2013 was the first year we spotted them. We had no way of knowing what they were back then; just blips and warbles on the scanners, far out in space, slowly heading our way. Some of us hoped they were elder beings, coming to share their wisdom or take us to a better place. We all hoped that, really, but some of us had the foresight to plan for other possibilities, and that's how Earth Defense Force was born.

It took four years to corral the world's militaries into assembling and equipping a joint task force. By the time all the petty politics were out of the way, we scarcely had time to train the troops. Not knowing what to expect, we ran EDF through every sci-fi scenario we could imagine.

Then, in 2017, they arrived. And they opened fire. Not just from the sky, with their starships and battle machines, but from underneath the ground as well, with swarms and swarms of giant mutant insects. We called the aliens Ravagers, and across the globe, they lived up to that name. Only EDF, with their specialized weapons and training, stood a chance. Finally, after the bloodiest war in history, EDF blasted the last Ravager off the planet.

We thought that was the end of it. It had to be. But now, eight short years later, humanity's worst nightmare has come true: What we'd faced had only been the first wave. The Ravagers are back, with new enhanced creatures and machines. Fortunately, EDF has stayed vigilant all this time, and they've put those eight years to good use. With new weapons, new units, and even giants of our own, humanity is ready to go another round, and by the time we're done, they'll never want to come back again.

Four Classes, Each with Upgrades

Play as the versatile Ranger, the flying Wing Diver, the vehicle-summoning Air Raider, or the armored Fencer, each with unique gear and abilities.

An Arsenal at Your Fingertips

Choose from hundreds of weapons and vehicles as you fire man-portable cannons, call in airstrikes, drive tanks, pilot jetpacks, or get behind the controls of your very own giant robot.

You Are Not Alone

Bring up to three friends into any of a whopping 98 online missions. Share vehicles, watch each other's backs, and use teamwork to beat the odds.

Earth Defense Force 4, Better than Ever

4.1 runs at a steady 60 FPS and supports up to 1080p, while newly revised missions feature more NPC soldiers, who now respond to the player's commands.

Giant Creatures

Giant Black Ant

These giant insects resemble Earth soldier ants, but thousands of times larger. They can devour their prey with their powerful jaws, and those same jaws house sacs of burning acid, which they can spit out at long range.

Giant Golden Ant

Upon initiating conflict with humanity, the giant insects' evolutionary process went into overdrive. The giant golden ants are tougher and faster than their forerunners, and their acid is even more toxic as well.

Giant Red Ant

Another variant species of the giant black ant, with a thicker hide and stronger jaws.

Giant Purple Ant

One of the newer mutant species, believed to have evolved from the giant red ants. Their capabilities are unknown thus far.

Giant Spider

These creatures shoot out long, razor-sharp thread, which immobilizes their prey and causes slow, deliberate pain. Despite their large, bulky forms, they can easily jump from one place to another in pursuit of their targets.

Giant Silver Spider

A mutant species of the spider-type creature. Their hardened, steel-like skin makes them virtually bulletproof, and their thread is as deadly as garrote wire. Although they look heavy and slow, they can jump around quickly to confuse enemies before tying them down and moving in for the kill.

Giant Bee

A new species of giant creature, which appeared suddenly after the conflict began. Despite their flimsy-looking wings and bulky bodies, their flying capabilities exceed those of the EDF's Wing Divers. Their stingers can fly out like harpoons, and unlike Earth bees, they can use them more than once.

Giant Red Bee

Apparently, this is a new mutant species of the bee-type creature. Its nature and capabilities are unknown at this time.

Dragon

Perhaps by coincidence, these creatures resemble the dragons of Earth's fantasy legends, complete with large wings and fire breath.

Among all the giant creatures, the EDF considers the dragons to be the most powerful, partly because they multiply very quickly and frequently attack human cities in swarms of hundreds. With their great strength, and their numbers rising out of control, these creatures have put humanity under the very real threat of extinction.

Yellow Dragon

A variant on the core dragon species, these yellow creatures seem to prefer the air to the ground. Their favorite tactic is to hover higher than most human weapons can reach, bombarding the area with dragon fire.

Red Dragon

This mutant species' red scales are tougher than those of its forbearers, so much so that they're effectively immune to most conventional weapons. Their jaws are like steel traps, and once they snatch their prey, it's almost impossible to escape.

