Defiance - An ongoing review

So I'm going to do a review for Defiance. If you're not aware of this title, it's a third person shooter MMO which is being tied into a TV series of the same name being shown on SyFy in a couple of weeks. The idea is that the TV show and game will both have influences on each other and it's an interesting concept which if it works will be amazing.

But I've already hit a snag. First up a word of warning to people, this game requires a mandatory 5GB install to play. There is no way round that, secondly as fans of MMO's will know when you first get an MMO after release there are patches and these can take some time to download. With a 30 minute install period past already and a potential 30 minutes of patch to download, I am currently leaving this to be done overnight. This is not a game you can play as soon as you get it out of the box.

I will be maintaining this ongoing thread telling you of my adventures and feelings as I get prepared to review this. MMO's are not easy beasts to review so for those interested in the game keep checking this page as updates go up. I'll post the final review up at the end of the month if feasible at that time.

Well I finally got some time in the game now. There were issues with me being unable to connect to the servers for a little while but that is to be expected as Trion weedle out the bugs.

However having played it for some time now, I have to admit I'm enjoying it. The graphics are average, not terrible but not outstanding which isn't surprising due to it being an MMO. The areas are diverse and it doesn't seem too repetitive so far which is a good sign.
The combat is pretty simple with basic 3rd person shooter controls, it's not cover-based which makes a nice change but its pretty functionable and easy to use. I'm enjoying it a lot and with what seems like a little bit of lock-on help it's not too punishing.

There are four abilities you can choose from to help you - a temporary invisibility, a power-up on your damage, a speed-up which does extra melee damage and a Halo-esque holographic decoy. All quite useful but only one can be equipped at a time.

So far it's quite enjoyable and I'm looking forward to playing more of this too. This could well be a very addictive game as I'm seeing elements of Borderlands here and if it has the addictive qualities of WoW it could be a huge deal. Hopefully tomorrow I'll try out some of the co-op and PvP elements of the title.

roll on tuesday when my copy arrives!!!

I need a new addiction

I've wanted a good shooter MMO on xbox for ages, I like the idea and the concept behind this, looking forwad to reading the rest of your updates

Played the beta way to buggy to make a sound judgement. Like the idea, will see what you have to say over the next few weeks before deciding.

I did read reports about the beta but a lot of people have said the final game is much improved. I haven't come across any buggy bits apart from a little lag.

Put some decent amount of time into this yesterday and I've decided this game is like crack, you just can't stop playing. Gameplay style its very much like Borderlands but with so much more going on. There are leaderboard based shooting sections and races. There are random events which pop up on the landscape, as you drive around you'll get mini side missions just pop out. There are story missions, side missions, episode missions plus all the time huge Arkfall missions going on. And you're free to tackle them in any order you like!

A quick word on Arkfalls though as I jumped into a couple of these last night. Essentially these are random raids on the world map. You'll find a huge red circle on your map and for the next 30 minutes you run around blasting bugs and arkfall crystals to get cash and good loot! And they are manic, as anyone can join them. One crystal must have had about players running around blasting alien bugs and crystals and the rewards for even participating are huge! Plus no lag while all this was going on. I'll be honest I was damn impressed.

It's also a very quiet game as there isn't much banter between players which makes a nice change in an MMO so you don't get by loads of spam chat. It also is cleverly done so if you're all in the same area attempting the same mission any objectives completed get completed for everyone making the world a bit more realistic at times.I had to defend a group of medics from mutants and during the ongoing battle another 4 players turned up and we obliterated them, it was a great feeling and made the world seem much more alive than some MMO's I've played where the game mechanics draw you out of t game as you have to sit and wait for respawns, You can even join a mission halfway making the world feel like its still existing when you;re not viewing it.

I've still got plenty of stuff to try and out and I haven't even finished the main story sections yet, this is going to be a game I'm going to be spending a lot of time on in the future!

...in that case...ordered one copy Can I be in you guild plz. Gief 1 gold for skillz

Tenlo ignored my attempts to join him last night.

Think he thought I was too low level.

I am dying ALOT.

Not had one single person help me in any battles yet and the bosses are a bitch!

To be honest I didn't see any invites or anything, so I apologise for that. I don't know what you're doing then Kent as I've barely died but I've been running around doing missions rather than any of the other bits and not had any problems at all.

Tenlo wrote:To be honest I didn't see any invites or anything, so I apologise for that. I don't know what you're doing then Kent as I've barely died but I've been running around doing missions rather than any of the other bits and not had any problems at all.

all I am reading is "Kent must be shit at this" that's a bit harsh mate? Didn't think you were like that.

Markav wrote:

Tenlo wrote:To be honest I didn't see any invites or anything, so I apologise for that. I don't know what you're doing then Kent as I've barely died but I've been running around doing missions rather than any of the other bits and not had any problems at all.

all I am reading is "Kent must be shit at this" that's a bit harsh mate? Didn't think you were like that.

LMFAO

I see your point, but if Kent was jumping into the co-op missions and shadow wars it would probably explain it as I've heard they're quite tough. I feel you're trying to stir stuff ever since the Team Markav comments !!

Had this game since release and really enjoying it.Nearly at level 400 so got quite a way with it
Thinking of doing a Defiance night on Wednesday or Friday if anyones interested.

I just started playing this tonight, enjoying it so far. I'd be up for a Defiance night.

we should do a regular night on this.

This is my main game at the mo and tend to play most evenings, currently slowly picking off the missions and jumping into the odd arkfall as well.

I know there's no subscription for the game but does it have an online pass at all? I read about the Arkfall codes and stuff but does would I really suffer if I couldn't use them or would it still be enjoyable? I'm going to visit family in Doncaster next monday for 10 days but when I'm back I think I'm gonna reopen my Lovefilm account because there's a bunch of newish games I wanna play. I wanna rent this but no point if I need a online pass

There is no sub at all for the game. The arkfall codes dont add that much to make it a game unbalancer just a few extra inventory slots and the odd skill bonus for weapons, more an added bonus that a game changer

KENT HAMMER wrote:we should do a regular night on this.

If you do send me an invite. I won't play this until I see others online playing. Or has this game died on its arse already?

I've leant my copy to a friend for a little while, but I was playing it regularlt before then. Once I get it back I'll let you know!

I still wanna play this as never played with a friend yet.

Lego City Undercover and Zombi U have me gripped right now though.

KENT HAMMER wrote:I still wanna play this as never played with a friend yet.

Lego City Undercover and Zombi U have me gripped right now though.

Kent, join FBG and me on Saturday if you like (FBG is new to the game and IO am only about 250)

Personally I am loving this game, it is like a speedball.

There are elements that aren't quite right however I can look past them.

Have done the main story and working through episopde missions, and side missions. Have done some coop and a couple of shaddow wars (man they are fucking hard wordk).

All in would be good to see more on there to get some good matches going if any one is about?

If anyone is about on Saturday then FBG and I will be on...

Definately guys, i have started a thread in host a game night - there should hopefully be about half a dozen of us to start with , fingers crossed