Defiance

 PC
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 661 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 353 out of 661
  2. Mixed: 123 out of 661
  3. Negative: 185 out of 661
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  1. Mutini
    Apr 24, 2013
    7
    Bottom Line: Game play: EXACTLY like Borderlands(with a slower, "not funny" story), Theme: EXACTLY like Rift(except you are chasing Ark falls instead of Rift openings). If you like the idea of crossing Rift with Borderlands then this is the game for you. And the game can be plenty of fun-for awhile but then it becomes repetitive. All you do is drive from one objective to another, shootBottom Line: Game play: EXACTLY like Borderlands(with a slower, "not funny" story), Theme: EXACTLY like Rift(except you are chasing Ark falls instead of Rift openings). If you like the idea of crossing Rift with Borderlands then this is the game for you. And the game can be plenty of fun-for awhile but then it becomes repetitive. All you do is drive from one objective to another, shoot the bad guys, do the deed and turn in the quest; Over and over and over. Having said that, the gun play is spot on and sniper shots are excessively satisfying-its just that that's all you ever do. I played Alpha and Beta. I don't think its worth 60 bucks but when the price becomes reasonable(around $20 maybe-or maybe it will simply go F2P) I probably will purchase it. Defiance isn't a bad game, its just nothing new or earth shattering and not even close to being worth the price they are asking for it right now-or $100 for the digital omg lol!… Expand
  2. Shax
    Apr 24, 2013
    7
    The graphics could be better but I guess they could be considered good for a mmo. Before I started playing this game I was worried since it's my first mmo since World of Warcraft. WoW basically took over my life and became a part time job for me. Defiance has none of time killing traps that WoW is rife with. There are no mobs or mats to farm. No farming period really. You can play solo ifThe graphics could be better but I guess they could be considered good for a mmo. Before I started playing this game I was worried since it's my first mmo since World of Warcraft. WoW basically took over my life and became a part time job for me. Defiance has none of time killing traps that WoW is rife with. There are no mobs or mats to farm. No farming period really. You can play solo if you want. No dungeons to raid and no guildies to have to contend with over loot drops.

    The game is worth buying at full price I definitely think you will get your monies worth.    … Expand
  3. MikeStone
    Apr 24, 2013
    7
    Defiance is a good game with a lot of potential, but also many issues. All in all I would give it a 7/10.

    What I like: - Its fun to shoot things - I haven't really seen a better MMOTPS - PvP was pretty good until the hackers started to take over - Arkfalls were great until the hackers started to take over. - Great Co-Op missions - Interesting story - TV Show tie in (and the show    Defiance is a good game with a lot of potential, but also many issues. All in all I would give it a 7/10.

    What I like:
    - Its fun to shoot things
    - I haven't really seen a better MMOTPS
    - PvP was pretty good until the hackers started to take over
    - Arkfalls were great until the hackers started to take over.
    - Great Co-Op missions
    - Interesting story
    - TV Show tie in (and the show is actually good!)
    - No loading time unless you fast travel
    - Up to a few hundred of players on screen at a time with no lag

    What I hate:
    - Slow patch progress
    - Lack of weapon progression
    - Crappy modification system
    - Everything is very expensive and you can buy lockboxes using cash (so you can buy powerful gear, making it P2W).
    - No working chat system
    - Crappy tutorial I had to go outside the game to get into on BASIC game mechanics
    - Lots of bugs, exploits and hackers
    - Lots of server downtime
    - Lack of incentive to PvP or PvE after you finish the main story
    - Very little content. Around 50 hours to "beat" everything
    - No cover or blindfire system in a TPS

    If you want to find out more about Defiance, be sure to check out Lex's great Defiance guide http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=136738681

    Given enough time, I can see Defiance becoming a hit, as it is it's probably not worth it unless you are a huge TPS fan, or love the show (which I am).
    If you can pick this up for around $30, don't hesitate but at $60, it's simply not worth it.    … Expand
  4. Atalvyr
    Apr 24, 2013
    9
    This MMOFPS has solid fundamentals: the progression system gives you lots of small rewards without letting players substitute time played and loot for skill, the shooting is as snappy as Borderlands and the vehicles have actual handling models and physics instead of just being speed boosts in disguise.

    If they can polish it up some and start releasing stronger content crossing over with    This MMOFPS has solid fundamentals: the progression system gives you lots of small rewards without letting players substitute time played and loot for skill, the shooting is as snappy as Borderlands and the vehicles have actual handling models and physics instead of just being speed boosts in disguise.

    If they can polish it up some and start releasing stronger content crossing over with the show (like the exclusive pre-show content available at launch), they might just have a winner here.    … Expand
  5. Zackis
    Apr 24, 2013
    8
    I have played and enjoyed the game since launch. Glitches have been relatively minor for me, but prevented a higher rating. Login was fast, no que's were encountered, and the game installed easily on an i7 w 16GB of RAM and a 660Ti without any issues.
  6. Nataraja
    Apr 23, 2013
    8
    The simplest way to describe this game is Rift without all of the plethora of spells and abilities and stripped of tab targeting and skill based combat added in. Trion has managed to take the dynamic events that made Rift so much fun to play and made it a skill based 3rd person shooter. The PvP is solid and enjoyable and the Coop maps essentially instances/dungeons are well done,The simplest way to describe this game is Rift without all of the plethora of spells and abilities and stripped of tab targeting and skill based combat added in. Trion has managed to take the dynamic events that made Rift so much fun to play and made it a skill based 3rd person shooter. The PvP is solid and enjoyable and the Coop maps essentially instances/dungeons are well done, quick, challenging and fun. There is a lot of content to keep you occupied, especially if you don't mind the standard fetch quests. There are also faction reputation, Ark Falls, Emergencies, Special Events, The Shadow War (open world objective PvP) and TONS of side quests, skill challenges, etc. For a Buy to Play (B2P) game like Guild Wars 2, this is a pretty attractive game. I really enjoy it and the graphics are great voice acting gets better as the story progresses and it stays in safe territory without a lot of innovation. Basically its Rift's event and world system, Mass Effects competent and enjoyable 3rd person shooter combat, and cutscenes that are short and to the point. Could only give it an 8 because its so mainstream though with no real risks involved.