Retiarius

Named for a type of gladiator who fought with a net, the Retiarius are spider variants known for ensnaring their prey with long, sticky thread. Once they latch on, Retiarii reel their prey in, slowly and relentlessly, and will only let go in death.

Queen

This creature derives her name not only from her ability to breed other giant insects, but from her impossibly massive size. She normally stays in the deepest level of her nest, protected by swarms of her loyal soldiers. If confronted directly, she can spray a torrent of acid. Should she ever emerge above ground, she can also fly. Since underground tunnels are normally pitch black (in EDF 4.1, that is), don't expect to see much more of her than a quick silhouette and an onrush of toxic death.

Giant Spider King

A late arrival to the war. Nicknamed "the King" for being the giant spider equivalent of the giant insect Queen. Capable of spraying out multiple threads at the same time.

The Ravagers

Flying Drones

An unmanned aerial vehicle, codenamed "Gunship," designed for search and destroy. Each one of these drones is programmed to hunt down and terminate any and all humans. For that reason, every single one of these drones must be eradicated.

Red Drone

This high-performance flying drone first appeared during the war of 2017. Its codename is simply "Red." Compared to regular silver drones, it flies faster and takes more punishment, and its presence was known to terrify EDF soldiers in the previous war. This time around, it appears as though it's gone through considerable upgrades. Can the troops' morale withstand its assault?

Flying Vehicle

This vehicle, copies of which recently began emerging from the hexagonal flying craft known as "Earth Eaters," has yet to be given an official name. Fast and well-armed, its primary purpose seems to be air-to-ground attack.

Transport Ship

These flying craft, also called Carriers, have no weapons of their own, other than their thick armor. However, each one hosts a seemingly infinite supply of giant insects, and they deploy swarms of them wherever they go.

Hector

In the previous war, the Hectors served as the Ravagers' main foot soldiers, giant humanoid robots with massive firepower. With their earth-shaking footsteps and terrible weapons, they soon became one of humanity's most terrible foes. The Ravagers seem to be using the same basic model of Hector this time around, but a few variants have been spotted, equipped with various types of weapons, such as Particle Gatling Guns, Spark Launchers, or Plasma Cannons. The Plasma Cannon variant is especially dangerous.

Electromagnetic Hector

In addition to the variants on the basic Hector model, the Ravagers have deployed multiple copies of the Electromagnetic Hector, aka the "Enhanced Hector." Apparently new to the Ravager arsenal, this model not only includes tougher armor and more powerful weapons, but an electromagnetic barrier, which makes it very difficult to destroy. Its weapons have been known to include Solid Particle Gatling Guns, Power Launchers, and/or Particle Stream Cannons. The light of its barrier makes it easy to distinguish from the base model.

Shield Hector

An upgraded model of the Electromagnetic Hector, it carries a small portable shield generator. While the shield blocks attacks from only one direction at a time, it blocks them completely, and is effectively impenetrable. Otherwise, the Shield Hector equips the same offensive weapons as the Electromagnetic Hector does.

Shield Bearer

The Ravagers' new mobile shield generator, this machine parks itself near other Ravagers, then generates a dome-shaped shield screen capable of stopping any enemy fire. It moves slowly, and carries no offensive weapons of its own, but its presence can change the outcome of an entire battle.

Deroy

A new war machine deployed by the Ravagers' Earth Eater craft. Unmanned and armed to the teeth, it can climb over any type of terrain with its three long legs. Its multitude of weapons – a plasma cannon for long range, lasers for mid-range, and piercing, spear-like legs for close quarters – make it a terrible foe.

Quadruped Moving Fortress

A four-legged craft, 200 meters high at the shoulder, with a 100-meter plasma cannon on its back. The cannon can blast an entire city to dust with one shot from several kilometers away, while the armor, augmented by shield screens to the front and back, makes the fortress virtually indestructible. For close combat, it carries weapons all across its body, including a Gatling gun, and can deploy giant insects, flying drones and Hectors from a hatch in its belly.

Large Transport Ship

Oversized versions of the Ravagers' standard transports, these craft carry larger numbers of larger creatures. Able to teleport from one point to another, these craft can appear anywhere in the sky at a moment's notice, then immediately flood the area with their deadly cargo. Just one such ship can turn the tide of the largest battle.

