Earth Defense Force 5 is very familiar, but it's the best game in the series and a huge amount of fun. Fans of action games will find a whole lot to enjoy with this one.

Like its predecessor, Earth Defense Force 5 is a fine jumping-off point for newcomers to the series. The shooting remains as solid as ever, and the concept of mixing in loot drops with blasting large enemy hordes remains enjoyable, even if the whole package isn't as polished as expected from something with a cult following. However, EDF5 doesn't surpass the heights of EDF4.1 due to its flaws detracting from the progress of its improvements. The deeper combat thanks to some new enemy types only comes after spending the first two levels doing nothing, and the game is now more stable, but PC fans who've waited this long still have to buy the extra missions via DLC. Nevertheless, this is a treat of a game that actions fans will love.

Earth Defense Force 5 doesn't do much to get away from the series standards of campy story telling and underwhelming graphics, but does improve upon the series' unique appeal by reducing grind, increasing enemy variety and giving soldiers some new tricks to get around the battlefield. There's nothing quite like EDF and this is the definitive entry in the series.

Earth Defence Force 5 is yet the best game in the series. It offers just more of everything in comparison with its predecessors.

Earth Defense Force 5 is yet another iteration of a series that embraces the repetitiveness of the action to make it its own main strength, thanks to an enviable amount of unlockable content and an immediate gameplay formula capable of entertaining for tens, if not hundreds of hours.

Quirky and deliberately cheesy, Earth Defense Force 5 boasts hours of enjoyable if straightforward content.

I am going to give it a “Holy gherkins: It’s got couch co-op!” award, because couch co-op is a beautiful feature that deserves nothing but praise, in a thoroughly confident and largely successful game that seems solely designed for you and some mates to laugh with it, at it, and at yourselves until the frogs come home. It’s camp, sure, but as Susan Sontag put it, “Oh no! The bugs, they’re everywhere! The frogs! They’re too big!”