== EARTH DEFENSE FORCE: INSECT ARMAGEDDON ==
Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon is a third person action packed shooter game developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360 by company Vicious Cycle Software. The game was also published by D3 Publisher. Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon is the sequel to Earth Defense Force 2017 which is also available for the Xbox 360. The Earth Defense Force games are one of the most action packed games ever. This one features the player taking on hordes of Alien creatures/robots or machines and bugs in a fictional city called New Detroit. Insect Armageddon does feature a storyline that you have to follow but its no way near as entertaining as the action that's on offer.

You take the role of an EDF (Earth Defense Force) member called Lightning Alpha. You must defend the city against waves of gigantic insect and robot enemies. You must also save members from the enemies and do certain objectives that the leader of the EDF requires you to do. As you progress your orders are to find a mysterious cube known as 'The Cube'. The only problem is what the cube is used for but I wont give anything away. You must fight,scrap and battle your way to victory because if you don't the world as we know it will end! Can you stop the invasion yet again? in this sequel to Earth Defense Force 2017!

=== GAMEPLAY ===
The game is shot from a third person perspective and you get the choice of 4 different armor classes. Each class gains different weapons and has different abilities that other classes cant have. Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon is set in a fictional city and when your in a current level you'll get the chance to explore it. To be honest there isn't much you can see in the city because its just buildings and structures. You can destroy absolutely any and every building and structure tho which does make the game quite fun. The 4 armor classes are Battle, Jet, Tactical and Trooper. The armor class you choose gains experience after each level you complete and can increase your rank level with that class enabling new weapons and abilities.

Overall there are 3 chapters on the game with 5 levels on each chapter. This is probably the biggest disappointment in the game mainly because the previous Earth Defense Force game had 50 levels and this has a disappointing 15. The levels are also the same size as the older game but Insect Armageddon has new game modes available so it makes up for the loss. Also when playing the game on any level in story mode there are items that insects and robots drop. There are health packs to replenish your lost health or armor and there are also weapon drops. Weapon drops are a fantastic idea, every weapon drop you collect gives you a weapon. Most of the time its a new weapon. There are over 300+ weapons in the game. They vary from shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, missile launchers and sniper rifles. Each class has different weapons available and as you progress and rank up more weapons become available at your disposal.

Whilst the graphics aren't the best on the Xbox 360 there is one part I did love. I loved the fact you can demolish buildings and anything else that stands in your way by firing rockets, missiles or any other weapon at them. There are also lots of different types of enemies on the game and some of them are absolutely HUGE. Some of these include Ants, Spiders, Wasps, Queen Ant, Daddy Long Legs, Mantis, Bomber Spiders, Hector, Large Hector and many more. All of these creatures are overgrown and much meaner and more of a threat and they're hungry for your blood. I think the game is fantastic because of all the different weapons available and all of the bugs ready to be squished. There aren't a lot of bosses on the game which disappointed me a little and the lack of variety in the levels. The old game took you underground and in caves but this one is just set in the city. Also it is very repetitive but it actually doesn't get boring at all. Another bad point is the game does sometimes run slowly because of all the things on screen at once
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Check my gameplay video out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvrriUr1lG4

=== GAME MODES ===
CAMPAIGN MODE (SINGLE PLAYER) - This mode is exactly what it says it is. This mode is to play on your own and tackle all 15 levels on which ever difficulty you put the game on.

CAMPAIGN REMIX - This mode is campaign mode but all the levels are mixed. So for example you could start with the last level as your first and finish with the first level. Quite weird to play like this but that's what the developers have done.

SURVIVAL - This mode is absolutely hectic and crazy. On single player this mode can become extremely hard because there's nobody to revive you if your killed. The aim of this mode is to survive through as many waves as possible. Waves are like rounds. Kill everything to progress to the next wave.

All of the above modes can be played with friends under multiplayer. You can now play these game modes online teaming up with the worlds best gamers. Try and battle your way through campaign mode with two other gamers or battle with another five players in survival mode. You can also play split screen. There is also an extras option where you can find downloadable content when its available.

