Defiance

[MindBlender]

Well, wrestling is fiction, but there is not much science to it.  I will also add that ghost hunters claims that ghosts ARE real and therefore NOT fiction.  Lately I get more syfy from BBC showing Dr Who  ???

[Lothic]

That's been the unfortunate evolution of cable networks who tried to carve out a specific viewer niche using preexisting programming with a touch of original.

Sadly this "programming malaise" seems to be a problem with TV in general. There was an early ST:TNG episode where the question of television came up and Data said something along the lines of "that particular form of entertainment was no longer relevant by the year 2054".

Of course when that Star Trek episode aired in the late 80s that statement by Data seemed like a funny sounding fantasy.  But now with how widespread the Internet has become I honestly think that not only will Data's prophetic statement come true I suspect it'll happen much sooner than 2054.  Like a growing number of people I barely watch any broadcast/cable TV anymore.  Between things like DVRs, YouTube and Netflix I pretty much only watch the shows I directly want to see when I want to see them.

I really do think the idea of "passive network TV" will be a thing of the past in a few decades.  Perhaps what we're seeing with the random silliness of channels like SyFy is the last desperate flails of cable TV trying to remain viable. Or maybe we're just ready for a bunch of aliens to show up and want to live with us. ;)

[Ampithere]

Don't forget about the Ancient Aliens channel...erm...History channel.

Can't talk about ironic/sad tv channels and not mention that  :P

[Dollhouse]

Okay, while I can't comment on the TV show (I haven't owned a television in well over a decade...), the game is pretty fun. As has been mentioned, it's basically a shooter/MMO hybrid, and it leans heavily towards the former. As I'd expect from Trion, it's pretty darn polished for a beta (although not so much so as Rift was at this stage). The combat is very well done , with the caveat that I vastly prefer reticule aiming...tab-to-target fans will hate it. The writing and voice acting are fairly good, but bear in mind that my main game these days is TSW, and TSW is in a league of its own in that regard...I'm going to judge a bit harshly in that area.

They do a lot of interesting things with blur and "shake" effects when action gets really intense. The Arkfalls in particular develop a frantic, chaotic feel that is what I think the CoH devs were shooting for in things like Rikti invasions (but which the engine really didn't handle well, so things turned into lagfests instead).

Will I buy it? Maybe. I'm not sure there are enough social opportunities for a roleplayer (even a reticule-aiming, PvP-friendly RP'er like me), but I'll know more by the end of the beta weekend. For those looking for a game thatt replaces CoH in a large number of aspects, this isn't your game (utterly different in most areas...), but for someone looking for a fast-paced, shooter-like hybrid game with excellent graphics and Trion's usual level of professionalism on the dev side, it looks like a fun choice.

[Lothic]

Okay, while I can't comment on the TV show (I haven't owned a television in well over a decade...), the game is pretty fun.

For what it's worth none of us can really comment on the TV show yet - it doesn't start until April 15.  But thanks for providing another review of the game.  It'll be interesting to see how much content gets shared between the game and the show as time goes on.

[General Idiot]

So, now that this game is out... anyone playing it, that could give an opinion on if it's any good? From what I've seen it seems decent but we all know what the difference between PR and reality can be.

[Dollhouse]

So, now that this game is out... anyone playing it, that could give an opinion on if it's any good? From what I've seen it seems decent but we all know what the difference between PR and reality can be.

Trion made a bit of a liar out of me (when I praised their ability to launch a game with far fewer problems than most studios). Unlike the very clean Rift launch, however, Defiance has had some pretty serious problems. The first couple days have had huge connectivity issues, horribly slow downloads (and a download patcher that starts over if interrupted...how the hell did that happen in 2013??), and a number of other "critical level" problems.

That said, after my cat decided this morning that I really didn't need to sleep past 5:45AM (and I don't head for work until 8AM!), I logged in and played without any problems. Trion have been pushing emergency patches and hotfixes live, and while I think they messed up their estimates of the difference between live server loads and the end of beta, they seem to be performing at their usual high standard in terms of speedy fixes.

The game itself is a real winner for me. It's a fast-paced third-person shooter with superb graphics, excellent combat, and a good story line. Voice acting and cutscenes are good (I'd have said "great" prior to Secret World massively raising the bar in those areas). I vastly prefer reticule aiming to tab targeting, which obviously makes me receptive to this kind of combat.

I can't comment yet on the social tools, as I don't know anyone in-game yet and haven't had a chance to try them out. The game isn't an MMORPG (it's an MMOTPS, basically), but if the tools are there, there's no reason why it couldn't work for roleplayers. The gameworld, the atmosphere, and the backstory are certainly enough for RP'ers to sink their teeth into. I can't comment on PvP yet, either; I played the last beta, but I want to get a bit more comfortable and instinctive with the combat system before heading from "Co-Op" to "Competitive."

