I have this thing. I hate cucumber. I hate it so much. But no matter how much I explain why, most people don’t understand. I must just taste it differently than other people. It’s a fundamental, maybe even genetic difference. I get it, others don’t. I think D3 Publisher might have realised that there’s a similar problem at the heart of the Earth Defense Force series – one Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain only somewhat successfully attempts to fix.
EDF is the anti-cucumber. Fans love its quantity-over-quality approach to content; its enormous, gorgeously mindless combat scenarios; its ‘is this supposed to be funny?’ storytelling and voiceovers; and even the way the series’ wildly outdated looks skitter across the screen with a perverse, stubborn charm. You might be able to tell that I am one of these people. But no matter how much you show it to friends and try to demonstrate its janky charms, most take one look and go, “It looks like a PS2 game, leave me alone please. I’m trying to sleep.”