    If you are tired of having your MMOs flavored with tab targeting and medieval themes then I would suggest trying Defiance.    … Expand
  7. gimpyjosh
    Apr 23, 2013
    8
    This game is FUN to play. I am confused as to a lot of the 0-2 reviews. I think a lot of people played it for five minutes, got bored, and tossed it before the game got to the level where combat became challenging and interesting.

    The game starts out in "Easy" mode. This means the only enemies you run into are mutants that stand still and shoot at you. This is so those of us with less    This game is FUN to play. I am confused as to a lot of the 0-2 reviews. I think a lot of people played it for five minutes, got bored, and tossed it before the game got to the level where combat became challenging and interesting.

    The game starts out in "Easy" mode. This means the only enemies you run into are mutants that stand still and shoot at you. This is so those of us with less experience in shooters have a chance to learn the controls. If you keep playing, the game gets harder, and therefore more interesting. You have to consider how to approach a group of enemies. You can't always charge in, stand in one place, and shoot people. Now you have to take cover. Now you have to try to eliminate shielded enemies first. Now you try to snipe their heavy damage enemies first so you can then deal with the peons.

    This is an MMO. If you don't have the patience for server downtime and bugs, you MUST WAIT a few months before buying it. I waited two weeks, and by then the game now has almost no server downtime, I have no lag, and the game runs flawlessly. The few minor bugs I ran into are not game breaking, and I know they will fix them all in a future patch.

    The worst part of this game is the dialogue. It appears to be written by a seven year-old boy that just saw his first boobie. In one line, a character says "Who is this pretty girl and why is she mad at me?" Yes, there are hundreds of groan-worthy lines like this strewn throughout.

    The second problem I have with this game comes from the synergy the game has created with the TV show. It seems the story and info you run across in the game world are intentionally vague, generic and leave out details as to the lore of the world. They developers are worrying too much about treading on the TV show's toes to tell an interesting story which explains and shares the intricacies of this alien infested, war torn world. In future content, I really hope they get that out of the way and try to tell a deeper story that includes more depth into the characters and areas we explore. Right now it just feels like a big empty sandbox and the only people your mute character (good choice... I love playing a game where I get to watch other people talk and make decisions) run into have nothing interesting going on.

    My final problem with the game is the lack of information. Certain things seem to continue to go on unexplained. How do you unlock the coop missions? No one knows. It appears to be random at best. How do you modify your equipment? Just keep pressing buttons and you might figure it out. But, if you happen to have any of the equipment EQUIPPED, you will NEVER understand it, because it doesn't give you an error message telling you to first unequip the item before modifying it... Dear lord, do they WANT people to play the game? The only reason you would need to have it unequipped is because there is an arbitrary ten minute timer to add a mod slot to an item, during which you CAN NOT USE THE ITEM, and neither can you even use the weapon modding system during that ten minutes... This seems like a poor choice. Make me pay to add the slot, but don't stop me from playing the game to perform such an arbitrary task.

    Play the game for the combat. That's the fun part. Despite all the flaws, it is hella fun to ride around on my 4wheeler, killing aliens, and saving the world from mutant freaks.    … Expand
  8. MMORPG_WIllhe
    Apr 23, 2013
    0
    This game doesn't even deserve a rating of 1
    I bought the game, and don't get me wrong, it IS fun! But For people that don't play many mmo's or mmorpgs. However, if you look into it, the character customization is pretty much..... less then nothing! MMORPG's or MMOS (shooters) should at least give SOME character customization, but this game has non.
    For in-game combat, its just as    This game doesn't even deserve a rating of 1
    I bought the game, and don't get me wrong, it IS fun! But For people that don't play many mmo's or mmorpgs. However, if you look into it, the character customization is pretty much..... less then nothing! MMORPG's or MMOS (shooters) should at least give SOME character customization, but this game has non.
    For in-game combat, its just as repetitive as many, however, like i said, for someone who hasn't played many MMO's. This game is for you. It's a great start to the MMO world. But compared to others... it is dog poop on the bottom of the shoe    … Expand
  9. Baelelzebub
    Apr 22, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Defiance is one of those trend setting games. It will set a precedent as the first MMO/TV show. A great GIMMICK, I've watched the TV show, I've played through the story and then some of the game. The show is far more enjoyable.

    I have spent over 40 hours in game, customizing guns, co-oping with friends, joined in a shadow war and some regular PvP as well as lots of arkfalls and of course completed the story mission. But I open up Defiance apprehensively every single time. Sometimes I'm disconnected from PvP 2 or 3 times and give up. Sometimes my weapons vanished while zoning into a co-op. And sometimes it was just asking myself how many ark-falls am I going to do before I get bored.

