Earth Defense Force 2017

What can be said about Earth Defense Force 2017?

It's player animations are lousy. The control layout could be better (you actually have to press the "back" button to enter vehicles). The vehicles are so hard to control that you actually get killed quicker when using them. The frame rate regularly drops to a crawl. There are particle effects that fill the screen so much you can't see your enemies. Often times, every enemy on the screen is using the exact same model and animations, at the exact same time. All the buildings in the city can be blown up, but everything only takes one hit and then breaks apart and falls through the world without collision. There is absolutely NO online play. Some of the weapons you get are literally useless and seem to only be there for a joke at the player's expense.

One more thing, it is one of my favorite games ever.

Remember Smash T.V.? As a player, you ran around in an arena, killing hordes of enemies and grabbing prizes. Simple concept, great game.

Now take Smash T.V. and make it fully 3D. Replace the arenas with cities and the enemies with giant bugs and robots. You now have EDF 2017.

EDF is part of the Simple 2000 Series of games. As such, it is a budget title and available for $40 on the 360. That alone makes me happy, as I am having a hard time paying 60 bucks for a new game, but that's a different topic.

Imagine you have a limited amount of time to make a game. Let's say, I don't know, 9 months. What would you cut and what would you keep? Would you attempt to make a visually stunning game lacking in gameplay? Perhaps you would make a game with less features or levels than you would like? There are lots of possibilities, but I think most designers would agree that the best way to do things is to make a game that is fun and fill in as much of the rest as you can.

Sandlot has developed a game here that has all the things that are fun about video games and very few things that are not. Here is a list:

Things Kept (FUN)
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1. All buildings can be blown up - in one hit.
2. There are hundreds of weapons to acquire.
3. There are HUGE effects when killing a large enemy.
4. Enemy bodies go flying or explode when killed.
5. Ammo for all weapons is limitless (except on a few rare occasions).
6. There are hundreds of enemies on screen at one time.
7. There is a squad of teammates that do not need direction.
8. There is no damage from destroyed geometry.
9. There is no damage from dead enemies.
10. There is no damage from explosions resulting from a defeated enemy.
11. There is no damage from falling.
12. The environments are not incredibly detailed, only functionally detailed.
13. There is no penalty for destroying geometry in the world.
14. There is no penalty for killing your teammates.
15. Teammates never hit the player.

This list could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea.

The gameplay is also simple: Clear every level of enemies to proceed to the next level. In between levels, the player has the option to change weapons. You can carry any two weapons you want into each level, with advantages and disadvantages for each map. You fight a host of enemies that include ants, spiders, giant robots, UFOs, Godzilla-like dinosaurs, and a giant walking fortress reminiscent of an AT-AT. That's pretty much all there is. It doesn't sound like much, but it's one of those great games that should not be missed.

I think the most impressive thing about this game is that it seems to do what almost every game development team I have been on has wanted to do. They took a great mechanic (killing massive amounts of enemies without environmental interference), set it in an appropriate setting (large outdoor areas with lots of destructible eye-candy), and let the game speak for itself. It's nice to know that this can ACTUALLY be done.

THINGS TO LEARN FROM EARTH DEFENSE FORCE 2017
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1. Great gameplay is the most important thing when trying to make a game fun. Period.

2. Amazing graphics, while extremely nice, are not necessary for a great game. This may upset some artists to hear this, but this IS a design blog.

3. It is NOT necessary to adhere to lots of realistic consequences when making a game. It may actually make the game better if you do NOT.

4. Low budget does not mean low quality. This, in itself, is another example of how great gameplay design still shines even without the huge budgets some of us have become accustomed to.