I thought I'd start one of these for the year's best 5/10 release. I had resolved to defer the pleasure to QualityChimp, who started the previous headlines thread, but the damn fool tried to cheapskate up on the 7-year-long awaited release, and has lamentably drawn a blank, along with other soldiers. It's all or nothing, men. You should have paid full price AND offered a bollock to guarantee delivery. Pfft.
I've played 10 hours so far on the 360 and my completion total is about 2%. This is a grinding monster of a title. Online, I've taken the ranger up to level 40-ish, offline only about level 11. Most levels online I've tackled on easy difficulty, most offline on normal. And I can't see a difference to be honest. The co-op easy mode seems to upscale enemy difficulty to that roughly on a par with single-player normal difficulty. It provides an extra incentive to go through that lame easy mode, so bellhawks around bordersdown can rejoice.
The graphics seem to run slightly smoother on the 360 compared to the Japanese PS3 version, and load times are quicker. The online code holds up well - I've played online with 2 other players and slowdown/framerate issues have been minimal. Even an invasion of dozens of UFOs on one level, all firing red jizz, didn't cause problems, even though the screen was full. The online limits are fine - it prevents gits from inviting hyper souped-up players into their game to rinse levels. It gives every level a purpose, a challenge, a sense of achievement. A great design decision. If you lose the challenge in EDF, you lose the fun.
Enemies are introduced slowly and carefully throughout. We're not halfway yet and already there's been at least 4 new types to go with the old classics, each of which requires careful loadout and strategic consideration. I know for a fact that more new enemies come later, and are great.
The maps are familiar (which is a fair criticism for those it bothers) and the game plays partly like a polished homage to the previous titles, and partly as a fresh title. The way the enemies get destroyed is great - bits fly off ants and spiders, and hectors shatter apart. It's fantastic firing a rocket at a swarm and seeing carcasses and legs spinning off. Hectors can have arms blasted off, or even their entire torso, leaving their legs standing there for a few moments before toppling over. Buildings crumble and shatter into pieces as chunks fall off. The new 3D pickups are brilliant - spottable from miles away, yet they go bouncing arl ower the shop when they fall. It was hilarious watching VP chase one down a hill.
Gameplay is classic, solid EDF. Yes, it is strategic in its tougher moments , but fundamentally there's nothing more satisfying in a game than pointing, blasting, and seeing carnage in front of you. The gibbing adds to it. You can't put a price on that kind of enjoyment. With mates, it's as superb as ever, there's loads of banter and thrilling moments to be experienced.
Voice acting is hilariously cheesy as usual, and the controls solid. I haven't even began to explore the nuances of class combos or vehicles. This game isn't going to dissuade haters, but for fans it's the best yet. There's been an awful lot of inaccurate and ill-informed bull**** printed online about this game (the 'I can't work out how to set up a private match' comment perhaps the most jaw-droppingly stupid) but I can pretty much guarantee satisfaction for fans. It's big, brash, chaotic, more than technically competent (where else do you get this level of action throughout an entire game without it being unplayable?) and possesses subtle strategic depth, aided and abetted (from my tinkering on the Japanese PS3 version) by the new classes.
Never mind this crap from pussies whining about friendly fire (never stopped anyone on Gears), or from arseholes who haven't played it beyond level 13, it'll get your primal game-juices flowing and gib your free time. Choose your weapon, soldier, and get whuppin some bugs.
EDF! EDF!
I've played 10 hours so far on the 360 and my completion total is about 2%. This is a grinding monster of a title. Online, I've taken the ranger up to level 40-ish, offline only about level 11. Most levels online I've tackled on easy difficulty, most offline on normal. And I can't see a difference to be honest. The co-op easy mode seems to upscale enemy difficulty to that roughly on a par with single-player normal difficulty. It provides an extra incentive to go through that lame easy mode, so bellhawks around bordersdown can rejoice.
The graphics seem to run slightly smoother on the 360 compared to the Japanese PS3 version, and load times are quicker. The online code holds up well - I've played online with 2 other players and slowdown/framerate issues have been minimal. Even an invasion of dozens of UFOs on one level, all firing red jizz, didn't cause problems, even though the screen was full. The online limits are fine - it prevents gits from inviting hyper souped-up players into their game to rinse levels. It gives every level a purpose, a challenge, a sense of achievement. A great design decision. If you lose the challenge in EDF, you lose the fun.
Enemies are introduced slowly and carefully throughout. We're not halfway yet and already there's been at least 4 new types to go with the old classics, each of which requires careful loadout and strategic consideration. I know for a fact that more new enemies come later, and are great.
The maps are familiar (which is a fair criticism for those it bothers) and the game plays partly like a polished homage to the previous titles, and partly as a fresh title. The way the enemies get destroyed is great - bits fly off ants and spiders, and hectors shatter apart. It's fantastic firing a rocket at a swarm and seeing carcasses and legs spinning off. Hectors can have arms blasted off, or even their entire torso, leaving their legs standing there for a few moments before toppling over. Buildings crumble and shatter into pieces as chunks fall off. The new 3D pickups are brilliant - spottable from miles away, yet they go bouncing arl ower the shop when they fall. It was hilarious watching VP chase one down a hill.
Gameplay is classic, solid EDF. Yes, it is strategic in its tougher moments , but fundamentally there's nothing more satisfying in a game than pointing, blasting, and seeing carnage in front of you. The gibbing adds to it. You can't put a price on that kind of enjoyment. With mates, it's as superb as ever, there's loads of banter and thrilling moments to be experienced.
Voice acting is hilariously cheesy as usual, and the controls solid. I haven't even began to explore the nuances of class combos or vehicles. This game isn't going to dissuade haters, but for fans it's the best yet. There's been an awful lot of inaccurate and ill-informed bull**** printed online about this game (the 'I can't work out how to set up a private match' comment perhaps the most jaw-droppingly stupid) but I can pretty much guarantee satisfaction for fans. It's big, brash, chaotic, more than technically competent (where else do you get this level of action throughout an entire game without it being unplayable?) and possesses subtle strategic depth, aided and abetted (from my tinkering on the Japanese PS3 version) by the new classes.
Never mind this crap from pussies whining about friendly fire (never stopped anyone on Gears), or from arseholes who haven't played it beyond level 13, it'll get your primal game-juices flowing and gib your free time. Choose your weapon, soldier, and get whuppin some bugs.
EDF! EDF!
Not sure what?s funnier, the in game chatter or these 2 gents. 
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