    Defiance at the start is exciting, I crash into a strange new area. Then about 2 hours in you decide everything looks the same, so lets try a co-op. 3 hours in you realize they retooled solo mission dungeons as co-op dungeons(and the rewards aren't very good). So one decides to try the challenges, and then you see someone's score of over 100k and decide okay let me try, and find its far harder than it should be to even get a reward like one of those bad carnival games. So then on to racing, then you notice your hands are on a keyboard and mouse and decide to pass(even on a controller they are not too exciting....you are racing a time, like those ghost races in Mario Kart). So on to the story missions.....(you can finish them within about 7 hours)....done. Side quests and area quests are retooled story missions hooray! Go do this and collect or kill that. Now onto the bread and butter, ARKFALLS! Shoot EVERYTHING! You are presented with waves of enemies regardless if that's the objective or not and sometimes you go to several locations shooting the same stuff and then you find one big boss where you exploit weak spots and then destroy the summoned minions and then exploit weak spots...Rinse, repeat until dead. The ark falls are very interesting up until you do your fourth one (that is if you can find more than 1 or 2 in a row) when you decide well lemme do something else because i'm kinda tired of this guy whose got the grenade launcher that spawns more grenades on impact and I might have a seizure. Onto a shadow war! After an hour wait you spawn in to die by someone who has cloak and a double barrel shotty at your back. Re-spawn! Someone runs over you with a vehicle. Re-spawn! You spawn falling down with your shield gone and get sniped by someone on higher ground as you fall. Etc.

    You may be asking well what redeeming qualities does this game have. Defiance is extremely fun for the first 20 hours or so. After as such it is simply ALOT of the same content replayed and retooled. You think you can take it for longer seeing the same scenery, the same guns, the same mods for an extended period but you don't, nay can't. Let alone the lack of balance of weaponry, people say there are a lot of guns to mess with, this is true, but if the Light machine gun has a clip of 111 before you have to reload and does 416 damage per bullet give or take with a fire rate of 5-6 per second and the rocket launcher you need to reload after 2 rockets and each rocket does approximately 1200 damage per shot with a 6 second reload time, which will you choose? You say you are a sniper though and you only do sniping in shooters!? You do the same damage as a rocket launcher with 6-12 bullets in your clip. Do you see an issue?

    Now we come to the abilities. The abilities are unique and fun to use but once you maxed one out around level 350 with the perks you are set in using there is no more imagination. There is no point to go any further with the skills. You can make yourself a little more powerful with every 30 levels or so but it doesn't play a big enough part to matter. I'll dodge a firefight or a few bullets with decoy or cloak. Ill Initiate with some good damage with blur or overload. But other than that I don't see anyone going too much further with them.

    I give Defiance a 5 because it has elements of a great game, and you can start up do an ark-fall for 10 minutes and then get on with your day and still feel like you accomplished something in the game. The co-op rewards need to be improved, actually grouping with people for a reason is nice. Weapon balance will in turn balance out PvP. And as for the scenery, create some new venues Trion! Your game is great but it feels like it's extremely incomplete! ONLY the bay area while the show takes place in St. Louis? Does anyone else see a problem with this? Or how about more than 5 factions to fight because you have 7 races in the Votan collective PLUS humans. Some people might say hey what about DLC, but I remember the days when dev's would release a COMPLETED game before they would announce an expansion. Just saying. Worth 60-100 USD? NO! Worth getting into? Absolutely! But not right now.    … Expand
  10. mehhem
    Apr 22, 2013
    6
    I like Defiance. It's fun. You find lots of guns. A lot of them look the same, and seem the same, but rarity differs. The AI is easy, but some bosses with more health and harder hitting weapons are difficulty. Their AI is the exact same as the easier mobs. The driving is cool. Is it worth $60? I bought it, and I would again. The game needs some work like every other game. TheI like Defiance. It's fun. You find lots of guns. A lot of them look the same, and seem the same, but rarity differs. The AI is easy, but some bosses with more health and harder hitting weapons are difficulty. Their AI is the exact same as the easier mobs. The driving is cool. Is it worth $60? I bought it, and I would again. The game needs some work like every other game. The quests are boring. Go here, tag that, revive this guy, (all with the "E" button). I think if it had a subscription cost most people wouldn't stick around, but since it's buy once and play I think people will stick with it for longer than the initial month.… Expand
  11. gtox11
    Apr 22, 2013
    2
    If you enjoy Borderlands 2 Co-op, and think that you might also enjoy a less polished, buggy version of the same, then you "might" enjoy Defiance.

    If you enjoy traditional MMOs, in any capacity, then quickly hide your wallet before Trion smells your money. What I like about the game: The shooting. Surprisingly the combat is actually pretty good. There is a decent variety of    If you enjoy Borderlands 2 Co-op, and think that you might also enjoy a less polished, buggy version of the same, then you "might" enjoy Defiance.

    If you enjoy traditional MMOs, in any capacity, then quickly hide your wallet before Trion smells your money.

    What I like about the game:
    The shooting. Surprisingly the combat is actually pretty good. There is a decent variety of weapons, and I haven't noticed any bugs involving poor bullet pathing or anything like that.
    Rocket-boosting your vehicle over hills and watching yourself fly knowing there will be no damage or penalty in any way.
    Missile Launchers. I felt this one needed it's own good point; not sure why.
    Everyone gets their own loot and xp is given to anyone who participates in killing an NPC.

    The things I disliked/hated (get comfortable because this list is quite daunting):
    This is not an MMO. This is a Co-op that is awkwardly placed into a persistent world. In fact, I would say that the only aspect of this game that is utilized by an open-world environment is the driving, and even that doesn't NEED the persistent world and might even have benefited from an instanced, scripted event.
    The driving uses the god-aweful controls of A and D to turn instead of the mouse, and there is no way to change it. Needless to say, this is completely archaic and no one enjoys driving with keystrokes. To be clear, Borderlands driving Good. Defiance driving Clunky and unrealistic.
    The game is marketed by offering players the chance to get their hands on alien technology! Exciting! But wait.. you get that technology almost immediately in the game, and it is WORSE than the standard realism weaponry that you get in any other shooter. One weapon simply fills the gap of the fantasy "healing gun", while the other is decent in itself, but fails on the basis of being of limited use. Short answer, you will find yourself using standard Earth technology unless you insist on gimping yourself with their alien technology (this of course does not include the "alien" elemental versions of standard weapons).
    There are no "dungeons" or really any reason to ever invite someone to a group.
    The massive events that pop up are a faceroll. It is all very, very easy.
    The perk system gives off the impression of "uber customization" but in actuality there is very little true options. By selecting one core ability, it cuts off around half of the perks as viable options for your build (since they directly affect another core ability). Looking at the perks, it is very easy to see several possible "builds" in which you venture toward, but a lot of these builds are not actually viable in-game.. Most notably the Melee Build, in which you do very low damage and get eaten alive by pretty much every NPC you encounter, and the Medic Build in which you almost never find someone to revive because the game's difficulty is a joke.
    Lastly, I want to mention the game's use of character speech. Quite a lot of characters talk to you during the game, whether it be during a cut scene or yelling at you as you are doing a nearby mission.. but the one glaring problem is that your character NEVER.. EVER.. SPEAKS.. EVER! He (or she) just stands there like a mute idiot while other people have engaging conversations AT him (or her). (s)He doesn't even change facial expressions or anything. It is as though your character is completely unaware that other people are in the room, let alone talking directly to him.