=== GRAPHICS & SOUND EFFECTS ===
The previous Earth Defense Force game had weak graphics and to be fair it hasn't been hugely improved in this one. The buildings still look weak and very unoriginal. Also the streets and other items still look rather plain. I was impressed with the design of the enemies in the game. Each type of creature were different. Yeah they're all bugs but they are overgrown and look fantastic and scary. The explosions are really good in the game and do look rather stunning but the buildings falling down look to similar to each other. The rubble after the buildings have fell look terribly weak overall. The graphics overall are a little weak but the game is still a lot of fun!

The sound effects on the other hand are actually pretty spectacular. They stand out and with surround sound it just makes gaming that much better for me. All the enemies make their own unique sounds from when they're approaching to when you destroy them. Also firing the different types of weapons gets hectic and extremely loud but it does sound really good. I was very impressed with the overall sound effects to the game and would definitely say its one of the games strong points.

=== DIFFICULTY & LONGEVITY ===
The game has 3 different difficulty levels and the game must be completed on both to find everything in the game including all weapons. You also need to complete it on each setting because each difficulty has a limit of rank upgrades available. Normal is what I suggest you do first because with only just an average amount of weapons to choose from at first it can become really difficult on other levels. After you've finished on normal you can tackle hard or even inferno. Inferno difficulty the enemies are a lot harder to beat and there are a lot more of them. Each difficulty has a different ending. Normal is the weak ending with inferno being the best! The controls are simple as well.

The games length depends on what your playing the game for. If your like most gamers and just plan on playing for the story alone then your going to be very disappointed. I bought the game the day it was released and me and my cousin had completed it 8 hours later. Whilst the story mode has been cut incredibly short there are now online modes available to play. You can play online story mode with 2 other people which does make the game last a lot longer and it is more fun with random people. Also the new game mode survival is brilliant and can last a long time because of all the different areas you can go to. I believe the game can last a long time if your playing for fun and other game modes. Overall both of these aspects are fairly good in my opinion!

=== ACHIEVEMENTS ===
The achievements are a lot better on this Earth Defense Force than the previous one on Xbox 360 mainly because there are a lot more. I think the old one had only 5 achievements on the game and this game features a total of 50! 50 achievements on a game like this is fantastic. The achievements on this seem to be the best mix of achievements I have seen on a game. There are a lot of them that are time consuming which is great because it makes you play the game more and it lasts longer. Also there are some on different game modes, collecting a certain amount of weapons and killing certain amounts of different enemies. Overall I was very impressed with the amount of achievements and what is required to achieve them.

=== GOOD BITS ===
*The game is full of action and an endless amount of bugs just keep coming and coming.
*Play co-op story mode with two other players or play online with 5 other people in survival mode.
*300+ weapons to find, 4 different armor classes all with their own unique abilities.
*Some fantastic sound effects bring the game fully to life!
*Its really cheap for such a new game.

=== BAD BITS ===
*The graphics haven't been improved from the first Earth Defense Force game.
*The game lags sometimes because of everything on screen at once.
*Only 15 levels in the main campaign mode where the old game had 50.
*A few more online modes would of made the game more successful online.

=== FINAL THOUGHT ===
Earth defense Force Insect Armageddon has to be one of my favourite games on the Xbox 360. Its definitely something different with all the action and non-stop bugs after your flesh. The game plays really well most of the time and the lags only happen on the last few levels of single player campaign but they do happen frequently with online play but sometimes its barely noticeable.

The game manual is very good and offers a lot of info on the game and the manual also has a few quick starts pages in multiple languages. The game has an age rating of 12+ because of the violence, brief gore and a lot of creepy bugs which the younger gamer may find scary or even offensive.

I would seriously recommend the game. Its a lot of fun to play and can be played multiple times. Playing with friends is the best part of the game without a doubt. If you loved the previous Earth Defense Force game on the Xbox 360 then your going to love this. Its better, more hectic and features a lot more bugs than before and more weapons!

I bought the game for a fantastic price of just £24.97 with free postage from Amazon. I did see the game the following day in ASDA for the exact same price. I do think its value for money because of what it has to offer and if its like the other game on Xbox 360 the price will rise due to the game going rare!

Overall I loved the game and would seriously recommend it. i would give Earth defense Force insect Armageddon a solid 8/10!


Review also on Ciao under the username: MrBrightside1987!