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. MWSoapMactavish
    Nov 16, 2015
    4
    Defiance at the beginning will be interesting, but over the time the lack of content and due to generic and dull quests will start getting to be tedious over the time, I had a great time playing Defiance with a friend of mine, but within a month we started to realize that we were doing the same thing over and over again, another negative point of this game, is DLC Weapons, although you canDefiance at the beginning will be interesting, but over the time the lack of content and due to generic and dull quests will start getting to be tedious over the time, I had a great time playing Defiance with a friend of mine, but within a month we started to realize that we were doing the same thing over and over again, another negative point of this game, is DLC Weapons, although you can obtain them as random loot, you can't use them unless you have the respective DLC, and there are some overpowered DLC weapons like the Castithian Blade, the AI is pretty bad and sometimes will have major bugs that will ruin the experience, the PvP is plagued by lag and Castithian Blade users, and the tutorial explains from little to nothing, the UI is pretty bad, players assets doesn't even load alright, as most players appears to me with a common appearance or shape, also visual glitches are very common to find in Defiance, and the Inventory is very limited in storing space unless you buy more, the servers are very bad as mostly I have to retry five or seven times to be able to play, I don't really recommend this unless you have plenty of time, patience and the temperament to play this.… Expand
  2. Hudson
    Apr 5, 2013
    3
    tiny game world and lack of content, extremely repetitive gameplay, utter lack of meaningful progression, easily glitched ranked missions, painfully bad UI. You can do all this game does in other titles for free or way less money. Hell even Firefly which is in beta has more content than this game. Bloggers will hype it to push an agenda but this game is awful for 60 dollars.
  3. RecoveryRx
    Apr 11, 2013
    3
    The game is fairly fun in gameplay, but it sure lacks in content. The world map is small, the weapon upgrades feel pointless as all weapons have basically the same stats minus maybe a few miniscule bonuses here and there, and you'll be fighting the same boring monsters over and over. Arkfalls are more boring versions of rifts and there is very little variety of these. UI is god awfulThe game is fairly fun in gameplay, but it sure lacks in content. The world map is small, the weapon upgrades feel pointless as all weapons have basically the same stats minus maybe a few miniscule bonuses here and there, and you'll be fighting the same boring monsters over and over. Arkfalls are more boring versions of rifts and there is very little variety of these. UI is god awful as is chat it feels like a single player game. Overall it's a pretty big disappointment for me, but taken at small doses it can be fun. Plus it's a one time purchase so that's good.… Expand
  4. meru
    Aug 14, 2013
    3
    TLDR: Play FireFall instead, the game is not going to get better, as many of the developers were let go after the game was published.

    What a great concept behind Defiance: A Science Fiction game and a TV show which evolve together and influence each other. But what a horrible, horrible implementation. It was fun to play at times, and if the game gets ever finished, I am sure it will be    TLDR: Play FireFall instead, the game is not going to get better, as many of the developers were let go after the game was published.

    What a great concept behind Defiance: A Science Fiction game and a TV show which evolve together and influence each other. But what a horrible, horrible implementation. It was fun to play at times, and if the game gets ever finished, I am sure it will be fun to play.

    Four months after release, it plays like an early beta. In the first minutes, you cannot follow the instructions, as your tutorial actions are constantly interrupted by NPCs. Already the first few missions are bugged, so that you may have to quit and restart in order to do them. Chat is bugged (in the sense of not being able to communicate at all) for the PC version, so that you cannot even ask other players for advice about the bugs; I found the advice to relog finally on the forums. The game has open world missions, but gets confused when two players work on the same mission, so that you cannot finish them.

    The good points: You can try the game for free for three days, but within this time frame you need to download the client, and the downloader has major problems. The price for the game was lowered to 10 bucks in some places, and no subscription is required, so it might be worth buying, if you believe that the developers will ever finish the game. Which is unlikely, as a lot of the developers were let go in May 2013.

