Earth Defense Force, known in Japan as , is a series of third-person shooter video games. The series is published by the Japanese company D3 Publisher as part of the Simple series. Story In 2013, radio waves from deep space are picked up by scientists, proving the existence of extraterrestrial life. The Earth Defense Force, a unified multinational military, is founded a few years later, in case the aliens prove to be hostile. In each of the games the player assumes the role of an EDF soldier during an alien invasion. Games Main series Monster Attack (2003) The first game in the series was originally released in Japan as Simple 2000 series Vol. 31: The 地球防衛軍 for the PlayStation 2. Chikyū Bōeigun or Earth Defense Force was created by Sandlot as part of D3 Publisher's Simple series of budget-priced games on a compact disk. It was later distributed in PAL format on CD in Europe by Agetec, Inc. under the title Monster Attack. Global Defence Force (2005) Chikyū Bōeigun 2 is the second game in the series, released for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in Europe as Global Defence Force but was not released in North America. A PlayStation Portable version of the game, titled Earth Defense Forces 2 Portable was released on April 7, 2011, in Japan. A remake for the PlayStation Vita, entitled Earth Defense Force 2: Invaders from Planet Space (or Earth Defense Forces 2 Portable V2 in Japan), was released on December 11, 2014, in Japan, with a North American port released on December 8, 2015. Earth Defense Force 2017 (2006) Earth Defense Force 2017, known in Japan as Chikyū Bōeigun 3 is the third game in the series, released for the Xbox 360. It was the first game in the series to be released in North America. A PlayStation Vita version of Earth Defense Force 3 was announced on June 5, 2012, as Earth Defense Forces 3 Portable. The new version includes both local and online co-operative play, as well as the return of Palewing from Earth Defense Force 2. The game was released on September 27, 2012, in Japan. A port of the game is planned to be released for the Nintendo Switch in Japan on October 14, 2021. Earth Defense Force 2025 (2013) Earth Defense Force 2025, known in Japan as Chikyū Bōeigun 4, was released for the Xbox 360 and