From Wikipedia: Spoiler Defiance is a science-fiction-themed open world third-person shooter from Trion Worlds. Defiance takes place on a terraformed Earth several decades into the future. It is a tie in to the Syfy show of the same name. The game is set to be released April 2013 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It will also come out on Steam. Setting The game takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area after a massive world-wide terraforming event led to the alteration of the landscape, the fall of plants and animal species and the rise to new species. Several alien species came to Earth to set up a new home, which led to war, further devastating the planet. After the war, both Humans and the aliens, known as Votans, learned to live side by side. Players are enlisted as "Ark Hunters" by Karl Von Bach (CEO of Von Bach Industries) to travel to the Bay Area in search of advanced and expensive alien technology. Players also take part in side missions to earn some cash or challenges where they compete with other Ark Hunters. Arkfalls Much like in Rift, Defiance has "dynamic events" called Arkfalls. These arkfalls are massive chunks of alien ships, which contain valuable technology, that crash down from space, attracting a handful of friendlies and enemies, as well as on occasion attracting masses of alien creatures and dozens of ark hunters. Origins Unlike other MMO's Defiance does not have classes but rather players can choose from an "origin". Origins do not limit what abilities, weapons or outfits the players can choose from. [7] Physical appearance Players are said to be able to have a great deal of control over their physical appearance including hair, clothing and tattoos. Players can choose to be either a Human or an Irathient (a humanoid alien species). [8] [9] Weapons Players have access to a wide variety of weapons from hand guns to assault rifles and grenade launchers to shotguns. They are also able to modify weapons with new sights, grips and upgraded magazines. [10] [11] Abilities The Ark Hunters are injected with an EGO (Environmental Guardian Online), a symbiotic, neuro-muscular bionetic implant developed by Von Bach Industries, which helps players navigate the Bay Area and gives them access to unique abilities. [4] [12] Arkfall Codes Trion introduced a new rewards system called "Arkfall Codes." [13] [14] Players use these 6-digit Arkfall Codes to unlock special bonuses and customization for their characters such as extra inventory slots, titles, and perks. These codes are hidden in various media such as official blogs and videos. Characters Karl Von Bach - CEO of Von Bach Industries, the man who hired you to come to the Bay Area Varus Soleptor - A Liberata, one of the Votan species, he is a business owner and a very rich person Torc Mok - A Sensoth, one of the Votan species, former soldier Rosa Rodriguez - A genius inventor who operates Top-Notch Toolworks Cass Ducar - An Irathient and an ark hunter Eren Niden - A Indogene, one of the Votan species, bio-technician who works with Rosa Jon Cooper - The local "Lawkeeper" and former military soldiers Joshua Nolan - War veteran and ex-grifter Irisa Nyira - An Irathient girl who was rescued by Nolan Video featuring gameplay and some FAQs: Defiance - One Hour With Defiance - YouTube I have access to the Xbox beta for a few more days, so if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer or find out the answer. It reminds me a lot of Borderlands, but with more scale at the cost of uniqueness. Shooting is very similar to Just Cause (third person, no cover system besides actively hiding behind stuff). Trion Worlds is doing a lot of cool stuff with this game that makes me think they will be dedicated to it for a long time. They are doing a show on Syfy that runs parallel to the game, expanding the universe. Their website has a place to enter codes to get unlocks that will transfer over to your game profile. They have done multiple "sign-up" betas for PC, and are currently running a week long session for PS3 and Xbox. And just the fact that it is an MMO makes me think they will be releasing content for a long time. Hopefully we can get some people to play together come April 2nd because this would be a blast to play with friends.
I have the xbox beta too. The game seems interesting enough, being that its the xbox 360 true first mmo game. Add in the fact that it plays incoherence with the upcoming show on Syfy and you have a game that delivers a pretty innovative experience. But being that its a console mmo, there are drawbacks such as watered down graphics and weird controls. Regardless, im still really interested in the brand new ip. It seems like it'll be fun if Trion creates some exciting missions and make the experience with friends and/or strangers memorable.
Weird controls? What do you mean? The controls are exactly the same as Borderlands with the exception of vehicles. The worst thing about the game, IMO, is the character animations. The first thing you see is guy yelling by barely moving his lips. He must be a trained ventriloquist or something...
So did any of you pick it up? I am curious to play but I would hate to waste 60 on a potential rinse and repeat gameplay. I like the look even with the clunky animations. main concerned is always about lag with games like this. I hope the 360 can handle 100 on screen with minimal framerate loss
It depends on your connection (I think). I've had problems with people popping in late in populated areas, and in the major Arkfalls with dozens of people around, enemies will disappear momentarily, but I'm pretty sure that's just because my internet sucks. I haven't noticed any frame-rate problems. As far as "rinse and repeat": it's an objective-based third person shooter. You go to places to interact with stuff and shoot things. As long as you enjoy the core gameplay, you'll have fun. Arkfalls are really repetitive, though. Hopefully they'll release more later.
ok Got to play a little last night, after the 1 hour loading/updating I finally got on the game. I'm Hooked, while it's not the most mind blowing game ever made, it was still pretty cool to pull up to an Arkfall with at least 60 people onscreen all fighting. If you are like me and just bored to death with current titles check it out. The map is massive, if you look at the zones out side of the playable area, you can tell this game is just gonna keep getting bigger. Just plain fun.
So, what EGO ability are you using? I've tried them all and am currently using Decoy. The decoy draws all enemy fire, which is extremely useful if you're trying to activate something or just want some time to recharge your shield or pick off some distracted enemies, but the real reason I like it is all the "take less damage" perks that surround it. Take less damage while standing still, while shield is recharging, while reviving someone, from behind, etc. When I get enough extra EGO points, I may try pairing those perks to Overcharge to create a tank.
Yeah I'm an Overcharge Build, if all enemies are dead shield isn't an issue. Though PvP I'll be Decoy, leave him in a safe spot so I can teleport out of combat if needed. But I will work towards Decoy with overcharge build.
The problem is you're only ever going to get a 30% damage boost. And that's at the highest level which requires a power rating of 400 (I've played over 20 hours and just broke 300). But with decoy, the ratio of damage per second I put out to DPS I receive is essentially boosted by 100% for each second my decoy is active. That's why decoy is the best ability, IMO. Sure, with Cloak, you take no damage because they can't see you, but you can't shoot either without becoming uncloaked. Blur also helps evade damage, but also makes it more difficult to hit enemies with most weapons. And Overcharge would be great if the damage boost was higher. I'm talking like a 20, 40, 60, 80, 100% progression. A 10% base and 5% boost per EGO point is borderline pointless except in PvP.