    By coincidence I discovered a second Science Fiction MMO shooter called FireFall at the same time, which is in open beta starting August 2013. FireFall plays almost the same as Defiance, with the difference being that it is actually fun, and mostly a finished product.    … Expand
  5. kirkkh
    Feb 13, 2014
    3
    It's lazy and repetitive. The game dies immediately (never picks back up). Players are all identical. --It feels like a facebook game. Barely playable. Any positive review here must be a developer. I don't know how someone could recommend something so tedious and gray. Just play co-op Borderlands instead.
  6. SighMN
    Apr 11, 2013
    3
    I just feel kind of neutral about this game. I think some of the ideas behind it could be exciting. A really good Borderlands MMORPG would be wonderful, but unfortunately the more you play Defiance the more you realise it has many many flaws. The first problem really is that the game was designed for consoles and PCs at the same time. It looks like because of the limitations ofI just feel kind of neutral about this game. I think some of the ideas behind it could be exciting. A really good Borderlands MMORPG would be wonderful, but unfortunately the more you play Defiance the more you realise it has many many flaws. The first problem really is that the game was designed for consoles and PCs at the same time. It looks like because of the limitations of consoles, the PC version got the short end of the stick. The PC version has really really unintuitive menus that are extremely clunky which are much more suited for a console system. The UI is so bad, that it does really diminish any fun the game has to offer. There is limited inventory space, which means you have to constantly go into the UI menu to breakdown items you get. This would normally be easy with a mouse interface, Instead its 4-5 clicks in a window that is full screen. I can't say the number of times I've died because I wanted to pick up a gun, but in the process of breaking down an item, mobs spawned and killed me without warning. The UI also provides other problems in that quickly identifying which guns are better than others is really hard when you first start. This is combined with the really awkward way they implemented moding weapons.

    The Ego "Perks" system is a horribly aborted and badly implemented talent system. The two main problems are:

    1) All the "talents" have to be placed in perk spots, but you often have too few spots to place all the talents you invested ego points into. Its like putting points into a talent tree, but then only having the ability to select 3 of those talents to use, even though you may have placed points into 8 talents. The ego perks
    2) The perks are horribly uninteresting, and to top it off any perks you can't unlock at the moment are locked and their descriptions hidden so you have no idea what perks you want to head towards.

    The quests and storyline are really poorly done. The quests are extremely repetitive, and do nothing to advance the story. It takes hours of gameplay to come across the first interesting storyline, and its spoiled by really awful cutscenes and voice acting. In a world that seems as interesting as this and has a tie-in television series, I'm shocked they couldn't have developed a gripping storyline with requisite quests from the start.

    The combat is generally fun. Unlike some shooters, there is a sense of reward if you aim more carefully, and most mobs don't feel like bullet sponges. Ammo for the most part is readily available via ammo crates, and mobs drop usually an ample supply of ammo. I haven't PVPed so I can't combat on balance in that domain, but just in questing it is clear that some types of guns are generally useless.

    Unfortunately this game does seem to suffer from server side performance issues during arkfalls, and I notice the combat is much less responsive when there are 10 more people in a close area. I've also encountered a few bugs, where my weapon starts to aim upwards in areas with higher player density. The "arkfalls" are badly done, and give generally uninteresting rewards. They are nowhere near as engaging as other games public quests or even rifts in Rift.

    The graphics of this game like the UI are limited by the fact this is released on consoles as well. But even worse than just graphics, the actual artwork and environments are just plain boring. I'm not sure how they made the San Francisco bay area look so boring. There simply isn't much style or effort gone into making this game look great despite the possible technical limitations of consoles.

    In summary, this game has a pretty good combat system, but I'm really disappointed as it could have been so much more. I'm not sure how Trion misstepped so much considering all the good things they did with Rift, and it makes me wonder whether or not this game was rushed. I think its biggest downfall is the really disappointing storyline, and really generic and uninteresting quests.    … Expand
  7. Enik
    Jul 22, 2013
    3
    You know why there's no demo of Defiance? Because if you do one quest, one arkfall and attach one mod to a gun, you've done EVERYTHING there is to do. Seriously. There's virtually no meaningful character progression, no real crafting, no real social component. It's a pseudo MMO for the Call of Duty dolts. I was bored after an hour.

