Best in the series...
First off, the game play is what I was hoping it to be, over the top bug killing action. The game sometimes throws overwhelming hordes of enemies at you that will make you glad there is a revive system. There are many new additions to the series, 4 playable armor classes; the light and nimble Jet, the heavy Battle armor, the turret laying Tactical armor, and the basic jack of all trades Trooper. All 4 classes are well balanced have different play styles. There is also a revive system so dieing doesn't mean game over and finally an active reload system which makes slow reloading weapons all the more useful. There are two less vehicles in the game than 2017 but they are easier to control and make you feel more powerful. Also the tank has two turret positions which makes it a unstoppable fortress on treads. There are also Turrets that players can enter in addition to the vehicles. There are also a couple of rail shooter sequences which diversify game play. All of this in addition to 300+ weapons is absolutely fantastic.
The enemies in Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon are amazingly diverse. The Ants, Spiders, and Gunships return from 2017 along with some new additions to the series such as Wasps. A lot of enemies from the first game were dramatically redesigned such as the Hector and Carriers and some of the new boss types such as the Daddy Long Legs and the Preying Mantis are an absolute blast to fight.
The sound in the game is remarkably better than 2017. The Hectors and the Daddy Long Legs sound like something out of "War of the Worlds" while the ants and spiders make many growling noises. The weapons all have different sounds too from the heavy banging sounds of the Battle armors heavy machine guns to the laser sounds of the Jet armors weapons. The voice acting is noticeably cheesy and some characters such as Sully and Intel are memorable and will make you laugh out loud. Also the random comments that soldiers make also add to it and Steve Blum's voice acting for Lightning Alpha absolutely fits the game.
The game is well rounded out with some great online coop and survival game play while the staple of the series, Split-screen coop has returned. Also included is a level remix mode that changes the enemy placement and types on campaign missions which further adds to the re playability. The armors take a while to upgrade and there are tons of weapons to unlock including random drops from enemies so you'll find yourself playing over and over to unlock everything.
A few bad things about the game is that Survival Mode is limiting on Weapon selection and you are limited to the Trooper armor. Also some slowdown when the action gets really crazy.
Overall Earth Defense Force Insect Armageddon is a worthy sequel to Earth Defense Force 2017. It has the right amount of action, cheese, and weapons.