The kids today might be all about their Helldivers 2 premium warbonds and tactical strikes, but back when me and the boys were defending earth against giant insects, all we had were massive riot shields and miniguns, and by jove, we made do. Never speak to me about Terminids. If you can’t finish your truck-sized ants here on earth, don’t even think about asking for bizarre interstellar insectoids to kill. Anyway, good news for me and the proverbial boys, because multiplayer sci-fi anti-ant shooter Earth Defense Force 6 is dropping on July 25th, 2024.
If you’re unfamiliar with the series, you need to know two things. One, the textures haven’t been updated since the early 1800’s, and two, no-one cares, because the games are too much fun to worry about it. What they lack in visual sparkle, they make up for by having countless enemies on screen at the same time. Earth Defense Force 6, then, does not appear to revolutionise the veteran franchise, but does include the following features, via Steam.
“The largest volume in the history of the series. Supports online co-op play. The largest number of missions and weapons ever included. All missions support online co-op play for up to four players. Offline co-op play is also available in split-screen mode. Take control of four different soldier classes and fight alongside real EDF members from across the country.”
And here’s that trailer:
“Just like a homebrewed recreation of the stop motion and miniature effects from mid-century creature features,” I wrote back in our Earth Defense Force 5 review, “EDF 5 evokes the feeling of smashing mismatched toys together. Of pouring out your entire childhood collection of soldiers and monsters and concocting some flimsy headcanon so they’ve got a reason to go to war.” Alongside the ants, that game also featured giant frogs, which look to make a return. Hey, Joel! Have you got giant frogs? You don’t, Joel. You got none frogs, if that even is your real name.