    I gave it a 3 because the guns are kind of fun and the    You know why there's no demo of Defiance? Because if you do one quest, one arkfall and attach one mod to a gun, you've done EVERYTHING there is to do. Seriously. There's virtually no meaningful character progression, no real crafting, no real social component. It's a pseudo MMO for the Call of Duty dolts. I was bored after an hour.

    I gave it a 3 because the guns are kind of fun and the shooting mechanics are solid. But really, it's not an MMO.    … Expand
  8. Traciatim
    May 28, 2013
    3
    Defiance is generic throw away console trash. Everything about it's design from the terrible control schemes, to lack of graphics customization, right down to the bite sized questing and ADD style action random action points scream console port. If you are looking for a PC shooter MMO, look elsewhere. Save this one for the $9.99 bargain bin.
  9. Xodan
    Apr 6, 2013
    3
    This game is really not interesting at all, I had the chance to watch the game "grow" during early progress. And everytime I restarted it, i had no interest in playing it longer than ~30 minutes. I see almost no immersion in this game, the story is "strange" and stopped interesting me from the start. The effect are good bad the textures and animations are very ugly compared to other recentThis game is really not interesting at all, I had the chance to watch the game "grow" during early progress. And everytime I restarted it, i had no interest in playing it longer than ~30 minutes. I see almost no immersion in this game, the story is "strange" and stopped interesting me from the start. The effect are good bad the textures and animations are very ugly compared to other recent MMO. And one other big negative point is the business strategy: Buy2Play 50€, and announced DLC's after a few month for additional 8-9€ (calculated from the season pass price). So its like a small Buy2Play for a game that is not worth its money at all, in my opinion. Summarized this makes 3/10 for Defiance.… Expand
  10. Lighterfluid
    Apr 2, 2013
    3
    This game may look like a MMO Borderlands, but do not be fooled. Defiance offers very little when it comes to the MMO spectrum. I had so many issues with this game i dont even know where to begin.

    From the start you are treated with some terrible visuals and pretty lame voice acting. Then comes the quests, which are run here do that. The game wasnt engaging or gripping in the least.    This game may look like a MMO Borderlands, but do not be fooled. Defiance offers very little when it comes to the MMO spectrum. I had so many issues with this game i dont even know where to begin.

    From the start you are treated with some terrible visuals and pretty lame voice acting. Then comes the quests, which are run here do that. The game wasnt engaging or gripping in the least.

    If you are looking for a story, then maybe just maybe you might find enjoyment in this game. If your looking for good game play features on the other hand i wouldn't even give this a second look. Truelly a let down.

    Over all just another MMO to brush under the table    … Expand
  11. Hanff
    Apr 3, 2013
    3
    Mediocre-at-best shooter with too many glaring flaws to keep a player engaged. The potential was there, but the execution was halfhearted: terrible voice acting, no real character customization to speak of, controls that are so far from intuitive it's almost a joke, and the same grindy quests over and over. Not to mention the lack of a viable chat system.

    There are worse ways to kill an    Mediocre-at-best shooter with too many glaring flaws to keep a player engaged. The potential was there, but the execution was halfhearted: terrible voice acting, no real character customization to speak of, controls that are so far from intuitive it's almost a joke, and the same grindy quests over and over. Not to mention the lack of a viable chat system.

    There are worse ways to kill an hour here and there, but not at this price.    … Expand
  12. matrix2050
    Apr 4, 2013
    3
    Mhh It was too good to be true. After 2 Days of playing this Game, i have no more fun. The game menu is horrible. Graphics are good for the Unreal 3 Engine. The game is played through quickly and then? World is too small and it makes me at least no fun.
  13. Silok
    Apr 6, 2013
    3
    Let me start by saying that I took time to create this account just for the review as well as leave my 110 pound woman in bed to write this. This game is awful. Clunky UI. Meh graffix. Go to point A and kill some guys. Now to point B same thing.........over and over. Yes every game has repetitiveness but a good game will "hide" this by intriguing story or awesome game play.
    The grouping    Let me start by saying that I took time to create this account just for the review as well as leave my 110 pound woman in bed to write this. This game is awful. Clunky UI. Meh graffix. Go to point A and kill some guys. Now to point B same thing.........over and over. Yes every game has repetitiveness but a good game will "hide" this by intriguing story or awesome game play.
    The grouping system is horrible. Controls are bad. AI looks like it was programmed by a ten year old on a Speak and Spell. Everything about the game is wonky. Even leaving the game you press L, hold space bar, radial tab to settings, click exit game twice..................

