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Earth Defense Forces 3 - Chikyuu Boueigun 3

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    Earth Defense Forces 3 - Chikyuu Boueigun 3

    I wasn't 100% convinced about this when it was recommended to me by a slighty dodgy NTSCer. How wrong I was.

    I started smiling on the title screen. The swelling chords and drums set the mood beautifully.

    Alien craft, giant ants, Japanese city, excitable utterances, machine gun and rocket launcher. Welcome to mission one.

    Default controls very odd. Won't bother detailing them as you'll be wanting the alternative:

    Left stick: move
    Right stick: look
    Right trigger: fire
    Left trigger: jump (or dive if running at an angle or pushing L/R)
    Right bumper: change weapons
    Left bumper: zoom (sniper only I think)

    I managed to turn off the save function but even having to replay several missions (once I'd got it back on again) didn't get rid of my smile.

    Only completed half-a-dozen or so missions (twice! - see above) all of which are set in the same environment.

    I have had cracking fun over the past couple of hours and am looking forward to seeing what else the game will throw at me.

    Will post more impressions in due course.

    Still smiling.
    Last edited by Paulos G; 20-12-2006, 21:29. Reason: Still smiling

    #2
    Is it locked to Jap systems ?

    Comment


      #3
      Just tested it on my pal console. Region lock confirmed.

      Comment


        #4
        US version is expected soon isn't it? I will absolutely buy this and Oneechanbara if they release a version that will work on my PAL machine.

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          #5
          Originally posted by Paulos G View Post
          Just tested it on my pal console. Region lock confirmed.
          Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo etc.


          I quite fancied playing the JPN version even if it is eventually getting translated. Half the fun is trying to decipher the weapon names and figure out which one was your favourite.

          "I think it was Gee Umm squiggle line line.. Or maybe squiggle line line x..."
          Last edited by mrsquare; 21-12-2006, 08:02.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Paulos G View Post
            Just tested it on my pal console. Region lock confirmed.
            Yet another kick in the bollocks from all things Microsoft-related. They're not in my good books this month. Are the vehicles any more controllable than the loathesome ps2 ones, i.e., vaguely controllable?

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              #7
              Originally posted by Paulos G View Post
              I have had cracking fun over the past couple of hours and am looking forward to seeing what else the game will throw at me.
              Sounds great! My copy of this turned up in the post this morning and just looking at the back of the box put me in a good mood I'm gonna try and make sure I have a blast on it this evening. Is there any kind of multiplayer action going on, or is it all single player?

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by prinnysquad View Post
                Are the vehicles any more controllable than the loathesome ps2 ones, i.e., vaguely controllable?
                Not come across any yet. Will let you know once I get some. I've seen pictures on some of the loading screens and am looking forward to vehicular bug slaughter.

                Originally posted by HumanEnergy View Post
                Is there any kind of multiplayer action going on, or is it all single player?
                Offline split-screen co-op only (as far as I can tell).

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                  #9
                  Its been confirmed that itll get a U.S. release in March. I loved EDF 1 and 2, so Im guessing EDFX is a must have.

                  Only thing Im dissapointed in is that they got rid of pale wing, the female character with the rocket pack in EDF2, she was far more fun to play than the male soldier.

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                    #10
                    Just had a quick blast on the first three levels of this: it's fantastic mindless fun Game of the year? No way, but it's just presented in such a fantastic B movie fashion that you can't help but have a laugh when you're playing it. Gonna have to put in a bit of effort to work out all those Japanese menus though! Oh yeah, I agree, the default controls are crap, will have to work out how to remap them and then the game should get even better. I'd say anyone with a Japanese / Asian 360 should have this on their shopping list.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Spent a bit more time with this today and am finding it more and more enjoyable.

                      I'm up to mission 19 and have used four different vehicles so far and unlocked a further 25 weapons. Weapon choice really makes a difference on some stages.

