
Story
In all previous EDF games, the stories have been somewhat cheesy. Alien invaders appear out of thin air, and the consistency does not really matter after that point. You’ll get giant ants to fend off, but also massive robots, weird lizard-like creatures, and spaceships. There is no limit on what these games throw at you, and in this voxel-based edition of the franchise, it’s no different. The story does take a few twists and turns that were not possible in the original series, namely the square-shaped Earth in this alternate universe has been torn apart, and you, a new commander in the Earth Defense Force, have to put it back together. You’ll have to gather more and more troops, forming a proper army to fend off the alien invaders.
Overall, the story value is appealing, but the game tries to break the fourth wall a bit too much. They refer to games constantly, to the point that the story becomes a drag, and even loses its initial charm. Nonetheless, the plot that holds things together is very much the same as other games in the series, but when your characters start speaking with emojis and other items, it just loses a bit of the B-movie quality the other games have. The limited voice lines that come with the characters you collect, however, are quite entertaining.
Graphics
Graphically the game is fairly amusing to look at. The EDF universe has clearly clashed with the Minecraft one, creating a bizarre but appealing world. You’ll get to play through colorful stages, often having a few distinct landmarks, which you can often tear to the ground. The game has a lot of buildings and other items you can blow to smithereens, and even in the game’s voxel style, it’s quite nice when you get to blow up things. The different character designs are also quite funny, and it’s clear that the developers didn’t really care about stereotypes, as they are quite heavily implemented in said designs.
Sound
The sound design is fairly okay, albeit nothing memorable. The soundtrack that accompanies the action is sufficient for what is going on, and the sound effects pack a proper punch. The voice acting is, as always, quite cheesy but pleasant enough to listen to. Sadly, as mentioned above, the writing for this EDF game is a bit all over the place, making you less interested in what is going on.
Gameplay
Like its brothers in the main series, this new EDF game is an action-packed third-person shooter. The game’s offset is quite simple; you tackle stage per stage, killing all enemies, and ultimately progress to other and stronger alien invaders. Unlike the other games in the series, however, you won’t be chasing dropped armor and weapon caches, you’ll actually collect different fallen soldiers. In every stage, you can find a few fallen warriors, who you can revive to then ultimately join your team. Upgrading them follows the same formula, where if you find the exact same soldier again in other stages, they will gain levels. This will make them stronger, and allow them to use more weapons. Each of these soldiers can equip one weapon, use one skill and one special ability. You’ll command a squad of four soldiers, basically serving as your different weapons. This means that, even when playing solo, there are four characters running around in the stage. You will control one character, while the other three are controlled by the AI, but of course, you can swap with the press of a button. The AI-controlled characters do not contribute much though, other than fire the occasional shot.
Just like the other games, this one is a rinse and repeat affair, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This game just misses a certain something, as you cannot farm for the character(s) you like. In the past, you could pick your favorite character and start farming weapons and armor. The luck factor in this one is a bit all over the place, often resulting in not finding the fallen versions of the characters you want to upgrade. This is especially true if you invest in the very expensive DLC content, as these characters just didn’t spawn during our playthrough, even though we really wanted to upgrade them. This system feels a bit random and makes it a luck-based experience, dulling down the fun of making your ultimate four-(wo)man squad. The fun is further diminished by the fact that the PC version does not have local split-screen functionalities and that the servers are currently very dead, or only have private games to choose from.
Conclusion
EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: WORLD BROTHERS is a fairly nice spin-off that makes the franchise a bit more accessible for a younger audience. Sadly, with the new mechanics it also takes away a bit of the fun of the original titles, as it’s a lot harder to upgrade the characters you like, and even scavenging for weapons becomes a bigger chore than it should be. That being said, WORLD BROTHERS is a fun experience to play together, if you can find online games. If you want to play it locally, we suggest picking up the PS4 version, as that’s the only version that supports local co-op. Fans of the series will probably still enjoy this one, but we still find the asking price a bit steep for what it is.
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