    TL;DR If you want to spend $60 on something that truthfully should be F2P, then you are in the right place. For everyone else, keep waiting.    … Expand
  12. Txejo
    Apr 21, 2013
    10
    I can't why people put so bad ratings to this game,It's a really good game with very good ideas.
    I just make my acount in metacritic to say this,obviusly the game can be improved if we talk about bugs,but who MMO doesn,t have any?
    I have been playing 3 days non stop,10 hours per day,and i can really say is something that other games cant make me do it. Whoever has give to the game less    I can't why people put so bad ratings to this game,It's a really good game with very good ideas.
    I just make my acount in metacritic to say this,obviusly the game can be improved if we talk about bugs,but who MMO doesn,t have any?
    I have been playing 3 days non stop,10 hours per day,and i can really say is something that other games cant make me do it.
    Whoever has give to the game less than 7,8 should try to play it with some friends,and the game will become in a 9,7 points game.

    The system of taking cover and even cover your partners while they activate a mission objetive is awesome!, worth it to play it.    … Expand
  13. mg83
    Apr 21, 2013
    3
    I expected so much more from Trion, but this game is flat out terrible. Bland environments, clunky user interface, laughable AI, boring quests and a completely unimaginative EGO "skill tree." It's sad too because I paid $100 for the special edition, figuring it COULDN'T be that bad. Well it is. There are more bugs with the game, then there are "bugs" in the game. Maybe they'll turn thingsI expected so much more from Trion, but this game is flat out terrible. Bland environments, clunky user interface, laughable AI, boring quests and a completely unimaginative EGO "skill tree." It's sad too because I paid $100 for the special edition, figuring it COULDN'T be that bad. Well it is. There are more bugs with the game, then there are "bugs" in the game. Maybe they'll turn things around? Right now this game wreaks of some F2P crap.

    Weapons and gear disappear or play hide and seek between logins, load outs get screwed up, EGO gets reset, quests are bugged. Poor explanation of gear stats. I wanted this game to be good, I really did. Maybe it gets better in the future. As of right now, don't waste your time until some SERIOUS changes are made. This needs a lot more than "Tuesday downtime" type patches. I'll check the progress periodically so my $100 wasn't in vain.    … Expand
  14. Mavrick593
    Apr 21, 2013
    10
    I have tried "traditional" MMOs before, which tend to be firmly in the RPG realm, and they have virtually all failed to grab me and keep me playing. Defiance is not like these. Defiance is much more skill-based. There are no true classes, unless you choose to specialize in a particular weapon or fighting style, in which case it might be called a user-created class. Anyone can use anyI have tried "traditional" MMOs before, which tend to be firmly in the RPG realm, and they have virtually all failed to grab me and keep me playing. Defiance is not like these. Defiance is much more skill-based. There are no true classes, unless you choose to specialize in a particular weapon or fighting style, in which case it might be called a user-created class. Anyone can use any weapon and this I think is primarily what I enjoy the most about Defiance: it enables you to make your own choices much more so than any other MMO I've experienced.

    There is still leveling up and unlocking new skills but this is focused mainly around weapon proficiency, and the skills are mostly passive except for the main 4. Everyone can, over time, also have access to all of the skills.

    All of the combat is very skill based. You must actually take aim at enemies weak points if you are to succeed. No attack button mashing here to blindly swing your ax.

    The vehicles and getting around in them are all awesome and just plain fun. In fact the whole game is just plain fun.

    The last thing that really got me into the game was the fact that it does not require a subscription fee. There is real-money credits in-game, but they are not at all necessary. Anything that you can only get with real money is purely cosmetic for your character.

    Now go get Defiance!    … Expand
  15. Cik
    Apr 20, 2013
    1
    My thoughts follow this pre-review and then review:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-iKMWrwl74&list=UUsgv2QHkT2ljEixyulzOnUQ&index=4
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZz_KKGpgfk&list=UUsgv2QHkT2ljEixyulzOnUQ&index=3
  16. Yupitstime
    Apr 19, 2013
    10
    People are ragging way too hard on this game, I played this game for 30+ hours heres my score.
    Solo PvE 6.5 /10 (7.5 if your a huge sci-fi nerd like me)
    Solo PvP 8/10 This can only go up with more game modes and maps) Co-up PvE 9/10 (um we have guns, cars atvs and a large world to roam collecting loots) Co-op PvP 10/10 what cannot be done in solo PvP unless you get lucky is team    People are ragging way too hard on this game, I played this game for 30+ hours heres my score.
    Solo PvE 6.5 /10 (7.5 if your a huge sci-fi nerd like me)
    Solo PvP 8/10 This can only go up with more game modes and maps)
    Co-up PvE 9/10 (um we have guns, cars atvs and a large world to roam collecting loots)
    Co-op PvP 10/10 what cannot be done in solo PvP unless you get lucky is team strategy, I have 4 friends and we all PvP together, omg. :D :D :D     … Expand
  17. FrostyGreenacre
    Apr 19, 2013
    4
    This game sadly shoots itself in the foot.

