Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable Critic Reviews

All that said, I got a lot of enjoyment out of the EDF 2017 Portable. What's more, I expect to continue to get lots of enjoyment out of it into the future. From that point of view, it's hard to argue that the game isn't worthwhile. So if you don't mind paying a slightly steep premium to get some building-destroying, bug-blasting fun on your handheld, then take the plunge and download this game immediately.

Just because a game looks and sounds like it's from 1996 doesn't mean it's bad.

Unpretentious in the extreme, comical by accident, irritating when it wants to be.

Quotation forthcoming.

The biggest issue here, sadly, is the price. When this launched on Xbox 360, its faults could be excused not only by its big heart but also by its small price-tag: at £25, the original was a budget game in both outlook and its impact on your wallet. So why, well over five years later, is the Vita version being sold full-price at £34.99?

EDF is a perfect fit for the Vita, despite not being a perfect game. It's set up for portable gaming, it doesn't feel like it has been a cheap port with little effort. If you can see past the price point then it is more than worth the space it will take up on your memory card.

However, the $40 price tag is a bit steep, especially considering that the original Xbox 360 version sold for a budget price when it was released. Still, if you want a game that you can pick up, play for five minutes, and put back down again, there are much worse alternatives than Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable.

Features the same flaws and polish issues that marred the original, but also has the same addictive combat that leaves you yearning for more.

Under an almost PS2 visuals, there's a great game. It's extremely fun and addictive, and if you missed its original release on Xbox 360, you can grab this version that adds new levels and enemies, and even a new character that will give a twist to its gameplay. Don't let the graphics mislead you.

All in all, I had a great time playing through the campaigns again – with the collectible nature of the game and character power-ups for armor and weapons it's a great game for a little break from reality. I found the $40 price point to be a little expensive myself, especially when I bought my original game for $20… but if you have some money to drop, it might be worth it to give it a spin.

It offers nothing outside of mindless shooting and gun-looting. But that's also why I admire it. It's a throwback to an era when technology limited storytelling and games were simpler. EDF 2017 is not a deep experience, but it's a very pure one.

Earth Defense Force 2017 is not really a good looking game, nor is its sound anything to hold in high regard, but it gets a lot of its gameplay right, and somehow this quirky title always seems to show up at just the right time on a system to let us know that yes, loot-heavy action RPGs are still a total blast to play - even if other publishers out there haven't bothered to fulfill our wishes for more of them.

Forty dollars is a lot to spend for such simplistic and repetitive gameplay, but its position as one of the few shooters on the Vita goes a long way toward making up for this considerable shortcoming.

EDF2017 has a particular magic that defies logic. If you've played the original to death, you may simply want an excuse to play the game again despite the disappointing renovations in Portable. Hell, I'm in that camp myself, so I won't talk you out of it. Just make sure you have some friends lined up for co-op ahead of time.

Still feels fresh, inspired and unlike anything else. No other developer has bothered to make something like it - a rarity in the video game space. Earth Defense Force 2017 is still the only game for destroying giant bugs and office complexes - blemishes and all.

On one hand the game has a load of technical problems, and is severely lacking in polish. However, it's almost impossible not to enjoy the game when you're knee-deep in dead bugs, taking on an alien spacecraft with a rocket launcher and an assault rifle.

Earth Defense Force 2017 Portable is a fun game that has lost very little in this edition for PS Vita. Unfortunately the price is too high and this is a big problem that makes it advisable only to true fans of the franchise and the genre.

A briefly brilliant bug hunt, then. Just don't expect the war against these aliens to last.

Sixty missions to conquer on five difficulty levels with two completely different characters adds up to potentially more than one hundred hours of game bundled in this portable package. But would you want to stick with it that long? With little in the way of plot, and repetitive foes and level design, this is a game that can hardly claim to have depth.

Struggling to merit its steep price tag, EDF 2017 Portable delivers just as many brow-raising moments as it does good times. Luckily, the latter outlasts the problems you'll encounter. The game is more fun than it is "good"--especially in co-op.