A game that is below par on every level, but still manages to be fun (for a while).
The game consists of 53 levels of alien killing. You start out with only a few weapons to take on the hoards of bugs and robots invading earth. Over time you gain more weapons and more health to take on more bugs and robots. That is the game in its entirety.
What makes it fun is that trying out new weapons can be pretty fun. Even within the categories of assault rifle, sniper rifle, rockets, missiles, grenades, and special, there is a lot of variation. For example on assault rifle might have a high rate of fire and less damage while one might have the inverse. It allows for a good amount of customization, though certain weapons will always be better on certain stages.
The negative side of the game is the repetition. The game plays pretty much the same through all of the levels. For a single play-through on the normal difficulty it will probably take a new player about 12 hours. While this would be great if there was enough content to justify it, but most of the levels are very similar. It is one of the few games that just seems to be a little too long. Also to unlock the achievements for the different difficulties you have to play through the whole game 5 times. I don't know that there are many people who wont get bored before investing the 60 hours in this game.
The most redeeming aspect is the two player co-op. With a second human working with you the stages move a bit more quickly. Of course this is local only and only for two people. It seems a glaring omission to leave out online. You'll have quite a few computer team mates and it is difficult to understand why there is no 16 player online.
The game has a few other problems worth noting. The frame rate drops quite a bit in this game. It is worse with two people. It is pretty easy to play through these instances and thankfully they wont get you killed. There are vehicles in the game that you SHOULD be able to use to help you, but you can't. All of them are so glitched you'll probably avoid them completely. Another issue is there is no auto save. You must remember to save before quiting. Though it should be easy, the one time you forget after playing through 20+ stages will be enough to make you quit for good.
So what is comes down to is Earth Defense Force 2017 is a game that can easily burn up a rainy Saturday with a friend, but it is hardly worth owning. However if someone would insist on beating it all, the game plays better in short burst rather than trying to beat it in one marathon session. Even then you'll probably want a friend to help you endure the whole thing. The harder modes can be pretty hard. If you're up for endless hours fighting repetitive enemies then this game is for you.