    There are many good things in the gameplay of Defiance, and there are moments that have indeed been fun. However, each one of those is equaled or marred by some badly designed game mechanic or bug that either destroys player immersion or should have just outright been fixed during development. Pros. the shooting and dodging mechanics seem    This game sadly shoots itself in the foot.

    There are many good things in the gameplay of Defiance, and there are moments that have indeed been fun. However, each one of those is equaled or marred by some badly designed game mechanic or bug that either destroys player immersion or should have just outright been fixed during development.

    Pros. the shooting and dodging mechanics seem pretty well made, servers have very little lag, there's plenty to do across the world and you can have a lot of fun rushing to an objective in your vehicle with 20 other users down a deserted highway. This core element of the gameplay could make up for the following misgivings if the bugs were fixed, however the issues stay ever visible whilst the good gameplay is plagued with visual glitches. One thing I did like, however was that players didn't need to be in a team to do a mission together, if three players shared the same goal it didn't matter who took down an enemy or activated the 3 objectives, all three players got the quest with no queueing.

    Cons: very sketchy tutorial. very little is explained in the tutorial. the tutorial also takes place in a "danger zone" and whilst reading the descriptions of the 3 paragraph mission dialogues you can be attacked, damaged and presumably killed without being able to defend yourself. There is no tutorial on how to perform social interactions, in fact, I've seen the MMO in no way encourage social interaction between players whatsoever. The storyline is only so-so, however this is true with many MMO games where you'll find yourself either skipping past the majority of quest dialogue or spending more time reading than fighting.

    bugs: this is where the game experience is truly ruined for me. the best game in the world can fail if it's just unplayable (diablo 3, simcity etc.) we can often look past game mechanics we don't agree with so long as they're running as they supposed to. However with my first 4 hours of playing Defiance I encountered: random invisible structures in the wilderness that would stop you driving or running (note, you could go around these small items, they are not barriers, just textureless objects) the game also bugs out when you stand on some of the bridges in the first city area you play in. standing on them with the camera at a certain angle with make all 3D models disappear. to make things worse this includes NPC enemies. You can be getting shot whilst not being able to see your character, the area you're stood on or the enemies who are shooting. particularly frustrating when your mission objective is on that bridge. Some of the terrain has been added into the landscape awkwardly as well, leaving gaps between the landscape and the items themselves so you can see that they aren't solid, very bad for game immersion. I've also been driving down a highway when I saw a "random encounter" quest where enemies were kidknapping some innocent NPCs, except all of the cars added into the encounter were floated a good 7ft above the road...

    overall I'd say that this game WOULD be fun if if worked properly. Heck, even outright addictive. However there are many problems that need to be addressed before it's properly playable. unfortunately for me they already have my money now, so I can only motivate them to fix these by letting everybody else know about the issues before they get your money too.    … Expand
  18. Graphic
    Apr 19, 2013
    10
    Firstly.... I wanted to give this game a 8 as I feel that there is room for improvement, however because of people just throwing 1's and 0's out there I feel I want to help get this title to where it should be in the ratings. While maybe not the typical MMO or 3PS that everyone is used to this game can be a great time and I think people need to give it a go. I have no regrets about myFirstly.... I wanted to give this game a 8 as I feel that there is room for improvement, however because of people just throwing 1's and 0's out there I feel I want to help get this title to where it should be in the ratings. While maybe not the typical MMO or 3PS that everyone is used to this game can be a great time and I think people need to give it a go. I have no regrets about my purchase and love the fact that I can log in for an hour and feel like I accomplished something. The graphics while needing more customization for the PC user they still seem to be quite pleasing. The sound track is also above average and I have been playing with the in game music since launch. Some of the quests do get repeatable and variety could be enhanced but that is something they can address future content updates. Group Instances have been a blast and PVP is good times! Trion has had excellent community updates in regards to just about everything and I haven't seen feedback like this from any other company in recent years, maybe a rocky start but things are feeling a lot better with each passing day. Furthermore this is a one time purchase with no monthly subscription so if you cant dedicate your every waking moment to gaming this could be for you. I did watch the Defiance TV season premier and it was decent nothing to get excited about yet!!

    I miss the old review types so I am adding my own =)

    Presentation 8
    Graphics 8
    Gameplay 8
    Sound 8
    Lasting Appeal 8

    Overall 8

    Too many opinions, not enough people sticking to facts    … Expand
  19. thatfool
    Apr 18, 2013
    8
    This game does have issues. Not as many as on Xbox 360, but there definitely are technical glitches and there are some questionable design choices. I still think it is fun, perhaps surprisingly so. I've spent more time with it than with many games I'd subjectively think of as better games, but that weren't fun to keep playing after I was "done".

    Defiance's biggest selling points are    This game does have issues. Not as many as on Xbox 360, but there definitely are technical glitches and there are some questionable design choices. I still think it is fun, perhaps surprisingly so. I've spent more time with it than with many games I'd subjectively think of as better games, but that weren't fun to keep playing after I was "done".

    Defiance's biggest selling points are that they nailed the gunplay, and that you can effortlessly switch from soloing around to playing with others. Almost everything you do in the open world is automatically public, for example, if you're on a mission and some other player is on the same mission, you'll work together to complete it (similar to dynamic events in Guild Wars 2). Defiance also has its own clone of Rift's rift events, called ark falls, big events where you'll often see dozens of players. And if you want to play one of the co-op maps (basically, dungeons), all you need to do is sign up for either one you want to play or a quick match and the game's matchmaking will put you in a group and teleport you to the map. The same applies to competitive maps, and shadow wars, Defiance's open world based PVP system. Due to Defiance's shooter mechanics, matchmaking is less limited than in many MMOs. There are no classes, and there is no need to group characters by level. This means matches are usually made quickly and I often don't even have time to exit the matchmaking screen and do something else while I'm waiting for a match to fill.

