- Global Defence Force
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Global Defence Force 
Developer(s) Sandlot Publisher(s) D3 Publisher
Essential GamesComposer(s) Masafumi Takada Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Release date(s) - JP July 28, 2005
- EU April 13, 2007
Genre(s) Third-person shooter Mode(s) Single player, Co-op Rating(s) PEGI: 12+ Media/distribution CD Global Defence Force (Chikyū Bōeigun 2 (THE地球防衛軍2)), also known as Earth Defense Force 2, is a PlayStation 2 third-person shooter video game developed by Sandlot. The game was originally published as Chikyū Bōeigun 2 in Japan by D3 Publisher, as volume 81 of the Simple 2000 series of budget games.[2] It was later released in Europe by Essential Games, the brand created by D3 Publisher to publish Simple 2000 series games in Europe.[3]
Players assume the role of a soldier and fight giant insects and robots amongst other enemies.[4]
Contents
Gameplay
The PaleWing soldier flying with her jetpack while attacking giant ants with an electrical weapon.
The game is a third-person shooter featuring large play areas and waves of mecha and giant insects. Players control either a foot soldier (Storm-1) who uses conventional weaponry such as assault and sniper rifles, shotguns, and rocket-propelled grenades or a jetpack-equipped soldier (Pale Wing) who uses energy-based weaponry.[2] Most of the game's missions are cleared by eliminating all enemies present, starting with giant ants on earlier stages and eventually progressing to giant lizard enemies.[5] A number of vehicles such as a tank, helicopter and a hover-bike are available in some missions for players to board and attack enemies with. However, only the Storm-1 unit can use the vehicles.[2]
A total of 300 different weapons are available between the two characters, but players are limited to carrying two weapons during missions. Weapons are unlocked by picking up containers dropped by enemies. Every weapon picked up during play will add a random weapon of the character's to the selection, duplicate weapons are discarded. Armor chips and medical kits, also dropped by enemies, increase the character's maximum possible health and recover lost health respectively.[6]
There are a total of 71 missions spread over 7 environments to play through,[7] the first mission taking place in London.[8] Five difficulty levels are available for each mission. Half-medals are awarded for completing a mission on a set difficulty with either character. Completing the same stage with the other character results in a complete medal. Once a player has collected all the medals for every mission, "Impossible" mode is unlocked.
Reception
Reviews Publication Score Edge magazine 8 out of 10 Gamestyle 8 out of 10[7] Games Asylum 8 out of 10[5] G4 3 out of 5[4] 
Split screen co-operative mode. The player on the left is controlling the PaleWing soldier. The player on the right, controlling the infantryman, is driving a tank.Global Defence Force received little press attention in the West. The few reviews the game received were positive. Gamestyle's reviewer Colin Whiteside stated "you will fall into one of two camps - those who have experienced the Chikyuu Boueigun ("Earth Defence Force") series, and those who should stop right now, and go buy one of these wonderful, wonderful games."[7] Games Asylum's Matt Gander described it as "one of the PlayStation 2’s best budget buys".[5]
During D3 Publisher's simple series awards 2007, the title received a platinum prize for selling more than 200,000 copies in Japan during the 2006 fiscal year. It was the only title in the range to reach this volume of sales.[9]
References
- ^ "Game Profile: Monster Attack 2". IGN. http://uk.ps2.ign.com/objects/753/753662.html. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ a b c "Previews: Earth Defense Force 2". 1UP.com. 2005-07-29. http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3142445. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ Sheffield, Brandon (2007-02-01). "Q&A: D3 - Not Just A Simple Company?". Gamasutra. http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12617. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
- ^ a b "Earth Defense Force 2 Import". G4. http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/928/Earth_Defense_Force_2_Import.html. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ a b c Gander, Matt (2007-08-03). "Global Defence Force". Games Asylum. http://www.gamesasylum.com/?p=945. Retrieved 2007-10-05.
- ^ Wilson, Trevor (2005-08-18). "Earth Defence Force 2, the best D3 game ever / Homebrewin'". Namako Team. http://namakoteam.com/news.php?id=83. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
- ^ a b c Whiteside, Colin. "PlayStation 2 Review: Global Defence Force". Gamestyle. http://www.gamestyle.net/reviews/1343. Retrieved 2007-10-10.
- ^ Barder, Ollie (2006-12-05). "'Roboto-chan!': An ode to Sandlot". Game Set Watch. http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2006/12/column_robotochan_an_ode_to_sa_1.php. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
- ^ Ashcraft, Brian (2007-04-13). "Simple Awards For THE Simple Series". Kotaku. http://kotaku.com/gaming/the-simple-series/simple-awards-for-the-simple-series-252009.php. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
See also
- Earth Defense Force 2017
- Global Defence Force Tactics
- Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon
- Simple series
External links
- D3's official site (Japanese language)
Sandlot Games Robot Alchemic Drive • Global Defence Force • Chōsōjū Mecha MG • Earth Defense Force 2017 • Zangeki no ReginleivPublishers Related articles Categories:- 2005 video games
- PlayStation 2 games
- PlayStation 2-only games
- Third-person shooters
- Video games developed in Japan
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