CLASSIFIED: Recently, Intel managed to intercept and partially decrypt a series of Ravager burst transmissions. The following brief has been pieced together from these fragments and accuracy is questionable.

The Ravagers are an insectoid race, originating in the distant [No Translation Available] system, far beyond currently detectable exosystems. Long capable of interstellar travel, they left their home planet, [No Translation Available] after resource depletion, atmospheric degradation, and increased solar activity began to render it uninhabitable and the majority of their kind were wiped out. This period is described as “the Great Culling”— a period when all weakness and mercy were purged from the Ravager race. (Apparently, the more militant factions in Ravager society helped in this “Culling”.) The survivors boarded enormous ships and left their dying planet. Probes were sent out in vast numbers to locate and analyze habitable planets. Extremely advanced genetic seeding techniques allowed the probes to deploy virally distributed Ravager genetic material to planet surfaces, where native lifeforms would begin a rapid process of mutation into Ravagers, wiping out competing lifeforms and ultimately becoming a part of the Ravager Hive Mind, a group intelligence spanning multiple galaxies.

As far as we can tell, Earth is one of a very few planets where the genetic seeding did not initially take root for some reason. It is considered a prime candidate for a new Ravager homeworld and has become the target of a sizable Ravager Attack—consisting of enhanced (and successful) genetic seeding efforts and the arrival of a sizable Ravager assault force.

Wolf Spider

CLASSIFICATION: Organic, Swarm

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Approximately 10 meters in diameter (including its legs), the Wolf Spider appears to be of terrestrial origin—an enlarged mutant variant of the common wolf spider. They appear to retain the strong hunting instincts and abilities of their smaller kin as well as keen eyesight and enhanced webbing delivery.

ARMAMENT:

• Webbing: Effective at range
• Bite: Effective in close quarters

BEHAVIOR: Sporting powerful jaws, a devastating jump attack, and the ability to fire movement-hindering webbing, the Wolf Spider is a formidable foe. It uses its ranged web attack to slow down its prey, and then rapidly closes in by either jumping or running. When in range, it delivers a punishing bite. Unlike common terrestrial spiders, these Ravager-enhanced Wolf Spiders are not solitary hunters—they tend to hunt in packs.

Tick

CLASSIFICATION: Organic, Small

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Ticks are the smallest of the Ravagers— about chest height to the average Trooper. They have a bulbous yellow and orange abdomen and resemble either a terrestrial tick or spider—although the fact that these creatures only have six legs seems to indicate that they are related to neither species. It is theorized that the caustic explosion produced by the Ticks is the result of some sort of internal chemical reaction.

ARMAMENT:

• Corrosive Acid Explosion: Effective in close quarters

BEHAVIOR: Ticks, whether spawned from a Bomber Spider or are what Intel is calling the “free range” variety, select a victim and pursue. Once they have gotten close to intended target, the Ticks jump toward that target and attempt to latch on to the target and explode in a burst of corrosive acid. Bomber-spawned Ticks seem “programmed” to explode after a fixed period of time. The free range variety seems to lack the timed fuse.

Bomber Spider

CLASSIFICATION: Organic, Large

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The Bomber Spider is an enormous arachnid and is the largest organic Ravager spider encountered to date. It features pronounced mandibles and a pulsating, pockmarked golden-orange abdomen, with rather stocky, spiny legs. With a diameter of approximately 20 meters (including its legs) and height approach 10 meters, it is an imposing presence on the battlefield. Despite its organic appearance, it should be considered a hardened target.

ARMAMENT:

• Mandibles: Effective in close quarters
• Targeted Tick Launch: Effective at range
• General Tick Spawn: Effective at close and medium range

BEHAVIOR: Although the Bomber Spider lacks the agility of the smaller Wolf Spider, it is capable of rendering a significant area quite dangerous. The Bomber continually spawns or launches Ticks, which seek out any and all targets in the area. The higher volume Tick spawns seem to be fairly short range in nature, but the Bomber also has the ability to launch smaller clusters of Ticks at a much greater range. The Bomber has a powerful bite attack and a tendency to charge at selected targets with surprising speed.

Daddy Long Legs

CLASSIFICATION: Ravager, Large

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: The Daddy Long Legs (or DLL) is structurally similar to the terrestrial arachnid it is named after. However, this Daddy Long Legs has a leg span of over 150 meters and a body the size of a house. It is entirely metallic, feature two main Ravager sensory “eyes” on the front of its body, and multiple smaller red sensors studding its legs. A large iris-like deployment hatch is located on the underside of the DLL.

ARMAMENT:

• Lasers: Effective at range
• Plasma Blasts Effective at range
• Swarm Enemy Deployment: Effective at range

BEHAVIOR:
The Daddy Long Legs might appear to move slowly, but its large stride allows it to cover ground fairly rapidly. The Daddy Long Legs sports numerous lasers and plasma blasters. The projectiles fired by the plasma blasters appear to have some degree of seeking capability. In addition, the DLL uses its hatchway to drop Swarm-class enemies onto the battlefield. It is capable of deploying small swarms while moving, but can release much larger groups when stationary.

Mantis

CLASSIFICATION: Ravager, Large

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: This is an enormous robotic insectoid creature bearing some similarities to certain terrestrial mantis species, but different enough to suggest exclusively extraterrestrial origin. The Mantis is approximately 25 meters tall, and features 6 legs and two small wing-like appendages (which may be vestigial in nature). The four rear legs are used for locomotion, while the two forelegs serve as scythe-like weapons. The Mantis is completely metallic and displays the glowing red “eye” element, which seems to be a standard Ravager sensory device or organ.