    Defiance also includes some features that are rare in MMOs. There are checkpoint races. There are timed shooting challenges where you need to reach specific goals with one specific weapon. And for some people it might be interesting to know that you can play it with a controller and seamlessly switch between mouse+keyboard and controller if you want. The TV show tie-in is also something it does differently than other MMOs, although I think that one is a bad idea for a game that should be able to stand on its own feet. Removing pre-TV show content after the first two weeks so that some missions are now inaccessible to new players was a terribly misguided move for a game where those were the only real side missions with an actual story.

    I did mention glitches. There's one annoying one that can lose you items if you add mod slots and then zone or log out. There's a few pursuits (achievements) that can't be completed. Sometimes, your last perk slot gets unequipped because the game thinks you just unlocked it *again*. There were more at release, but many have already been addressed in 3GB worth of patches.

    The UI could be less console oriented too, although my main gripe with it is that it's just missing a few short cuts for mouse users. It's not unusable with keyboard/mouse, e.g. they didn't forget making buttons clickable or anything like that, it's more like you'd want a context menu in some certain places that wouldn't be useful with a controller but are kind of expected by mouse users. Chat could really do with a movable and sizable window instead of the barebones system they have now.

    All in all I'm rating it at 8. For starters, it actually works, which is more than what you can say about certain other recent titles. The main game play mechanic, shooting stuff with guns, is amazingly fun. It does a lot of other things right, too. Driving your cars around the bay area is fun. Races are fun. Automatic grouping for missions is fun. Matchmaking is quick and easy. They have some things to fix about the UI on PC, they need to re-think their content strategy, and they desperately need to add content that doesn't use one of the two predominant environment styles that are in the game. Objectively that may sound more like a 7, but I'm also basing my score on how much I've been playing Defiance since it came out, and it's currently shaping up to be the best value for my money I got from a video game in 2013. I've played games that offered a better or more well-rounded experience this year, but often one that was also over much sooner.    … Expand
  20. brokenhalo
    Apr 18, 2013
    2
    This mediocre FPS MMO is littered with glaring flaws and distractions from really integrating the social aspect of the game. The gear/looting and menus options just feel dated and clunky. Top that off with dull environments and super predictable AI and you have a game worth half it's current retail price at best. IMO wait for the price cut or steam deal before you blow money on this...
  21. Krakn3dfx
    Apr 18, 2013
    8
    Defiance is a game that sits in a tough spot. It's probably the first real MMO shooter on the market that has made an effort to bring a solid PvE campaign to the table, as well as maintaining a fleshed out PvP system. Neither is perfect, but both are enjoyable, despite their shortcomings. The game launched with a lot of issues, like most MMOs, but Trion Worlds has clearly been working hardDefiance is a game that sits in a tough spot. It's probably the first real MMO shooter on the market that has made an effort to bring a solid PvE campaign to the table, as well as maintaining a fleshed out PvP system. Neither is perfect, but both are enjoyable, despite their shortcomings. The game launched with a lot of issues, like most MMOs, but Trion Worlds has clearly been working hard to patch those issues out. It feels like a game that was pushed out early to mesh with the premiere of the TV show, which is probably the case. If Trion has shown anything with Rift tho, it's that they're willing to put the work in fix problems and enhance their games.

    I have been enjoying Defiance a lot, the enemy AI isn't great, but it's no worse than most MMO enemy AI either. The combat mechanics have a very Borderlands-like feel to them, which is great, and the weapons feel adequately powerful for what they are. The crits sense, the leveling feels good, and the perks are nice. Hopefully the game does well enough long term to justify keeping it running, because I think it gives a lot of us something we could enjoy, an online massive multiplayer shooter that isn't just everyone trying to kill each other, but work together.    … Expand
  22. NE_Dave
    Apr 18, 2013
    7
    Defiance is a multiplayer online game, but not yet a RPG, despite claims of Trion Worlds. However, with the ties to the SyFy television show, the game is keeping my interest far longer than a standard FPS game which is only about killing one another. The over the shoulder firing system is similar to Fallout's system, another plus for someone like myself with poor reflexes. Still, the gameDefiance is a multiplayer online game, but not yet a RPG, despite claims of Trion Worlds. However, with the ties to the SyFy television show, the game is keeping my interest far longer than a standard FPS game which is only about killing one another. The over the shoulder firing system is similar to Fallout's system, another plus for someone like myself with poor reflexes. Still, the game does lack polish in some areas, and yes, quests are fairly repetitive at this moment. The hope is, however, the game will be adding content beyond 'shoot the raider/dark matter/bug/mutant' standard currently in the game. Role playing elements, to get more in depth with the characters is another area needing a huge improvement, but promised.

    Many of the reviews here have been critical of bugs, but I find few in the PC version of the game compared to what has been said about the consoles. Do, though, play this game with a controller if at all possible. It is very controller friendly compared to other MMOs which have attempted it previously.

