When comparing Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair vs Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine, the Slant community recommends Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine for most people. In the question“What are the best local co-op PC games?” Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine is ranked 31st while Earth Defense Force 4.1: The Shadow of New Despair is ranked 59th. The most important reason people chose Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine is:
Monaco implements a line-of-sight system that many top-down games forgo. By taking advantage of this, the player does not know what awaits around the corner, which helps keep the tension and excitement levels of the game high.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Fun theme that does not take itself too serious
Much like a B movie, the game is themed as a low quality experience with dated looking graphics and a convoluted/outrageous story. The premise being, you are one of four playable characters whose job it is to destroy the onslaught of invading alien giant insects. There is little beyond this to be fleshed out, it is more aimed at being mindless fun. Luckily the little bit of story and dialogue you do get in the game often is a bit tongue in cheek, as it the game is often self aware of its role to play.
Pro Endearing pure action gameplay
The premise of the game is to constantly be blasting giant alien insects in a slightly open world environment. Each level starts in a large sandboxed open world arena where alien insects will swarm the area. It is up to the player and the character they choose to use (of which there are four choices, each with their own skills/powers) on how killing these creatures will be carried out. Some of the available weapons for the different characters will be things like hand grenades, rocket launchers and automatic rifles. These weapons will be used in order to kill as many of the alien creatures that you can. Somewhat of a mindless style of play, blasting away anything that moves, but is appealing in its design due to the destruction that can be carried out. Each stage allows for compete destruction of all of its structures, meaning if there are enemies behind a building, you can just destroy the building in order to get to them. Overall the gameplay is quite fun and quirky in its B movie theme and design that allows for a never ending flow of creatures and areas to blast your way through.
Pro Good co-op support
Players can play together locally and online in a cooperative manner, helping each other to defeat giant insect aliens that are attacking the city. The local co-op can be played on different devices (LAN) or even on the same device through split screen. The online multiplayer allows for easy access to friends and random people in order to play together.
Pro Solid PC port
EDF is a pretty good port for PC (originally a PS2 game ported to PS4) with a constant 60fps during gameplay (no matter how many giant insects are on screen) as well as good keyboard and mouse controls with a few PC centric settings to be found in the menus such as anti-aliasing (only on or off). This is all able to be done in full HD (1080p).
Pro Concealing line-of-sight system that keeps the player guessing what's next
Monaco implements a line-of-sight system that many top-down games forgo. By taking advantage of this, the player does not know what awaits around the corner, which helps keep the tension and excitement levels of the game high.
Pro Fun chaotic mix of early level cooperation that requires late game competition to win
Co-op mode often descends into chaotic fun as people try to work together to complete the objectives while still competing against one another to steal the most money and get the highest score. This creates a scenario where you will need to cooperate with your team of players, but still maintain enough wherewithal in order to steal more than anyone else, while they are doing the same. It is definitely a mix of gameplay that is at odds with itself, which can create some pretty fun scenarios where you can stab your teammates in the back.
Pro Minimalistic art style that you would not think is able to capture the French Riviera setting, but does so perfectly
The minimalist art style is strikingly beautiful. The glowing French Rivera is represented in vibrant pixels that evoke a feeling of the lights and energy one would expect of such a location.
Pro Refreshing co-op that actually requires everyone to work together, no single person can carry the group
Unlike many games where the strongest players can carry the group along, Monaco requires the participation of every player in order to succeed – giving everyone a chance to feel like the hero.
Pro The dynamic soundtrack morphs to fit each scenario of the game perfectly
The soundtrack by Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory is a jazz-themed composition that adapts to the situation you’re in – remaining subtle while you’re unnoticed and kicking into high gear when you’re wreaking havoc.
Pro No need for third party VoIP clients, it is built in
A built-in VoIP system lets you speak to your teammates in real time. This is a great feature for a game that requires such excellent teamwork and that relies on the social aspect for so much of the fun.
Cons
Con Not a ton of polish
While a mainstay of the series (and some would argue the whole point of its design), the polish of the game is a bit rough. Voiced AI is constantly repeated and poorly delivered. There is little story to be found and the graphics, while playing at a constant 60fps in full HD, leave a lot to be desired.
Con May not appeal to everyone
The gameplay can get a bit repetitive and the lack of polish may be a turn off. While there is a good bit of content, many may not want to spend the time with a game they consider cheap looking that has little incentive to play other than mindlessly blasting away giant insect aliens.
Con Art style can lead to confusion
In a frantic game like Monaco, the distinction between a door and a light switch can be a life-or-death mistake. The minimalist design can be very pretty, but may also be very irritating in situations where time is short.
Con Requires all players to be good enough
Monaco is not a very good game for adults and children to play together. It can be frustrating when the players' skill levels are too mismatched.
Con Some balancing issues
Some sections feature overpowered enemies that feel more like a cheap trick than a challenge. These parts are few, but they are particularly frustrating.