Moments: Outsmarting The Unending Tide Of Giant Ants

by Jack Gardner on Aug 21, 2012 at 08:00 AM

Earth Defense Force 2017 is known for many things: crummy graphics, laughably bad dialogue, and ridiculous numbers of enemies. Every human structure can be destroyed with a single rocket and enemies spring into the air in a cloud of green blood when killed. Needless to say, the game is a blast.

When you play through Earth Defense Force 2017, you experience an incredibly surreal moment. Usually this occurs when you find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the hordes of giant ants, spiders, robots, flying robots, even bigger spiders and ants, and Godzilla rip-off monsters. You discover that wading in with infinite-ammo guns blazing no longer successfully gets you through a mission. Once that realization hits, something strange occurs in the human brain. Plans start to formulate for how to best overcome the insect-robo army. What is singular about this is that you suddenly stop and understand exactly what you are doing: you are planning how to best outsmart giant alien ants that possess the AI of a three month-old chimpanzee.

This person clearly had a plan.

This is perhaps best experienced with a friend in the co-op mode. Two people coordinating and developing tactics to defeat giant fire ants is one of the most priceless memories a person can have (even if you fail).

These two people did not have a plan.