Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is like if Starship Troopers was a Saturday Morning Cartoon with its own licensed cereal made with acid marshmallows. This is a good thing.

Since it first launched in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 console, the Earth Defense Force has garnered a cult but loyal following for its bug filled wave shooter gameplay. My old boss at a gaming site I worked for made the EDF series a day one pick up for him whenever a new one launched. I often thought it was a strange franchise to treat as you Madden (a game you get every year despite minor changes) but then again I used to by the WWE games all the time.

In a way EDF is the Dynasty Warriors of giant insect kaiju monster games with its over the top B-movie dialogue and insane cities under siege premise. All those charming features still return but in the tightest, most feature packed version of the franchise yet. When I had a chance to check out the game at a press event put on by publisher D3 I worried I may have felt that this was yet ANOTHER EDF game but instead the game made me feel like I was watching an old familiar Saturday morning cartoons and eating cereal made with acid. Yes that may sound odd but so is liking the game. Its just fun! Its something familiar yet just oddly satisfying.

The wacky banter and silly settings made me crack up so many times during the demo. When playing in the area patterned on San Francisco I kept on thinking the scenario in EDF may be the only way I can afford a house in SF.

Developed by the same company that may of my favorite wrestling games. YUKE’s Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is the best-looking EDF to date and includes over 50 intense, story driven missions.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain is like if Starship Troopers was a Saturday Morning Cartoon with a licensed cereal with acid marshmallows. This is a good thing.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain also features a pretty fun multiplayer battle mode. Online supports up to six player co-op – and the new Mercenary mode, which finds teams competing for Energy Gems hosts up to 8 players. This mode was super fun as it also makes use of the plethora of customization options in the game. During my session I gave my player an ant head and chose the brand-new Prowl Rider class. This class gives you the ability to ride on top of some of the giant insects. It also you to launch yourself across the battlefield in a way that made me felt I was playing a different take on Attack On Titan.

Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain launches April 11, 2019 on PS4