    DO not get roped in to playing this. Yes your first hour is fun because its new but after three days of waiting for the game to get good,,,it just doesnt......................    … Expand
  14. Oceanhawk
    Apr 10, 2013
    3
    Don't let the positive reviews fool you. This game is an early Beta at best. While some elements of the game are fun, they are extremely overshadowed by the bugs and lack of depth. I think eventually the game will be patched to make it playable but right now the issues make it boring and frustrating. Also this is a direct console port game so expect it to look like a game from 1999 not aDon't let the positive reviews fool you. This game is an early Beta at best. While some elements of the game are fun, they are extremely overshadowed by the bugs and lack of depth. I think eventually the game will be patched to make it playable but right now the issues make it boring and frustrating. Also this is a direct console port game so expect it to look like a game from 1999 not a current title.… Expand
  15. 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
  16. MrRelyt
    May 13, 2013
    3
    Defiance is an absolutely abysmal game. Sub-average graphics, repetitive game-play and a boring story line is underwhelming. I had high hopes for this game, and to be honest I really wanted to like it. But unfortunately I couldn't. Also, the game preforms like a piece of especially when you are in an area filled with other players. Overall Defiance is a terrible game. Recommendation: DO NOT BUY.
  17. Drewger
    May 23, 2013
    3
    Right now I don't recommend this game. Sure there is a lot of things to do, but good luck getting things done. There are so many bugs in the game that when you try and complete something, there is a good chance the game won't recognize it or an update will erase what you have accomplished. My level/ego rating has been pushed back several times because the 'fixes' have not fixed anything orRight now I don't recommend this game. Sure there is a lot of things to do, but good luck getting things done. There are so many bugs in the game that when you try and complete something, there is a good chance the game won't recognize it or an update will erase what you have accomplished. My level/ego rating has been pushed back several times because the 'fixes' have not fixed anything or has made Trion roll back the character's progression to before the fix. I am really getting tired of this. The game has great concepts, but horrible follow-thru. Weapons need multiple reloads before firing half of the time. One out of about seven times I get stuck in an instance. Certain weapon kills don't add up properly. Some achievements are not attainable because they game isn't finished. I did have fun playing the game, but now I feel like I am a tortoise with a carrot strapped to a stick on its shell. I feel like I am getting nowhere. I just hope this next month is better.… Expand
  18. KaienShiba
    Feb 13, 2015
    3
    Any similarity between the show and the game is only in someone drug induced coma. The UI, graphics are deplorable, at distances the enemy are barely recognizable which makes them hard hit.
  19. Xerczies
    May 9, 2014
    3
    Its a great game, at first. Then it starts to go downhill, the weapons arent good enough that you need other player, which there are none. AND it takes 1 hour to start the game i mean WTF, its not just on my xbox i tried it on others too
  20. XJT
    Nov 13, 2015
    3
    There are some really great parts of this game. The intro quests are engaging and demonstrate how the early game works. Unfortunately, the fun dies after a few hours when confusion sets in. it is a First person shooter with a bit of RP thrown in, but the weapons system is incomprehensible and your inventory is always full. I have yet to figure out how to equip a mod after severalThere are some really great parts of this game. The intro quests are engaging and demonstrate how the early game works. Unfortunately, the fun dies after a few hours when confusion sets in. it is a First person shooter with a bit of RP thrown in, but the weapons system is incomprehensible and your inventory is always full. I have yet to figure out how to equip a mod after several weeks of gameplay. if you have some friends to help out, the game can be really fun, but if you try to go it alone.....good luck… Expand
  21. javeca
    Aug 30, 2015
    3
    This game like the show has potential, in the story lines, but fails on the execution side. It has as a reviewer on another site put it, you have to pay to get the better gear or you will spend a lot of time being frustrated by how long it takes to take out bosses or supposedly low level enemies that require emptying two 85 round magazine from a LMG to kill an enemy or emptying 50 round ofThis game like the show has potential, in the story lines, but fails on the execution side. It has as a reviewer on another site put it, you have to pay to get the better gear or you will spend a lot of time being frustrated by how long it takes to take out bosses or supposedly low level enemies that require emptying two 85 round magazine from a LMG to kill an enemy or emptying 50 round of sniper ammo into the head of a boss and only knock down its health by 50%.

