Earth Defense Force 4 Detailed

Way back before Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon had even hit the shelves, D3Publisher confirmed that Earth Defense Force 4 was in development too. Since that reveal in December 2010, the game had disappeared into thin air. That was until mid-July, when a teaser site materialised and confirmed that the game was very much still in existence, with development duties returning to Sandlot, who were responsible for Earth Defense Force 2017. Now, Famitsu has revealed an exclusive look at the first preview of the game, and we have the tastiest details for you here.



In 2017, humans managed to make contact with alien life forms and appealed for discussion. The alien life forms weren't in the mood for chatting and responded with an attack on the human race. Dubbing the aliens as "Foreigners", the Earth Defense Force mounted a counterattack. The attack was a failure; the Foreigners had more advanced technology and could reproduce at a rate that the humans could not match. The retreating humans needed a new strategy, so the Elite Force Storm mounted a suicide attack strategy aimed at the core of the Foreigners' forces: their mothership. This attack succeeded and the Foreigners left Earth. One year later, the remaining invading creatures had been exterminated by the rest of the Earth Defense Force.

The attempts to rebuild civilization started in Arizona with the human who defeated the last creature. The revival lasted for eight years, but on June 28th, 2025, the city re-entered a state of emergency. The creatures that were previously thought to be extinct had instead buried themselves underground, where they had stayed hidden and begun breeding once more. The Earth Defense Force is, once again, the only hope that Earth has of reaching salvation again.



Two character classes have so far been revealed. The Ranger is an expert in battle who can handle a wide variety of weapons. This type of soldier is the core of the Earth Defense Force units and can be supportive in every situation.





Wing Divers are a special unit made up solely of women. They have wings that enable them to fly and use a super weapon developed from the Foreigner technology.





As well as two of the Earth Defense Force classes, D3Publisher has also introduced some of the enemies that players will need to vanquish. The "Carapace Creature" is a giant ant-like creature with powerful jaws and the ability to spit acid. They can also eat soldiers.



The spider can spit strands of web that fix soldiers to the spot. As well as being unable to move, the web weakens players as it robs them of strength.



The Retarius is a huge wasp spider with long legs. Although details of its attack are yet to be revealed, we do know that the creature builds its nest in the middle of the city so that it can wait for its prey.




Hector is a very large bipedal robot. In 2017, its long arms could equip a variety of weapons, but has the creature evolved since?



The Transport Ship Carrier does not appear to have any offensive capabilities, but does carry a large number of other enemies ready to drop right into the action.



D3Publisher has confirmed that multiplayer co-op will be present again for a large number of people, although details of the missions are yet to be revealed.

Earth Defense Force 4 is due to be released in 2013.

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