For those that want the abridged version, here is a one word review;
Terrific!
For the rest here goes sorry if I?ve gone on a bit;
Pre-amble
Takes about 6gb on the HDD, loading times as you would expect are quick, very quick to the loading screen and level re-starts are virtually instant.
Controls are same as usual though the touchpad serves as a messaging board where you can shout out things like EDF! ? of get your guys to shout ?EDF! By using the d-pad you can access shed loads more things to say, due to this you need to use the analogue stick to re-start the level/exit to main menu after pressing the option button in game.
Pressing the touchpad enables you to target an enemy, I?m assuming you can then perhaps either ask your guys to attack but haven?t worked this out ? perhaps I?ll ask the wife or daughter to help out with this one, it could also be that the feature is used by Fencer/Air Raider in combination.
One nice touch on the summary screen at the end of a level is just a simple total of the armour boxes collected rather than a long list like in EDF4.
Graphics
I?ve only played EDF4 of the proper i.e Sandlot games (excluding IA) on console and am guessing that graphics take a back seat compared to gameplay and whilst it could be argued that 4.1?s are what EDF4 should have been in the looks department there is no doubt that the PS4 version is in a different league as it looks sublime.
Everything looks sharper, you can even read ?First Aid? clearly on the health drops. The insects looks far more menacing, the eyes and hairy look of the spiders and the finish of the ants. There are also some really nice flourishes in the weapons, rockets and missiles have an orange ?reflection? on the concrete as they move past buildings, similarly the electrical weapons for Wing Diver.
Explosions are bigger ? the whole sky seems to go black and the ground features go shades of yellow like a nuclear explosion from an anime, the deaths of the enemies sees you get a drenching in blood ? ace.
The tunnel levels are now in darkness save for your torch and the torches of your guys, this brings a real sense of panic particularly when you reload as your torch (quite rightly) points downwards meaning you can?t see in front of you for a few seconds. The textures in the tunnels are far better than EDF4.
Sonics
Just a couple of things to say, the overall volume seems a notch higher on default, aside from that everything seems to be the same as before except the voices of your guys and the screams from the public are far clearer ? which makes sense given the new ?shout-out? feature.
Gameplay/levels
I?ve got to level 23 so far and so far it seems they have all been tweaked to various degrees.
One thing to note is that EDF?ers will be used to many of the levels having three waves of attacks so you basically knew that if you could get through the third wave you were safe, well things have changed a little. Level one has four waves, Level two has two.
Level one is tremendous ? if you remember the feeling of playing the set piece battles on COD4 PS3 you?ll love the first one here. First thing you notice is that your guys now have tanks! Plus they are bloody good ? none of that shambolic buffoonery of EDF4. Walking along the street shooting at the ants with your mates at your side then ?boom? a shell whistles past you from the tank behind into the enemy, or shooting a group of ants and seeing them explode from a well aimed tank shell. In fact your mates are so good I?m finding that when it gets to the last few enemies I leave the guys to it or else I won?t be able to collect all the drops in time. Staying with level one after the first wave, you then move onto the second wave where you are supported by a small tank column ? the game really has moved on. The troops don?t always get it right but it seems to me that helping them out does bring rewards particularly on the harder difficulties.
Level 11 is now in the location of level 12 on EDF4 whilst level 12 where the dropships make an appearance is now in the location of level 50 on EDF4.
Level 14 where you meet the Hector?s feels like a set piece battle in COD, so much going on, plenty of tank support and loads of troops and Wing Divers to assist, as already mentioned if you leave them to it they?ll mop them up on their own.
The nicest level so far for me is level 22 the one in the tunnels ? almost a cave. This time of course it is in darkness but.. you have Fencer?s and Wing Diver?s to assist, the lighting of the Wing Diver?s lasers and the explosions etc is absolutely fantastic. Really immersive. The other tunnel levels give a feeling of being in Aliens particularly with the rendering of the ants ?scary.
Other things I?ve noticed, the Shield Bearer?s can now move fast- really fast plus thankfully they now drop crates when destroyed. The level where you now meet them (19) doesn?t end when expected as there is an additional wave ? plus there are more of them to start with.
Your character recovers quickly after being hit so you can get back into the game quicker, great feature.
Your guys (when you take leadership of them) have individual health bars ? at last!
Have also noticed that Hector?s for example don?t automatically target you, in level 14 (above) they were also targeting my troops alongside me even though we were really close to them.
Overall EDF4.1 is a massive step up from EDF4, hugely enjoyable. Full credit to the developers who could have just updated the overall look of the game but they have tweaked every single part, from loading to the nice graphical flourishes to the overall gameplay. I had EDF4 on the PS3 running alongside just to confirm my memory of the level number etc and as much as I love ED4 it really is a world away from 4.1.