    I'd like to rate this higher, but with elements missing to make it a RPG, and with the repetition, I have to hold back until I see the DLC adding more races and missions.    … Expand
  23. r3dl4nce
    Apr 18, 2013
    9
    Game is great. Shooter with a great action combat, skill based (you have to be good in aiming, avoiding shots, taking cover, gear is useful but there is NO gear farm like any wow-clone theme park (so everyone can play and compete and do all the game content without farming totally boring raids for months), MMO elements are good, lot of people arounds (60-70+ people in the big Arkfalls),Game is great. Shooter with a great action combat, skill based (you have to be good in aiming, avoiding shots, taking cover, gear is useful but there is NO gear farm like any wow-clone theme park (so everyone can play and compete and do all the game content without farming totally boring raids for months), MMO elements are good, lot of people arounds (60-70+ people in the big Arkfalls), nice coop missions with a right length (not too long and frustrating), game is B2P and shop is NOT a Pay2Win having only cosmetic items, PvP with BG and open world Shadow War.
    I saw the pilot of the TV show and that was AMAZING, a great mix of Terranova, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, with a solid lore/background just as seen in the MMO.
    Game can be bought for less than 30 euros from some reseller, less than a single player and you can play for at least 5-6 months before being bored from the actual content, not to mention updates and new content release from Trion.    … Expand
  24. Cytheria
    Apr 18, 2013
    6
    It's a reasonable enough shooter, with a fantastic new IP to work with, and what promises to be a fun tie in with a fresh new tv show to boot.
    It has a certain allure that will draw you back to it again and again to play, but you won't know why.
    I wish I could score the game higher at the moment, as I've really fallen for it, but I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible. In it's    It's a reasonable enough shooter, with a fantastic new IP to work with, and what promises to be a fun tie in with a fresh new tv show to boot.
    It has a certain allure that will draw you back to it again and again to play, but you won't know why.

    I wish I could score the game higher at the moment, as I've really fallen for it, but I'm trying to be as unbiased as possible.

    In it's current state, the game is unfinished. The story is short and the play area is deceptive in its scale it is pretty big, but you'll feel like its only a small region or level from a different game.

    In game communications, regardless of their form, are bugged or inoperable. Users report items going missing all the time, whilst others are swapped out entirely when patches are applied. The in game AI is pretty poor, and its spawn size, rather than actual "skill" or "intelligence" that is used to confer a sense of difficulty.

    A few features players expected never happened, most notably in game weather effects. The in game UI experience is pretty poor and doesn't always make sense (to log out you need to access the settings menu, which in itself is buried inside your main loadout/inventory screen)

    There is an issue with gated content, where some, real time limited, events are only accessible after completing a certain proportion of the PvE campaign.

    There is currently no clear sense of character progression, as in attempting to balance new players against old, Trion have opted for a system which see's players farming for "ego" perk points to upgrade abilities by a couple of percent, and very samey items which rely on mods to help players tweak them to perform in a way that appeals to their play style. What this basically means for the average casual player is that your character will always feel pretty much the same, and whilst they might change outfits once in a while, one user is pretty much interchangable with another. With items playing such a large role in your character development, it's also worth noting that with the lack of an auction house or storage, its very hard for individual players to actually collect together the mods and equipment needed to build their own "perfect" loadout, and with limited inventory space, most players end up either salvaging items they collect for parts or selling them to npc vendors rather than trying to sell them on to people because the alternative is a bit too awkward for most to want to worry about. (namely post on the forums and hope you can arrange to someone that wants the item you want, and that they are on the same server, the same platform, and in the same sort of timezone)

    Arkfalls and random in game events add a slightly chaotic mix to the equation, and something different to do. They're similar to the "Rift" events from Trion's earlier game Rift, but sadly feel like a poor reflection of the original. Similarly, the majority of the quests are pretty lackluster generally typical MMO "fed ex" and "kill 20 of these" type fare. Which is a real shame, as some of the "bigger", scripted events have some excellent narrative work, and really shine. Unfortunately, the few good quests just make you look at the bad ones that make up the majority and see how much better they could have been.

    Lack of reliable/usable comms renders the "Multiplayer" element of this mmo pretty much redundant. Unless using 3rd party tools to communicate with friends, you're going to have a hard time meeting anyone in game, and one random player with an assault rifle is interchangable for any other. Added to this problem is the fact that the main story quests dont work well with groups and generally force you to play solo, mean that what community feeling there is, is heavily forced.

    As a stand alone game, the lack of community immersion is made worse by the fact that a lot of the back story development has actually been left to a handful of in game collectible voice recordings and the TV show. The whole transmedia idea is fantastic, all most players know about the game world has come from information about the TV show, leaving it feeling like all those nasty movie tie in games we've seen over the years that do nothing to actually stand on their own two feet and instead just rely on making money from fans who already know and love an established IP.

    On top of all this are the day 1 bugs we've all come to know and love with new mmo releases, in this case already exasperated by a launch schedule that was rushed in order to tie in with the TV series. Unfortunately, so far, patches have failed to be applied at all to one platform (PS3), and on the remaining 2 (PC & XBOX) have generated an all new collection of bugs and problems for players, whilst in far too many cases, not actually correcting the bugs they were intended to fix anyway.

    I hope it gets better, but atm, its just a mediocre attempt at a TV tie in.    … Expand
  25. KarlT
    Apr 18, 2013
    10
    I have never in all my years playing an MMO stayed with the storyline for longer than the first couple of minutes, I end up skipping through the cut scenes and not actually understanding the story of the game, I simply play for the sake of playing, or playing to win.

    This game is the ONLY game I have been stuck watching the story all the way through, I've actually been eager to start    I have never in all my years playing an MMO stayed with the storyline for longer than the first couple of minutes, I end up skipping through the cut scenes and not actually understanding the story of the game, I simply play for the sake of playing, or playing to win.

    This game is the ONLY game I have been stuck watching the story all the way through, I've actually been eager to start the next part of the main quest. Needless to say I personally feel that this game engages me and from what I can understand an awful lot of other people as well.

    I find the community thus far simply the most helpful community I have ever come across, people help out without even asking. I find myself going from quest to quest and even stopping to help other people if I see them doing a quest of their own, no one complains or about things, perhaps this is due to the 18+ tag? I don't know but I'm thoroughly impressed.

    There are glitches and bugs yet to be ironed out (One thing I find the most annoying is in a buggy hit a tyre in the middle of the road and stop dead! :D quite funny really, not the end of the world, just avoid them. I've come across a couple of bugged quests, however I can clearly see this development team and community manager making changes, changes for the good.