Battleship Argo

Second only to the Ravager motherships in terms of size, their Argo-class battleship dwarfs even the 200-meter Quadruped. Bristling with weapons and covered in heavy armor, it's a wonder the craft can stay in the air.

According to EDF intel, the Argo can change from a flying form, which focuses on aerial bombardment, to a "combat form" that focuses on ground assault. What its combat form looks like, or what weapons it might use in that form, remain unknown at this time.

Mothership

The Ravagers' largest craft. Covered in hundreds of guns and virtually indestructible, it carries a seemingly limitless supply of enemy troops, ranging from small drones to Quadruped Fortresses. Its centerpiece is the Genocide Cannon, which can destroy an entire city with one shot.

Humanity won the war of 2017 by shooting down the only mothership the Ravagers had. This time, the EDF has confirmed no less than ten motherships, all of them hiding behind the moon and waiting for the right moment to strike. Since the end of the war, the EDF has done all it can to prepare for another Ravager attack, but against a force ten times as strong as before, humanity's chances look grim indeed.

Mysterious Monster Erginus

A strange creature that emerged from the depths of the sea. Its origins are unknown. The most common theory is that the Ravagers brought it to Earth, but since certain elements of its biology resemble Earth creatures, others theorize that it was already here. Its tremendous constitution has left military experts wondering if it might be effectively immortal – the EDF has hit it with everything from railguns to airstrikes, and it's kept on walking without a scratch.

The Erginus Menace

Erginus' sudden, alarming appearance has left little time for study, but here are the EDF researchers' preliminary findings:

Huge Limbs / Sharp Claws: Despite its size, Erginus moves quickly. Its limbs are strong, agile and well-coordinated, and its arms end in sharp, powerful claws. Erginus first made its presence known by tearing apart an entire building with a single blow. Infantry troops stand no chance against its crushing footsteps, and even several Wing Divers have fallen victim to its rapid swings, as it swats them away like mosquitoes.

Deadly Tail: Erginus can also use its thick tail as a weapon. The EDF's infantry learned that the hard way, and the force of its tail swing is such that even a Walking Fortress Balam might have trouble standing up to it.

Massive Bulk: When faced with an enemy of equal size or greater height, Erginus can swing its neck about, goring its foes with its sharp horns. It can also simply tackle enemies, bearing down on them with all its weight and demolishing anything nearby. Even the 50-meter Balams are vulnerable to this maneuver, and Wing Divers and aircraft are more than vulnerable.

Death Ray: The obvious tactic when fighting such a creature would be to fire on it from a distance, but even that has proven risky. Witnesses have seen Erginus' body light up with a yellow glow, then emit some kind of lightning bolt. No one knows how it charges or releases this energy, but one thing is certain: If you see its body glow, death is coming.

Depth Crawler

A walking tank developed for underground battle. Since it has four hook-like limbs and moves in a crawling fashion, it performs well on rough roads and can even scale walls. Its hooks work in conjunction with its powerful joints to leap up and cling to walls or roofs.

Unlike most other vehicles, the Depth Crawler can be requested from underground locations, where its large headlights can provide essential support to teams infiltrating the giant insects' underground nests. As its name suggests, it was designed primarily for subterranean combat, but its versatility makes it a force to be reckoned with in other terrain types. It can chase giant insects up the sides of buildings, perform great leaps to avoid enemy attacks, and climb up to attack from above.

Wheeled Vehicles

SDL1

A military bike. One person can ride in the driver's seat and another in the sidecar. Can be requested twice in a row and can even be delivered to underground locations, where its lights can illuminate the pitch darkness. The sidecar (and only the sidecar) is equipped with a machine gun, allowing for a wide range of frontal fire. Its destructive power is high and its agility sprightly.

This is an older model compared to the SDL2, officially adopted eight years ago, but it remains reliable to this day, and it enjoys a few new upgrades. (The air injection-type SDL2 has numerous issues, including low durability, making this modified SDL1 slightly superior in some respects and leading to its re-deployment.)

Caravan Armored Vehicle

A support vehicle used for troop recovery. Protected by thick armor to facilitate battlefield use. In addition to its pilot's seat, it has room for up to three patients in the back, and its automated recovery system can restore their armor while they stay there. Note that the vehicle's medicinal supplies are not unlimited. Once they run out, as displayed onscreen, the vehicle will no longer be able to heal patients.