All-in-all, I think it's going to be a good, fun game. Not a replacement for most players' "main MMORPG," but definitely worth spending available gaming time on for me.

[FatherXmas]

Are the server's cross platform?  Can PC players play with PS3 and XBox 360 players or is everyone compartmentalized?

[Dollhouse]

Are the server's cross platform?  Can PC players play with PS3 and XBox 360 players or is everyone compartmentalized?

It's my understanding that the game code can do it, but the powers-that-be at Sony and Microsoft aren't interested in letting anyone run a cross-platform game like this. So, no...it's not.

[Risha]

Oddly enough, I ran across the Defiance ads last night when I watched The Voice blind auditions 3 on my ipad.  I logged on, but I'm afraid I'll have a problem with the graphics being too realistic for me...yep, weeenie.  I loved my shooter La Rowen, and shooting strategy, but I also liked the "very little blood" of COX.

[Lothic]

It's my understanding that the game code can do it, but the powers-that-be at Sony and Microsoft aren't interested in letting anyone run a cross-platform game like this. So, no...it's not.

Yeah I've never understood why cross-platforming a game like this would be technically difficult to do.  As long as clients can talk to servers with the proper messages what does it matter what kind of machines the clients are?  Clearly there could be some development-side issues with having to have unique client code run on different hardware properly.  But if the Devs can make the game work on each of the various client types individually then there should be no obvious problem with a central server talking to all of them equally.

It would seem then that the only reason this (or any game) doesn't support cross-platforming is due to non-technical arbitrary reasons.  Like you imply it probably has more to do with Sony and Microsoft not wanting their playerbases to mix or it could be some concern of Trion's that PvP would be more fair if you had all the players involved running on the same hardware.  Maybe they don't want people to start whining, "People who play on [machine X] always beat people who are playing on [machine Y]!" *shrugs*

[beveri8469]

havent read bout the game yet. do they have regular servers and pvp servers or just one mega server?

[Lothic]

havent read bout the game yet. do they have regular servers and pvp servers or just one mega server?

It's basically one "mega" server per platform: one each for PC, PS3 and Xbox players.
Like CoH was PvP is not "open world" style but kept in specific PvP areas.

[Richpur]

...maybe even a little bit of the post-apocalyptic Fallout game series...

The hulking great big mutants with makeshift armour and miniguns are blue instead of greenish yellow. Aesthetically it's similar enough I've tried to trigger V.A.T.S. when ambushed.

I wish CoX could have handled vehicles like Defiance does. I haven't had this much fun running time trials since the ski slopes were open.

[UruzSix]

I heard there are actual Dodge Challengers in the game. How much customization do you get, like say I can paint mine orange and slap a big black '01' on the side?

[Dollhouse]

I heard there are actual Dodge Challengers in the game. How much customization do you get, like say I can paint mine orange and slap a big black '01' on the side?

Vehicles are purchased (with in-game currency, although I think there are other appearance options in the cash shop) in one color, from a list of color schemes. I don't think there's a way to change their appearance once you've made your selection. The Challenger was a pre-order item, but it may also be available in the game - I haven't spotted all the vendors yet.

And as mentioned upthread, the driving is really well done. The vehicle handling and physics are on par with a dedicated driving game. I find myself blowing off the fast travel (unless I'm in a hurry to get to a big Arkfall) because the driving is so much fun. I'll switch from my (faster) buggy to my more maneuverable quad sometimes, because the latter is really fun to jump...big air! The vehicles do nasty damage to enemies, too...but take damage themselves in the process.

[FatherXmas]

Due to the tie-in with the TV show, one that NBC Universal/Comcast has spent a lot of money on, I've seen the commercial for the game so often for so long on the NBC family of networks or Comcast's own commercial time slice when I visit my folks (they got a puppy, guess who puppy sits?) that I can't hear Radioactive by Imagine Dragons anymore without thinking of this game/series.

I'm seriously starting to hate this song along with the songs used in Apple and Microsoft commercials.  Why have you sold out alternative rock, why?

Edit:  I finally watched the official music video for that song.  Muppet/stuff animal fight club certainly changes the image I conjured now when I hear the song.

[Dollhouse]

Something I forgot to update: roleplayers and others seeking a more social sort of experience are going to struggle to make it work. The game's chat tools are rudimentary at best (a legacy of the interface being a console port, maybe?). The text box it tiny (and you can't move it where you want it), there are no filters, so stuff that you don't care about causes stuff you DO care about to scroll into oblivion almost as soon as they appear. Team seeking tools are also horrible (although the auto-matchmaking for co-op missions works fine).