Terrific!
For the rest here goes sorry if I?ve gone on a bit;
Pre-amble
Takes about 6gb on the HDD, loading times as you would expect are quick, very quick to the loading screen and level re-starts are virtually instant.
Controls are same as usual though the touchpad serves as a messaging board where you can shout out things like EDF! ? of get your guys to shout ?EDF! By using the d-pad you can access shed loads more things to say, due to this you need to use the analogue stick to re-start the level/exit to main menu after pressing the option button in game.
Pressing the touchpad enables you to target an enemy, I?m assuming you can then perhaps either ask your guys to attack but haven?t worked this out ? perhaps I?ll ask the wife or daughter to help out with this one, it could also be that the feature is used by Fencer/Air Raider in combination.
One nice touch on the summary screen at the end of a level is just a simple total of the armour boxes collected rather than a long list like in EDF4.
Graphics
I?ve only played EDF4 of the proper i.e Sandlot games (excluding IA) on console and am guessing that graphics take a back seat compared to gameplay and whilst it could be argued that 4.1?s are what EDF4 should have been in the looks department there is no doubt that the PS4 version is in a different league as it looks sublime.
Everything looks sharper, you can even read ?First Aid? clearly on the health drops. The insects looks far more menacing, the eyes and hairy look of the spiders and the finish of the ants. There are also some really nice flourishes in the weapons, rockets and missiles have an orange ?reflection? on the concrete as they move past buildings, similarly the electrical weapons for Wing Diver.
Explosions are bigger ? the whole sky seems to go black and the ground features go shades of yellow like a nuclear explosion from an anime, the deaths of the enemies sees you get a drenching in blood ? ace.
The tunnel levels are now in darkness save for your torch and the torches of your guys, this brings a real sense of panic particularly when you reload as your torch (quite rightly) points downwards meaning you can?t see in front of you for a few seconds. The textures in the tunnels are far better than EDF4.
Sonics
Just a couple of things to say, the overall volume seems a notch higher on default, aside from that everything seems to be the same as before except the voices of your guys and the screams from the public are far clearer ? which makes sense given the new ?shout-out? feature.
Gameplay/levels
I?ve got to level 23 so far and so far it seems they have all been tweaked to various degrees.
One thing to note is that EDF?ers will be used to many of the levels having three waves of attacks so you basically knew that if you could get through the third wave you were safe, well things have changed a little. Level one has four waves, Level two has two.
Level one is tremendous ? if you remember the feeling of playing the set piece battles on COD4 PS3 you?ll love the first one here. First thing you notice is that your guys now have tanks! Plus they are bloody good ? none of that shambolic buffoonery of EDF4. Walking along the street shooting at the ants with your mates at your side then ?boom? a shell whistles past you from the tank behind into the enemy, or shooting a group of ants and seeing them explode from a well aimed tank shell. In fact your mates are so good I?m finding that when it gets to the last few enemies I leave the guys to it or else I won?t be able to collect all the drops in time. Staying with level one after the first wave, you then move onto the second wave where you are supported by a small tank column ? the game really has moved on. The troops don?t always get it right but it seems to me that helping them out does bring rewards particularly on the harder difficulties.
Level 11 is now in the location of level 12 on EDF4 whilst level 12 where the dropships make an appearance is now in the location of level 50 on EDF4.
Level 14 where you meet the Hector?s feels like a set piece battle in COD, so much going on, plenty of tank support and loads of troops and Wing Divers to assist, as already mentioned if you leave them to it they?ll mop them up on their own.
The nicest level so far for me is level 22 the one in the tunnels ? almost a cave. This time of course it is in darkness but.. you have Fencer?s and Wing Diver?s to assist, the lighting of the Wing Diver?s lasers and the explosions etc is absolutely fantastic. Really immersive. The other tunnel levels give a feeling of being in Aliens particularly with the rendering of the ants ?scary.
Other things I?ve noticed, the Shield Bearer?s can now move fast- really fast plus thankfully they now drop crates when destroyed. The level where you now meet them (19) doesn?t end when expected as there is an additional wave ? plus there are more of them to start with.
Your character recovers quickly after being hit so you can get back into the game quicker, great feature.
Your guys (when you take leadership of them) have individual health bars ? at last!
Have also noticed that Hector?s for example don?t automatically target you, in level 14 (above) they were also targeting my troops alongside me even though we were really close to them.
Overall EDF4.1 is a massive step up from EDF4, hugely enjoyable. Full credit to the developers who could have just updated the overall look of the game but they have tweaked every single part, from loading to the nice graphical flourishes to the overall gameplay. I had EDF4 on the PS3 running alongside just to confirm my memory of the level number etc and as much as I love ED4 it really is a world away from 4.1.
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