Armored Vehicle "Grape"

An armored land cruiser. Aside from the pilot's seat, there are rear compartments for up to three other troops. While the vehicle's main role is as a troop carrier, it also has a turret on top, giving it some measure of combat ability. The shells discharged from the turret will explode on impact, causing area-of-effect damage. Its speed is also quite fast, giving it a variety of potential uses.

Naegling Self-Propelled Rocket Launcher

A vehicle with a Homing Rocket Cannon installed. When a target is within the weapon's sight, its system will establish a positive lock – or several at once, if there are multiple targets in range. Press the attack button to discharge. This vehicle's guided rocket stockpile is one of the trump cards that the EDF developed after many battles with the Ravagers. It boasts overwhelming power in combat against giant insects and flying drones alike.

Tanks

E551 Gigantus

The core combat vehicle of the EDF. Its main cannon is a 105mm Howitzer. It has been developed for battle against giant insects, with an emphasis on attack range over penetration force. Its shells detonate on impact, causing damage over a wide area. Starting with the Gigantus D series, which reinforces its armor and primary weapon, there are many varieties. The Gigantus J series, for example, is an upgraded version of the Gigantus D with improved mobility.

Epsilon Armored Railgun

This vehicle carries a state-of-the-art electromagnetic railgun with accelerated shells and rapid-fire support. The shells can penetrate almost any object, and the railgun itself is equipped with a laser sight to ensure pinpoint accuracy. Powerful as it is, the railgun lacks the blast area of other cannons, which can make it somewhat difficult to use in combat against large swarms of giant insects. To make up for this shortcoming, it's been fitted with two machine guns on its rotating turret, which can be manned from either of the two gunner seats. In Multiplayer Mode, other players can use these machine guns to cover the intervals between the main cannon's shots, engaging with enemies in close combat. (Up to three players can mount this vehicle online.)

E651 Titan

Boasting the greatest firepower in the entire EDF, the Titan is a 25-meter mobile fortress developed for land combat against the giant insects. Its main weapon is a battleship-class cannon, the state-of-the-art Requiem Gun, with two smaller rotating turrets and a heavy coat of armor providing support. The trade-off, however, is that all of these features add to its weight, making it a bit sluggish. The Requiem Gun was originally built for the navy, but was later converted for land combat after reducing the size of its barrel. The conversion reduced the cannon's muzzle velocity, so landing a hit on a moving target does require a measure of skill.

The Titan's two smaller cannons, both Howitzers, are located on top of the main cannon. The main cannons and sub-cannons all rotate, and due to the location of the sub-cannons, rotating the main cannon will rotate them as well. As an added bonus, the Titan also includes grenade launchers built into its port and starboard bulkheads. Only Rangers and Air Raiders can pilot this vehicle, though anyone can ride in the gunners' seats. (Up to three players can mount this vehicle online.)

Air Armament

EF24 Bazelart

The main attack helicopter of the EDF, still in use despite being eight years old. Fortunately, it's been enhanced significantly since then: it now comes equipped with fixed machine guns on the right and left, as well as good old-fashioned missiles. When a target is within its sights (represented by a red square), the Bazelart's tracking system will lock on automatically.

EF31 Nereid

Since the Bazelart performed poorly against giant insects in the war of 2017, the EDF commissioned a new helicopter specializing in air-to-ground combat. Six years later, the Nereid was born. Its Auto-Acquisition Autocannon can detect enemies within the angle of fire and automatically establish target locks on them. Its ground support capability is overwhelming, offering a reliable method of exterminating any hostile forces below. However, with its lower firing angle, it's suited to ground-based targets only; it can't handle airborne foes. It does come equipped with a discharge-type Rocket Cannon, giving it an overall combat potential far in excess of the Bazelart's.

HU04 Brute

A large attack helicopter equipped with high-caliber machine guns -- basically a flying fortress. Its armaments include Dauntless Heavy Guns on the left and right, which fire armor-piercing ammunition that can one-shot any number of foes. There are gunners' seats located on the left and right as well, to operate this weaponry. The one disadvantage is that additional gunners are absolutely required to operate these weapons -- a pilot alone will have no ability to use them. Only Rangers and Air Raiders can pilot this vehicle, though anyone can ride in the gunners' seats.