                      Here's a brief run down on the menus (work in progress) and how to get the alternative control scheme :

                      Title screen:
                      Start

                      Start new game
                      (then select single player or co-op)
                      Load game (then select single player or co-op)
                      Multiplayer (appears to be splitscreen deathmatch)
                      Chose storage device

                      Main menu:
                      Mission Select
                      Chose Weapons
                      Save
                      Options
                      Exit

                      Options:
                      SE volume
                      BGM volume
                      Voice volume
                      ??? on/off
                      Control options
                      Back

                      Control Options:
                      Sensitivity (0.50 to 1.00)
                      ???
                      ???
                      ??? on/off
                      "Hollywood action camera" on/off
                      Control scheme default (bad)/alternative (good)
                      Reset defaults
                      Back

                      You'll know that you've selected the alternative controls as the light red box will change from seven lines to four. Hope that helps. I'll fill in the blanks as I'm able - any help gratefully received!

                      It really is like a gloriously over the top B movie. Well worth the purchase.

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                        #12
                        Control Options:
                        ??? on/off
                        Vibration? Still waiting on my copy arriving...

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Cheers for the menu translation Paulos, I was looking for something that'd let me customise the controls, not just switch schemes, must be why I missed it (that and thickness)

                          Favourite moments so far:

                          firing the rocket launcher into the middle of a big pack of ants and watching the results! Hunting down that final ant, not being able to see it, and then noticing it crawling over the top of a building and down the side towards you!



                          Not sure that those were actually spolierish but I thought I'd play it safe! I've got a few games I need to complete but I can see this taking up a lot of my weekend gaming time

                          Edit: BTW one thing I have read elsewhere is that you DO have to complete the game on each difficulty level to get the achievement. So to get all the achievements for this one you'd need to finish it 5 times
                          Last edited by EJG1980; 22-12-2006, 10:05.

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                            #14
                            This sounds as good as I hoped it would be.

                            It seems strange that games like this are ' region locked ' ... when COD3 isn't.

                            Oh well! I'll be hoping for a Pal version!

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Superb. Van and I embarked on a co-op mission and stopped for an nhl 2k7 break about 4 hours later. We're up to about mission 43, and it's excellent. Everything a couple of EDF vets hoped it would be.
                              The masterstroke has been designing the walkers and ufos from scratch. The ants and spiders provide the continuity but I'm glad Sandlot decided to alter some designs after two games.
                              The weapons are the usual joy to investigate. Some arse, some maginficent; but like Paulos said, depending on the environment, these definitions are often reversed.
                              The graphics are superb for such a cheap game. Edge commented that the second game had one of the best custom-designed engines ever, and the same applies to this one. It's never going to win awards for detail and 'fancy dan' effects, but it is functional at the very least. Most of the time it has the perfect B-movie game graphics. The UFOs have a very pleasing sheen to them, and we've seen them reflect the surface if they're hovering low. Compared to other budget games, such as Dynasty Warriors 5, it's an absolute stormer.

                              Many missions are similar to the last two games - walkers storming a beach; ants in the tunnel, etc, but that's fine, because it's so damn fun to play. Every mission is a mix of thrills and tension.

                              Slowdown doesnt happen very often at all. It only happened once, in one particular mission where your little team of soldiers are in a ravine, with red ants swarming down both walls, and walkers stomping through the stream you are walking down. Very occasionally the game stops for a split second, but this seems to be when it loads in a new area, or a new wave of enemies.

                              The AI is ... alien. It's alien bugs and ufos. It doesn't matter, You blast away relentlessly until they're all dead. If you fail you go to the weapon screen and select one of the new weapons you've picked up, one that is more suited to the environment and the enemy.

                              The only drawback so far is the lack of variety in the enemies. We're only on mission 43(ish), however, so we're optimistic! The last game had armoured ladybirds and enormous millipede things that swung around buildings. It had meteors crashing to the ground, revealing a war-of-the-worlds-style walker. It had giant, giant spiders and motherships!

                              Once again, a superb game!!

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