    Great time waster but has been increasingly become more and more frustrating to play.    … Expand
  22. 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
  23. MikeJezZ
    May 27, 2013
    2
    A friend of mine hyped the game alot for me, so I decided to buy the game (which I did, at launch).

    First, the patcher is horrible. You have to download 15 GB straight. If you close the patcher and opens it again, you have to redownload the whole game again and it does not delete what you already downloaded. Second, theres no real progression in the game. It is a online shooter, and    A friend of mine hyped the game alot for me, so I decided to buy the game (which I did, at launch).

    First, the patcher is horrible. You have to download 15 GB straight. If you close the patcher and opens it again, you have to redownload the whole game again and it does not delete what you already downloaded.

    Second, theres no real progression in the game. It is a online shooter, and the RPG elements are limited to allmost none.

    It would probably have received a better score if they have called it a MMOTPS instead of a MMORPG.    … Expand
  24. ozorxoron
    Apr 5, 2013
    2
    Defiance is an average, painfully repetitive game, but it is oddly addictive.

    The game is very bare bones, there are only a handful of missions and they are repeated throughout the game. The weapons rarely feel unique, you get your RPG's, AR's, pistols, sniper rifles and so on, but most feel weak and you'll stick to one or two through most of the game. The missions themselves are    Defiance is an average, painfully repetitive game, but it is oddly addictive.

    The game is very bare bones, there are only a handful of missions and they are repeated throughout the game. The weapons rarely feel unique, you get your RPG's, AR's, pistols, sniper rifles and so on, but most feel weak and you'll stick to one or two through most of the game.

    The missions themselves are very dull, go here, kill all the enemies, activate an object and kill more enemies. The story is pretty bland with main characters that are cliche and boring. The fact that your character doesn't have the ability to speak or even show emotion during the cutscenes leaves little reason to watch them. At first they're a nice break from the constant shooting, but I quickly found myself skipping them as they were just boring, poorly animated scenes of NPC's standing around talking about why I need to go to a location and kill some more.

    The Arkfall's are pretty interesting, they don't really bring anything new to the game, but stick with them and a large enough group of players will arrive making for some chaotic fun. The vehicle controls are poor, the vehicles feel like they're made of cardboard and using the W,A,S and D keys to control them doesn't help.

    The whole MMO thing doesn't really work for this game, at least on the PC. I've never grouped up with people or needed help on a mission, and I rarely see anyone speak as the chat interface is awful and most people either ignore or don't realise it's there.

