Thanks to German gaming news site GameFront, we got hold of a new list of release dates for PAL titles. The list has quite a few PSP titles in it, along with one each for the Nintendo DS and Microsoft's Xbox 360. No PS3 titles, though.

A couple of notable titles are The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome and Earth Defence Force 2017. Puzzle fans also get their own dose of gaming goodness courtesy of the PSP titles Cube and PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient. Check the list below for the titles and dates.

May 25

• Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (DS)

June 1

• The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome (PSP, PS2)

June 8

• Earth Defence Force 2017 (Xbox 360)
• PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient (PSP)
• SBK-07 Superbike World Championship (PSP)

June 29

• Cube (PSP)

The wait is finally over! D3Publisher of America (D3PA) just announced that Earth Defense Force 2017 is finally available all across North America for a retail price of US$ 39.95. We know you're quite familiar with the video game, but in case some of you are a bit baffled, this is the same game developed by Sandlot Games and known as Earth Defense Force X and Earth Defense Force 3.

Anyway, the game has a lot of exciting features that will give players a new reason to use their console, be it a black and HDMI-enabled one or otherwise, all night long. Just so you know what are we talking about, we listed down a few of the video game's features worth mentioning:

• Hard-hitting, arcade-style, third-person shooter
• Ranging from giant ants and spiders to robots and bio-engineered monsters
• Hundreds of enemies on screen at once
• A wholly destructible environment
• 53 levels
• More than 150 weapons in the arsenal

D3PA Vice President of Marketing Alison Quirion was quite excited with the game as well.

This wildly popular title has done exceedingly well in Japan, and devotees of the Earth Defense Force series have been clamoring for a North American release. We are only too happy to deliver the exhilarating insect armies, alien attackers and wide-ranging defensive power to both loyal EDF series fans and new recruits.

See? Told you it was B-movie-ish. In this launch trailer for Earth Defense Force 2017, you'll see why. Just check out the captions that flash across the screen. Plus the inclusion of what looks like a distant cousin of Godzilla. Ooh, giggles. That doesn't mean this game looks sucky though. B-Movie as it might appeal to me as, think Shadow of the Colossus meets Lost Planet. Yeah, you'll be shooting at those aliens that are around a hundred times bigger (to say the least) than your puny skeletal frame. You can catch those colossal ETs in the trailer below. Time for a big bonfire; anyone bring the s'mores?

Something about these Earth Defense Force 3 screens remind me of the usual post-apocalyptic scenarios in animes such as "Evangelion". Big urban city, hi-tech military weapon units, and hulking giant robots sieging the area. That big black ball, most especially. It looks just as ominous as some meta-diabolical organic being of some such that's set to invade Earth with heat-seeking death-rays.

It doesn't look as B-movie any more than "The Day the Earth Stood Still" did, but hey!, that doesn't mean it isn't just as fun. Check out the rest of the screens:

 

Can't get enough of giant insects and alien ships? Well, here's another dose of alien shooting fun.

Earth Defense Force 2017 features giant alien insects that would make Godzilla pee his pants (her metaphorical pants) and ginormous alien robots bigger than Voltron. Remember those big alien machines in War of the Worlds? Imagine them in hordes. So how do you beat them? Get some friends and strap on your rocket launcher because you'll be in for a fight.

Earth Defense Force 2017 will be hitting the shelves this March. We'll quit babbling so you can finally watch the videos.

Download: [Earth Defense Force 2017: Insects]
Download: [Earth Defense Force 2017: Machines]

Earth Defense Force 2017 is slated to ship this March 2007 to the U.S. for the XBox 360, so Erik Brudvig of IGN features an inside look into the enemies you'll have to face as a soldier of the Earth Defense Force, courtesy of D3 Publisher of America. Unfortunately, this Japanese-developed game wasn't very creative with the enemies' names. The collective name for the enemy in the game is "The Ravagers" (long, disturbing silence). It would probably explain the game's rather similarly lackluster title, though it was changed from Earth Defense Force 3 for the U. S. version. But you'd have to admit, it is pretty straightforward.

The enemies vary in nature and type. There are insects, robots and ships. They aren't like anything we've never seen before in movies - or in real life for that matter.

Click on the Full Article link to read more about the enemies and their appearances.

Hordes of giant alien ants are coming your way, and the only thing that separates you and total annihilation is your trusty rocket launcher. Sound like fun? Well, get ready to be trigger happy, as there doesn't seem to be any shortage in the "ginormous alien" department.

Sandlot's Earth Defense Force 2017 (also known as Earth Defence Force 3) would probably sate anybody's alien bloodlust. This FPS will have players going against giant mechs, alien insects of King Kong proportions, and spaceships the size of Texas.

Earth Defense Force 2017 will be gracing the shelves in March, so here's some screenshots to tide us over until then.

More screenshots right after the Jump!

Having aliens invade Earth is one B-movie plot that's been used a hundred times too many. But that doesn't necessarily mean we get sick of it. And even if we do get tired of the B-movies, watching a science-fiction, double feature is very much different from actually getting to play one. So, with an upcoming title from Sandlot Games for the 360 that has you defending the Earth against hordes of alien mechs the size of King Kong, then by all means get your bazookas ready.

Earth Defense Force 3 will put you in a frantic FPS mission of battling bugs, alien spaceships, and over-sized robots with nothing but yourself and a trusty rocket launcher. Feeling puny? Oh, you haven't seen puny yet. That's why we've got two vids here to make you feel like the puniest you've ever been. Check out the science-fiction, double feature Ship Blasting and Mech Defense Gameplay vids below!

Reload your blaster; the other video is behind the "Full Article" link!

Earth Defense Force, by Japanese developer Sandlot, is finally coming to North American shores via D3Publisher. The third installment to the series of insane alien invasions will now also be going around the gaming circles under the name Earth Defense Force 2017 (EDF 2017), which is pretty much an improvement from an otherwise bland yet equally effective name, EDF3.  This title is set for release around March of 2007, and features a co-op mode, though it is still unsure if multiplayer gameplay over Xbox Live will be available. EDF 2017 will also feature 150 weapon varieties, and over 50 stages of alien-shooting fun.

According to D3Publisher's VP of Marketing, Allison Quirion, "Sandlot has created an explosively fun game in EDF 2017, and we look forward to astounding gamers with the sheer scope and size of the game's colossal enemies and expansive environments."

Did I hear her say "colossal"? As in gigantinormous aliens? Then we'd take that as a license to kill.

Have you ever left your candy bar on a park bench too long, and come back to find it covered in ants? For most of us, what follows is the nostalgic childhood memories of squashing these vermin into oblivion, accompanied by wild, maniacal laughter...(Mwahahahaha! Die bugs, die! *Ahem*). But then here's a psychobabble question: What must it be like to be on the opposite end of the squashing?

To give you a better idea of what it's like to run and panic like insignificant bugs, we'll be featuring two gameplay vids of the Earth Defense Force X game that'll be invading your Xbox 360 in the near future. The first vid is about giant ants, and just how to squash them...when they're the size of a Mac truck.

The second video should also be familiar to old monster movie fans out there - it's your typical alien invasion, with the usual accompaniment of hostile starships out to conquer our planet. The good news: there's plenty of them to go around. The bad news: Not one of 'em speaks Klingon. For the guys who were expecting more action than in the previous video, enjoy.

The other video awaits after the jump!