D3Publisher of America, a recently established subsidiary of Japan's D3Publisher, announced last week that it is bringing the over the top alien/mech/Godzilla-invasion-based Earth Defense Force series to North America for the first time. Over here we'll be seeing Earth Defense Force 3 for the Xbox 360, under the name Earth Defense Force X. At a recent D3 event, I got the chance to go hands on with the game and see what we can expect when it launches next March.

One of the best features of the game is that practically every building and environmental features that isn't a mountain or some other fundamental component of the earth itself can be destroyed. In some levels, such as those that take place in deserts, this is less of a factor, but in confined cityscapes it is one of the most entertaining aspects of the game. Missions, which are themed around monster type and include straightforward goals such as protecting civilians, taking down bosses, or simply killing everything, seem to rarely provide much reason not to lay waste to the city yourself despite ostensibly trying to save it. To help you out there, some levels have vehicles that can be dirven or piloted, such as a hoverbike, a tank, a slow but incredibly well-armored mech, and a missile laden helicopter. One particularly hilarious moment occurred after lifting off straight up in a helicopter and cresting the skyline to see an enormous spider and a Godzilla-like lizard monster helping each other to lay waste to a group of skyscrapers.