Humanoid Battle Machines

BM03 Vegalta

This successor to the BM02 Vegalta, which was used in the 2017 war, is the latest elite humanoid battle machine -- further enhanced, lighter in weight, and with improved operational performance. The Revolver Cannon on the right arm boasts a superb firing rate, and the Rocket Cannon on its left arm complements it perfectly. Its wide variety of equipped weaponry makes it suitable for any number of uses. After jumping, pressing the Jump button again will activate the jet thrusters, allowing for short periods of flight. The BM03's design is also modular, and several variations already exist.

BM03 Vegalta Fire Warrior

A BM03 Vegalta customized for close-range combat. Most notable among its customizations are improved legs, increasing the unit's jump power and allowing for speed jumps. Also has Combat Burners (flamethrowers) and Canister Shots installed on both arms. Because of the dispersal nature of these weapons, it can attack a wide area, and it can also penetrate objects to eliminate multiple threats at once.

BMX10 Proteus

A giant humanoid battle machine with overwhelmingly strong weapons. One of the EDF's trump cards. Only Rangers and Air Raiders can pilot this vehicle, though anyone can ride in the gunners' seats.

Since it's huge and heavy, it cannot move fast, but it makes up for its limited mobility with intense firepower. It also boasts plate armor across its entire body, giving it defensive capabilities greater than even that of most tanks, and it can carry large stores of ammo to boot. The downside is that it requires a full crew of four to reach its full potential; one crew member pilots, while the other three act as gunners.

Walking Fortress Balam

A Walking Fortress Balam is a smaller variety of Moving Fortress. The word "smaller" is used loosely, however, as this fortress stands over 50 meters tall. Its humanoid shape gives it the mobility and versatility to fight on virtually any battlefield. Though originally intended for a certain operation against the giant insects, its initial design hit a few snags, and its part in that operation was cancelled. The fortress sat gathering mothballs for quite some time, but when the monster Erginus attacked, EDF headquarters un-cancelled its development as a last resort. Having had only basic maintenance since then, it's not exactly ready, but giant monsters wait for no one, and so off it goes…

Walking Fortress Balam A-Type: The standard Balam

With Erginus on a seemingly unstoppable rampage, HQ decided to deploy Balam A-Type, rushing it out of the hangar so quickly that there wasn't even time to install any proper weapons. Its joints and pistons allow it to punch and stomp, but that's it.

Being 50 meters tall, Balam takes full advantage of Newton's second law of motion: Force equals mass times acceleration. It can easily crush the Ravagers' walking Hector machines, and can swat down flying drones with one blow. Balam is the only human-made weapon that stands a chance of harming Erginus.

Multiplayer

Unlimited Strategies

Of all the Earth Defense Force titles, EDF 4.1 has the most offline missions. Not only can all missions be played in online Co-op mode with up to 3 other players, but several missions are exclusively available online. Storm any battlefield alongside other EDF soldiers of varying classes and weapon loadouts. With a wealth of variety available to everyone, you and your comrades can come up with limitless strategies to tackle each and every challenge.

Communication with Your Allies

Communication is the key to a winning plan, especially on harder missions. Utilize the chat shortcut menu to register your favorite pre-set chat commands, out of the hundreds available, to communicate quickly and effectively.

No Man Gets Left Behind!

You can revive a fallen ally in multiplayer mode by getting close to them and pressing a certain button. Effectively, you give them half your health (referred to in-game as "armor") to get them back on their feet – assuming you're not already critically wounded yourself. As long as even one team member survives the battle, the whole team wins and reaps the rewards, so keep your allies up and active to bolster your chances of victory.

Only You Can Prevent Friendly Fire!

Any explosive weapon can catch other players in the blast. Weapons with projectiles that diffuse, like the Rapier, can hit friendlies as well. Especially in situations where players tend to bunch up, like at the start of a mission or in a narrow cave, it's important to be careful. Note also that as the difficulty rises, friendly fire becomes both more damaging and more likely to knock players down. (NORMAL mode, for example, reduces friendly fire damage by 75% and prevents friendlies from being knocked down.) If you're still getting used to Co-op mode, it might be good to start with one of the easier difficulties.

The Mark of Greatness

EDF 4.1 introduces a new feature to the series: You can place markers on buildings, surfaces, enemies, allies or vehicles, and all the players can see the markers and share them. This is a handy way to signal which enemy to shoot first, where to meet up or which ally to follow.

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