ARMAMENT:

• Front Limbs: Effective in close quarters
• Sonic Blasts: Effective close and ranged

BEHAVIOR: To date, there have been few reported encounters with the Mantis, and even fewer survivors. Intelligence has been scant, and the information herein should not be considered a definitive guide to the Mantis’ behavior. The Mantis has been observed jumping great distances, often onto the tops of tall buildings. It uses its front legs as close range weapons, sweeping and stabbing them at enemies. The Mantis also seems able to produce some sort of sonic blast wave. Some reports have reported a focused and directed wave; others have referred to a general area blast effect.

Wasp

CLASSIFICATION: Organic, Mid-sized

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Wasps appear to be originally terrestrial in origin. They are significantly larger than Black Ants, at approximately 12-15 meters long. They are fast and agile fliers, and this particular strain of wasp seems to be extremely aggressive. They are predominately orange and yellow with black markings on abdomen.

ARMAMENT:

• Stinger: Effective in close quarters
• Venom Spray: Effective at range
• Mandibles: Effective in close quarters

BEHAVIOR: As is the case with normal terrestrial wasps, these giant variants attack from the air. Their Aerial Venom Attack is usually delivered while hovering, and although they might fire several volleys of venom from the same position, they do not tend to remain stationary for long. Their attack pattern generally has them either repositioning laterally, swooping over their target’s head and repositioning, diving in for a slam with the stinger, or going for a Pin Attack. The Pin Attack is the most dangerous because the victim is held down on the ground and repeatedly mauled by the Wasp’s powerful mandibles.

Black Ant

CLASSIFICATION: Organic, Swarm

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Approximately 7 meters in length, the Black Ant appears to be a greatly enlarged variant of the common Black House Ant. Like its smaller cousins, the Black Ant is capable of delivering a vicious bite with its large mandibles. This variant also has the added ability of being able to spit large globs of venom over a fairly long distance.

ARMAMENTS:

• Mandibles: Effective in close quarters
• Venom Secretion Spit: Effective at range

BEHAVIOR: Often observed emerging from Ravager Anthills. However, they are highly efficient tunnelers and can emerge from the ground almost anywhere. Typically engage in swarming behavior and are rarely (if ever) seen alone. If you see one ant, be alert! There are more around.

Join the Earth Defense Force! Thousands of giant insects and aliens once again ravage the earth, and only the Earth Defense Force can stop them. Defend the city of New Detroit against an infestation bigger and meaner than ever before. Destroy these monsters at all costs, even if it means turning entire city blocks into rubble.

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon is the follow-up to the highly regarded Earth Defense Force 2017, and we’re bringing three-player co-op and six-player Survival Mode over PSN to this fight! The series comes to the PlayStation 3 for the first time on July 5th, 2011.

First, some history. The Earth Defense Force series originated in Japan and started out with two titles appearing on the PlayStation 2 known as The Earth Defense Force (2003) and The Earth Defense Force 2 (2005). America’s first dose did not come until 2007 when Earth Defense Force 2017; Prior to that, only a handful of savvy importers knew what the series was about; insane numbers of huge insect enemies, massive destruction, boatloads of crazy weapons, and non-stop arcade action.

As the fourth game in the series, Insect Armageddon stays true to its predecessors. The Ravagers, an insectoid race from the stars, has come to Earth to dominate it and extinguish all human life. You play as Lightning Alpha, the leader of Strike Force Lightning and a downright badass. This elite squad of the EDF is equipped with four upgradable armor types and over 300 unlockable weapons to help kick the Ravagers off of Earth.

If you’ve never played any of the EDF games, then you might not know that the series is all about trimming the fat and distilling gameplay down to the purest fun. This isn’t some dramatic space opera with a convoluted twisted RPG storyline and moral choices. You are dropped into a level and enemies (LOTS of enemies) come at you. Your only option is to shoot!

EDF has always been about destruction, too! Pretty much everything you shoot blows up in some fantastic way. Skyscrapers come down with a single rocket and the feeling of sheer power is undeniable … if not slightly ridiculous. In EDF Insect Armageddon, we’ve kicked it up another notch with way more stuff to blow up!

The last piece of the EDF equation is the arsenal. When creating the weapons, we strived to make them as fun and destructive as possible. We utilized different shot patterns, spreads, visual effects, sound effects, and rates of fire to give weapons feel significantly different from one another. Because weapons are such a heavy focus of the EDF franchise, we wanted to allow players to expand their arsenal if they felt that 300 weapons just weren’t enough. We’re bringing out two DLC packs that players can get if they pre-order the game from Best Buy or GameStop. Fifteen far-out new weapons are included in each pack.

The first pack is called “Death From Above” (available at Best Buy) and focuses mostly on new weapons for the Jet Armor (a nod to the character Pale Wing from EDF2). In the video, you’ll see some of the offerings like the Neptanzer QH Proto; somewhat of an electric flamethrower. There’s also the Wallagis 1776L which is a heat-seeking missile launcher that sends missiles on divergent trajectories, but has super high accuracy.

The second pack is called “Pounds of Pain” (available at GameStop) and brings a slew of new weapons to the EDF’s all-new Battle Armor! The video shows off the five-shot-spread rocket launcher known as the Grimhegern Splitzer B. For fans of the Trooper Armor, there’s the RLF-17 Floorboard Rocket Launcher which shoots a volley of warheads straight upwards before they come back down and decimate everything below.

If you’re hungering for more, we’ll be writing more blogs like this leading up to launch. If you just can’t wait any longer, go pre-order the game, then come by and get a sneak peak of the game at PAX East in Boston from March 11th – 13th. It’s going to be epic with a Survival Mode contest and giveaways. I hope to see you there!