    Overall the game has some fun to be had, but it's not worth the asking price. Wait for a large price drop first.    … Expand
  25. cedekane
    Apr 25, 2013
    2
    The game is unpolished, buggy, gameplay is fun at times, but unimaginative. None of this kills the game. That is done by the repetition and a system that doesn't keep you wanting to flesh our your character. After 20 hours, you will have done anything there is to do in this world multiple times. That is pretty normal for an MMO, where defiance differs is its Loot/leveling system, whichThe game is unpolished, buggy, gameplay is fun at times, but unimaginative. None of this kills the game. That is done by the repetition and a system that doesn't keep you wanting to flesh our your character. After 20 hours, you will have done anything there is to do in this world multiple times. That is pretty normal for an MMO, where defiance differs is its Loot/leveling system, which is veryshallow and I'm hesitant to say it even has one. You can easily get to the end of the game with the same guns you had at the beginning, this is because the stats on a higher level weapon is exactly the same as that of a lower level weapon. In the end, you may be tempted like I was. I bought this game and wanted to love it. I have 20 hours logged(for many gamers 20 hours for a game like this is a laughable amount), before I saw this game for what it is, a rushed, shoddily put together money grab exploiting the first game of its kind. Save your money for now and wait it out, by the time the price goes down, maybe it will be a game of comparable quality to some other games out right now. As is, even if it were free, you could do better. To Trion and Syfy, you could of had a contender, instead its just a bum, which is what it is...… Expand
  26. Ozzalin
    Jun 6, 2013
    2
    Do not get fooled by flashy and amazing videos of this mmorpg...
    1st of all, there is a lot of what you can see in those videos, that never been implemented in the game.
    Crazy vehicles, interactive weather system, thousands of weapons etc, you wont find in Defiance. Also the game itself was supposed to be revolutionary, with a lot of players interactions between the TV series on SyFy    Do not get fooled by flashy and amazing videos of this mmorpg...
    1st of all, there is a lot of what you can see in those videos, that never been implemented in the game.
    Crazy vehicles, interactive weather system, thousands of weapons etc, you wont find in Defiance.
    Also the game itself was supposed to be revolutionary, with a lot of players interactions between the TV series on SyFy channel and the actual game... It is NOT.

    Defiance is a simple online shooter with a storyline... Although a storyline so short (2 weeks of gameplay) and a map so small, that i found myself having nothing to do after only 2 or 3 weeks of gameplay. Once you're done with the storyline, you will be doing a series of highly repetitive side missions, with the same voice over, again and again, which can be done in no time as well.
    And then it is pvp time for you, or you'll find Defiance quite boring, and really fast.

    For 60$ (Now 39$ since the reviews were terrible) i would have give a good average score if the game itself would have been around 20$ at launch, which would have been a fair price for such a small game.
    But unfortunately, Defiance has been one of the major let down for me, since Aliens Colonial Marines.

    The combat music is monotone, and on a perpetual loop...
    smallest map ever on any mmorpgs i've played so far.
    Ridiculous weapon system, with no real impact on any stats whatsoever.
    Repetitive boring side missions
    Shortest main storyline ever created.
    3 kinds of vehicles, with no weapons mounted on them whatsoever.
    No weather system, boring "Rift like" arkfalls, No big rewards, and lame Achievement system.
    Almost non-existent in game store, selling armours you can get in game for free...just different colours.
    NO economy whatsoever, No auction system, no brokers, no crafting.
    No real goals, no immersion, no feelings or attachment to the main characters.
    No real interactive tie to the TV series, unless some minimal impacts.

    The only thing this game has, is good graphics, visuals, effects and cosmetics.
    But even with that, as a shooter 1st, the mmorpgs element aren't there at all.
    Its a good little shooter game you'll want to try once it'll go down 20$ or 14$.

