MONSTER MARCH

Continuing the trend of sprucing up late last-gen releases for a quick this-gen sale are Godzilla: The Game and Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair. Godzilla didn't get the best reviews and the rosters pretty slim but at least you get to match up Jet Jaguar with Hedorah. Chronic underachiever SpaceGodzilla and a three-way battle royale mode are your PS4 exclusive features. Is it too much to expect every single version of Godzilla and a comprehensive custom kaiju maker?

EDF adds palette swapped ants and a towering boxer mech you can use to punch the alien invaders into oblivion. These may sound like slim additions but EDF is already rolling with enough content to make you feel like you've got a second job. Of the two I'd say Sandlot's game was the safest bet for a monster fix. Both titles struggled to maintain a decent frame rate on PS3 so hopefully that was top of both developer's to-do lists. If you've got the best part of ¥7000 going spare, EDF is already up on the Japanese PSN store.

WING DIVER

Earth Defense Force 4 has been out for nearly a week in Japan, so naturally YouTube is full of gameplay clips. Here's GameEmpireHD putting the airborne Wing Diver class to work. Aside from the frame rate chugging enemy count, it's heartening to see the series return to short, hectic levels. Vicious Cycle Software's side-story Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon experimented with longer stages and cover-shooter objectives, ending up with a dilute game with little of its predecessor's charm. Sandlot's true sequel is, thankfully, back to basics. EDF4 is due everywhere else in early February, retitled Earth Defense Force 2025.

STORM ONE 2025

After a string of portable games and a disappointing this-gen spin-off, Sandlot and D3 have finally announced a true sequel to Earth Defense Force 2017. Hooray! Earth Defense Force 4 takes place eight years after Storm One single-handedly saved the Earth from the threat of the Ravagers. For this sequel looks like he's drafted in the PaleWing jet-pack pilot (last seen in the second PlayStation 2 instalment) to help him muscle around collapsing cities blasting gigantic insects and their robotic pals.