    I've felt overall this game has been the most immersing, different and a potential contender to World of Warcraft, different concept but equally as enjoyable, the next generation of MMO's.

    All I see around the internet the majority of critic reviews are mediocre to average at best reviews. What is this new release being benchmarked against to get such conservative reviews?

    I'd hasten to add that Trion are behind RIFT which is probably second to WoW which as with every MMO, this included started off with bugs and improvements you will never be able to make without a huge player base.

    Get off their back and give credit where credit is due. This is simply the best game of its kind!    … Expand
  26. Aredyl101
    Apr 17, 2013
    6
    This game has quite a bit going for it: a unique world, large assortment of weapons, quite a few modifications for those weapons, and large variety of random encounters.

    Sadly, quite a few bugs mar this game, from patching to almost every aspect of playing. Errors during downloads of patches, random moments of getting disconnected, unable to enter instances properly (either not    This game has quite a bit going for it: a unique world, large assortment of weapons, quite a few modifications for those weapons, and large variety of random encounters.

    Sadly, quite a few bugs mar this game, from patching to almost every aspect of playing. Errors during downloads of patches, random moments of getting disconnected, unable to enter instances properly (either not entering them or getting tossed into an instance with a full group), overpowered weapon/perk combos (shotgun stealth in PvP is still very common, even resulting in 1 shots after a nerf), nerfs to gains in currency, constant weapon reloading bugs, etc.

    Shooter fans can find quite a bit of gameplay that will outweigh the numerous bugs, but the average MMO or Sci-Fi fan may be turned off by the large issues. Until the dust settles, I can't give this game anything above a 6.    … Expand
  27. Vorch
    Apr 17, 2013
    5
    If you want to buy it, you can find it for less than 40 bucks online.

    The show looks good...the game is pretty "meh" at the moment. * Combat is good, but it's standard TPS. * Quests get repetitive REALLY quick (run to point, kill spawns, hold E, repeat) * Menus need some work * Mods give weapons a custom feel. * Game has nearly NOTHING to do with the show (so far) I bought the    If you want to buy it, you can find it for less than 40 bucks online.

    The show looks good...the game is pretty "meh" at the moment.

    * Combat is good, but it's standard TPS.
    * Quests get repetitive REALLY quick (run to point, kill spawns, hold E, repeat)
    * Menus need some work
    * Mods give weapons a custom feel.
    * Game has nearly NOTHING to do with the show (so far)

    I bought the game because I trust Trion. I'd wait 3-6 months to see where this one goes.    … Expand
  28. Hawkcircle
    Apr 17, 2013
    10
    I've played MMO's since there were MMO's and each has different appeals. Defiance is a special gem, it gets the "fun" feel right. Yes, there are rough parts and its UI needs some definite love but frankly it's just so much fun. While some quests are simple there are others where you really benefit from thinking out your tactics and approach. The modding of weapons allowsI've played MMO's since there were MMO's and each has different appeals. Defiance is a special gem, it gets the "fun" feel right. Yes, there are rough parts and its UI needs some definite love but frankly it's just so much fun. While some quests are simple there are others where you really benefit from thinking out your tactics and approach. The modding of weapons allows customization, your "Ego choices" allows you to affect your stats, and frankly it's just complicated enough without becoming unwieldy. I've never given a 10 to any game before, but I think this one has some serious legs to it. I'd strongly recommend folks give it a try if you like shooters in a science fiction setting! (No, I don't work for them!)… Expand
  29. MuffAlorJr
    Apr 17, 2013
    5
    Story was ok, wasn't too engaging, the world was pretty cool, i liked the third person and it was pretty fun to play with friends, now this is just for me i hope, but there was a crap ton of lag and errors. And by errors i mean ones that caused me to wait 14 hours for it to download that sten stop and start over again, it made me really made, but that was just for the beta, so i was fineStory was ok, wasn't too engaging, the world was pretty cool, i liked the third person and it was pretty fun to play with friends, now this is just for me i hope, but there was a crap ton of lag and errors. And by errors i mean ones that caused me to wait 14 hours for it to download that sten stop and start over again, it made me really made, but that was just for the beta, so i was fine with that, i mean i am sure alot of people were playing it, so i waited for the release, and i stood in line for 3 hours to get the game, and when i buy it.... SAME ERROR, and i was mad, but i gave it yet another chance and said "alright maybe alot of people are playing it" so i waited about a week, same thing but it finally worked a couple days later, and took 14 hours to download, and stayed there for 28 because it had to restart again, gameplay was stiff and not worth 60 bucks, it's terrible, but i guess if you want you can wathc the show that they have on scifi that i thought was cool.… Expand
  30. mrbigtime
    Apr 17, 2013
    7
    Well, if you want to buy this, prepare yourself. it is not awesome. nor it is not so bad. but wish its money was a bit cheaper. i think it doesnt worth its current money. i paid and iam a bit disappointed.

    still, shooting mechanics are well done, physics are ok. sounds and visuals r good. if you can buy it cheaper it is a good game.
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Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
91
#91 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 40
  3. Negative: 2 out of 40
  1. Level7.nu
    Sep 10, 2013
    50
    Defiance may be an ambitious project. Linking an online action game with a TV-series is a smart idea but one that here mostly comes of as a mere gimmick. The story is unengaging and the action mediocre and monotonous. Not to say anything about the myriad of bugs that utterly destroys the experience.
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  2. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 5, 2013
    89
    It’s an addictive game that seems to become even better as you play. If it keeps getting the right support and if the tie-in with the TV series proves successful, we might have a game that will keep us occupied for a lengthy amount of time. [May 2013]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Jun 4, 2013
    60
    If Trion can introduce better quest design, this will be a winner. [June 2013, p.88]
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