It's a pity, really. If they just had a good, configurable chat tool, the game might work well for roleplayers and other social players. the game world is well filled out (and looks great), the TV tie-in has lots of potential, and the game does a lot of other multiplayer stuff (like scaling) quite well. Multiple players in open-world type missions aren't competing for target enemies and such: the game automatically "quasi-teams" you with the other players in the area. You're not in each other's team list, but any completion of a glowie or targeted enemy kill counts for everyone. You find yourself rolling through an objective engaging in what is often effective (and fun) impromptu teamwork. Which is cool.

Enjoying the game immensely...but it's not going to be a candidate for "main MMO" for me unless the vastly improve the social tools. TSW is still filling that role for me.

[General Idiot]

Enjoying the game immensely...but it's not going to be a candidate for "main MMO" for me unless the vastly improve the social tools. TSW is still filling that role for me.

This is something you could say about almost every MMO out there, though. So many games provide rudimentary tools at best for finding and meeting up with other players, and very little to do once you get to them. As a particularly notable example, before I stopped playing Guild Wars 2 the preferred method of finding a team was to go to an out of game website and post an ad there. This is because the game's options for finding a team if you happen to not be in a guild (Like everyone I know there) are basically limited to spamming chat and hoping there's people in the same zone as you who happen to want to do the same thing as you. No global chat, no search option, no queues. Yet they call it an MMO.

Perfect MMO for me is one where teaming is encouraged at every moment, but never required. Not only when the devs decide 'ok, this bit will be for teams'. Only game I've ever encountered with that kind of setup was CoH.

[Harlequin565]

Just thought I'd add to this as I ended up buying this at the newly discounted price.

I have been pottering with a lot of different MMO's since Shutdown and nothing really grabbed my attention. However I decided to give Defiance a go. Now I'm only used to tab based targeting because I only ever played CoX. So I was expecting Defiance to be a real issue. It's not. Shooting stuff is easy and fun. I'm also surprised be the amount of variety there is to shooting. Pistols, SMGs, LMGs, ARs, Snipers, Shotguns... Each have their own nuances which adds a little more choice to the potential button mash. Also, one needs to retain manoeverability in combat, and the rolling/crouching stuff whilst shooting is a learning curve (it was for me anyway!). There is a numbers game to be played here if you want it too, which is slightly appealing.

Getting around the zones is also a lot of fun with the various vehicles. Driving is like CoX leaping/flying with lots of air-time. The landscape has a lot of vertical surfaces though making swift travel to world events such as Arkfalls a pain in the backside. When you do get there though, Arkfalls are a lot of fun and the screen shake/smears add a lot to the experience.

Customisation is extremely poor. You get a few head/hair choices and options but clothing is a "set". New costumes are expensive though you can unlock additional costumes in-game.

Pay-wise, you can buy new costumes and vehicles. Character boost perks can also be bought with real cash as well as "keys" to lockboxes. Although after playing my "main" for around 6-8 hours, I've earned enough in-game currency to buy a (tier 3) Lockbox key as well as unlocking one custom costume.

If you do decide to try out Defiance, one thing you can do while the game is downloading, is enter in 120 "promo" codes to your Trion account. This will allow you to start the game with a vehicle, an assault rifle and auto-shotgun in addition to increased Inventory slots and increased skills in some areas. How to do this is detailed here. They are like Veteran rewards and will apply to every character you make.

So far I've tried two of the Ego powers.

Cloak/Invisibility is pretty cool. The way the game works is that you have a shield which takes damage before you do. As soon as you stop taking damage your shield starts to regen so the Cloak power helps to begin this regeneration. As a "sneak about" power it's not great. it has a low duration and you're de-cloaked when you attack/interact, so I use it more for stopping incoming damage while I regen my shield.

Decoy creates a decoy that the enemies will attack. It's like a non-agressive PA from Illusion. Great for taking the aggro off you while you regen your shield/reload. Being able to switch places with your Decoy also opens up tactical possibilities.

The other two powers are "Overcharge" (like Build Up) which seems OK and "Blur" which gives bonus Melee damage. Melee is rubbish from what I've seen and consists of "weapon-stock-to-the-face".

Overall, I like this game. My toons feel like Blasters. Not quite as squishy as CoX blasters, but Blasters nonetheless. I've not seen the TV show and don't really have any interest in it. Story-wise, I get the gist and can follow what's going on without the need for a TV show.

They do a refer a friend scheme with a 30% discount and as the game is currently reduced to £20 (in the UK) that's quite a good deal for something that has no recurring fee. If you want a referral email, drop me a PM with your email address.

-H