    So wait until it comes down as for the price.    … Expand
  27. level5dwarf
    Jun 29, 2013
    2
    Garbage, wish i had my money and time back. I can't help but question if all the positive user reviews that came out immediately at release, which were notably done by mostly people with no other reviews, were paid for by Trion.
  28. Ethasa
    Apr 3, 2013
    2
    While a few new concepts have been added to the gaming world, this game is not much to look at if one looks past the few shallow reviews left here by passersby. Let's start from the beginning, as i played rift before this game, and thoroughly enjoyed it's concepts and content, i expected something above average for this game, but that is not what i received upon being invited to the Alpha.While a few new concepts have been added to the gaming world, this game is not much to look at if one looks past the few shallow reviews left here by passersby. Let's start from the beginning, as i played rift before this game, and thoroughly enjoyed it's concepts and content, i expected something above average for this game, but that is not what i received upon being invited to the Alpha. Yet, then i went one to try to help with solving bugs and giving suggestions content wise, and that all went unanswered due to lack of fixes or simple neglect of the Alpha community, which made apparent that the dev has really given up or simply put down the project, and for this reason, i believe the game has no real value in terms of maturing over time, as the crew seems to have a different agenda then that of rift. It also seemed to be a rushed product, due to it's lack graphic wise and content wise, as the voice acting seemed so rushed and placed that it literally sounds if they almost didn't even do it in studio, and that's not even the worst audio, as the charger was changed multiple times due to the quality of recordings they received from dodge, which also shows how much they were willing to give up to their preteen associated sponsors such as axe and etc.
    All this and i haven't even touched on the combat yet. As i said before, the game seemed rushed, and content wise shows so. The end game is non-existent, along with a viable progression system. Oh yes, i just remembered that, the progression system is linear, so no matter what level your weapon is, or what rarity (e.g. a green/uncommon, will be exactly the same as an orange/legendary, except for one little bonus effect that might or might not be what you need/want) they will be almost exactly the same, this amplified by the gimmicky perk tree that was constantly debuffed due to complaints of extremely unbalanced and unviable pvp that was dominated by rocket launching bunny hoppers (is still plagued by this if you must know), and is now so shallow that you feel as if you wasted that 10 hours getting +50 ego rating from some ridiculous broken "achievement" (which they call pursuits) that gave you them because you already ran so many congruent/exactly the same arkfalls that became so tedious you just had to force yourself to do something different. Also, if you want to say the arkfalls are akin to the rift system in rift, then your completely wrong. This "exciting" and "replayable" system has so little variance that, in alpha, people just plain stopped doing them, due to both their tediousness, and their lack of a legitimate award. Also, on a side note, if your hoping for an expansive vehicle system, their are only 7 variants of vehicles aside from colors, of which none are customizable at the least.
    Oh, and to further make this mess worse, the reason they don't give legitimate rewards to you is so that they can make you pay for that weapon you desperately want. For example, to even be able to get a legendary/orange weapon (extremely low chance that makes me want to cry due to their linear progression) you need to get a t4 lockbox that will cost 64 arkfall keys, and you will most likely only make 4 from a major, that will likely take anywhere from 15-45 minutes depending on how many people know what they are doing. This results in you needing to grind these arkfalls for around 8 hours to even get one, they will probably not even have what you want. So by using this 8 hour grind time obstacle, they made it possible to simply by them with your real hard earned money. Oh, and if you want one of the actually good looking outfits, you probably going to have to pay 10 dollars for that too, because you can't even earn them in game.
    And to top all this off, they have had months to fix that unintuitive UI they try to push on their PC gamers that resulted when they were too damn lazy to change it from the console counterparts of this game. In fact, the entire alpha gave up on the topic due to their lack of communication regarding the issue. Such issues were brought up several times, but always ignored, like most of the bugs.
    So all in all, i just wanted to save you from this worthless game that has reduced my respect for Trion Worlds 10 fold by telling how this rushed mess is lacking in every aspect, and that you should look farther than that fluff those positive reviews give you and see the cold hard truth about this game before you waste that coveted 60 dollars of yours.    … Expand
  29. Linath
    Apr 4, 2013
    2
    I do not mind massive multiplayers. However the idea of the game was what convinced me to buy it. With the exception if some not bad graphics I am not at all impressed with the game. The graphics could be better. What they show you in the loading screen is obviously not what you get in game. The amount of space it takes to actually play the game (which must be from your hard drive) doesn'tI do not mind massive multiplayers. However the idea of the game was what convinced me to buy it. With the exception if some not bad graphics I am not at all impressed with the game. The graphics could be better. What they show you in the loading screen is obviously not what you get in game. The amount of space it takes to actually play the game (which must be from your hard drive) doesn't justify the waiting time. This being said I do not enjoy having to wait 6 to 10 minutes to play an average game. The view of your character is inadequate, as she is tiny (and I've a very large tv).

    As I said the idea of the game is cool. However the content and waiting time per each session is lost on me. And the content is just not worth the wait. I'll enjoy the show more i hope.

    As a foot note server que times for a game I spent 70$ to buy is not acceptable.    … Expand
  30. 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...
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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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