As for the sound, just be thankful for custom soundtracks. Every moment of the game features some audio annoyance that makes play a tad less enjoyable. Navigating the main menu, you are forced to listen to an inane narrator tell you how to save your game and equip weapons. During missions, your fellow soldiers shout into their headsets stupid little phrases like, “Let’s go grab a bite to eat quickly.” Sure, let me take a break from saving the planet to have lunch with you. The music isn’t too bad—if you can hear it. More often than not, the music gets drowned out by the sounds of weapons being fired and aliens dying.

In the end, be careful where you set your expectations. Having hopes of a grandiose, multifaceted sci-fi adventure will leave you extremely disappointed in Earth Defense Force 2017. If you embrace its narrowly-focused action gameplay you’ll have a blast saving the planet one dead alien at a time. Earth Defense Force 2017 is far from perfect, but it definitely earns credit for blowing up sh*t well.