Game review: Defiance

An MMO game on a console? “No way!” I hear you cry, yet its true folks with the release of Defiance created by Trion Worlds, an online MMO that is strangely addictive, and yes it’s another TV/Game tie in.

I am surprised that no one has actually come up with an MMO for consoles before and I can appreciate the amount of technical shenanigans required to create such a complex game. There are plenty of multiplayer on-line games available but for the first time we have a proper MMO on consoles.

Defiance is a result of a co-op between The SYFY channel and Trion worlds resulting in what they call a “transmedia event where the game and the show are linked meaning events in the show or online directly influence each other. Not sure how that works but an interesting concept.

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The story is: it’s 2046, the Earth is a madmax apocalyptic wilderness thanks to the arrival of a variety of alien races and it’s the human’s job to sort it all out. The game is set in the San Francisco bay area and is a large open world which you are free to roam at will.

Getting around is easy with a variety of vehicles you can purchase (you start out with a quad bike) and I loved this element as running around a vast open world can be boring yet with the vehicles you can race around leaping off cliffs (reminds me of Mad Riders) and running over bad guys.

Defiance is a third person shooter and looks like a console game with simple controls and a system called EGO (Environmental Guardian Online). This is an alien implant that gives you a HUD and as you progress increases your abilities.

On starting the game you have the opportunity to customise your character. You start as an Ark Hunter and as you progress you can buy or pick up various items to make your character unique.

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Gameplay is pretty good overall and you can roam around kicking butts on your own or team up with other players to form raiding parties etc. This is where it can get a little complex because as you approach a big battle there are so many players fighting the whole system starts to glitch like mad which is understandable and I think this game will work better when the next generation of consoles are introduced.

There are plenty of great weapons to be bought or picked up with many attachments as well and with the added bonus of being able to sell your weapons or trade them with other players really brings this game together.

The AI is nice and there are plenty of tough opponents to take on, especially the Hellbugs which are big spider-like critters that don`t give in easy.

Raiders, mutants and scrappers make up the rest of the bad guys and they are everywhere.

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There are plenty of side missions posted around the game, including time trials and other interesting challenges which result in gaining more cash (scrip) for upgrades, weapons and vehicles.

Summary

Defiance is a mixture of Mad Max and Starship troopers and is highly addictive, OK it’s not brilliant but it certainly has the potential in time and because it is the first of its kind I can only see this game getting better once all the initial bugs and glitches are sorted.

When I played it the game it had only been launched a few days yet there are a large amount of players online.

Defiance does break the mould and it’s great to see companies pushing the boundaries although it’s not the best MMO game out there it certainly has lots of potential.

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Defiance is one of those games that should get better as it grows and is the first of its kind, best played with a few friends and there is no shortage of things to do so you won`t be wandering around for ages looking for things.

I personally like this game and although it has a few problems I can see this becoming a big title providing new content is added and interest is kept up.

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