It’s a well-known fact that Japan has a disproportionately large number of completely loopy game developers. That’s not to say that we Westerners haven’t got a few nutcases working in our branch of the industry but when you see the likes of Earth Defence Force 2017 it’s pretty clear that nobody does mad games quite like our Far Eastern chums.

Perhaps the most perplexing thing about EDF 2017 is that it shouldn’t be as great as it is. Take the plot, for example – there isn’t one. You take control of an unnamed soldier in the titular Earth Defence Force and have to repel an invading alien army of (among other things) giant ants, huge killer spiders, towering robots and marauding spacecraft and… that’s about it.

And then there are the battles. Combat is completely one-sided, with your sole purpose being to run around shooting stuff. The enemy count is ridiculously high, yet the AI is lacklustre and there are some very iffy flaws, such as the ability to have enemy mother ships crash on top of you or get caught up in massive explosions with no ill effects to your character whatsoever.

But the simple truth of the matter is that once you start playing, you simply won’t care that you’re not reduced to a bloody splat when an alien spaceship lands on your noggin. Equally, you won’t care why you’re shooting giant ants and huge robots in the first place. This is because EDF is one of the most frantic and satisfying games we’ve played on the 360. While there’s no denying that it’s a brain-dead shooter with little real depth, the sheer rush of standing your ground against masses of enemies as the screen is filled with collapsing buildings and gigantic explosions is truly exhilarating.

Admittedly, it’s not the sort of game you’d expect to play day in, day out – although with a vast selection of missions and weapons to unlock, there’s plenty to go on – but for those moments when only a brain-dead shooter will do, you won’t get better than this.

Mark Podd