Defiance

Defiance succeeded in making us patiently wait for the upcoming patches that are supposed to compensate the game’s weaknesses. The graphics aren’t more than okay, the story currently is lacking depth and the AI couldn’t act more predictably. Nevertheless, it’s this incredible MMO feeling that definitely saves Defiance from failing and provides decent fun.

Defiance is far from perfect. The list of technical issues is substantial and not all elements of the game have been worked out as well as others. The competitive competitions fail to impress for instance. Still, it manages to keep players interested, thanks to the lively and intriguing world. Especially the dynamic Arkfall-events are impressive. Defiance is a fun MMO that you’ll sink many hours into before you know it.

Defiance is far from perfect. But it gets enough stuff right, that fans of action RPGs should find solace and have a really good time on this sci-fi excursion.

Even though we haven't checked the consistency between the game and the TV show, we can say that Defiance, with its ample variety of options, will be a satisfactory experience for any MMO fan. Although this game is not a graphic marvel, if the player base keeps up, it will last for a long while.

If Defiance were purely offline you wouldn’t look at it twice. Objects wink out of existence, characters have little weight, and unless you’re in a team the enemies are tough. But it will get under your skin. [June 2013, p74]

There is lots to do in this MMO, but the story and graphics could have been better.

Well worth the base price for players looking to find a great third-person shooter with a good deal of ever-evolving content.

Defiance kicks off an engaging science fiction universe along with the series of the same name. The world itself is great, but the game is rather mediocre. The action is fun thanks to a nice variety of weaponry, but repetitive missions, terrible AI and disappointing audio take away from the experience. Nevertheless, Defiance isn't the worst shooter out there - the interested shouldn't keep themselves from applying for duty.

The successes of Defiance are quickly overshadowed by its flaws. Trion Worlds promises that Defiance will continue to evolve and improve. I hope so: beneath the muck is a game that deserves better.

Defiance is the B movie of massively multiplayer games: rickety and unrefined, yet a good time all the same.

It’s also worth noting Defiance’s death mechanic, which fails to elicit much from the player. You periodically get the ability to revive exactly where you died, but generally you’ll need to "extract," which pulls you just a little bit farther out. Even so, you will rarely revive anywhere that's not in eyeshot of where you just were. In other words, you can always just respawn--and the experience and gold penalty to do so is negligible. It’s too forgiving, and a significant part of what makes Defiance an oftentimes flat and emotionless experience.

Trion Worlds’ game, on the other hand, seems simply to offer yet another big open world filled with weapons to collect and creatures to kill. I won’t deny that I’ve had moments of fun blowing holes in Hellbugs over the last week, but it was of a flavourless variety I could have derived from any number of other third-person shooters.

Every MMO I’ve ever played has issues at launch, but Defiance would be just okay even if it were working perfectly. It can't afford hiccups like these.

Ugly and full of bugs, but also quite fun and possessing some good ideas - an interesting start for an MMO. [Issue#231, p.73]

Defiance is not a bad game, but offers no more than a satisfactory solution to a universe of MMO's where there are heavyweights with better arguments.

You certainly can’t fault Defiance for lack of content, then. Sadly, what you can fault it for is being an ugly, buggy and monotonous shooter with a tenuous link to a mediocre sci-fi TV drama.

While it has some minor redeeming qualities Defiance is just too bland and unoriginal to recommend. If you’re done with Borderlands and want more this might interest you, but it’s a step down. A really, really big step down.

Defiance is a middle-of-the road third-person shooter that never seems to fully capitalize on its alien-filled, post apocalyptic setting.

The moronic AI is not the only thing which takes us back to the good old days of the PlayStation 2. Defiance looks horrible with its blurry textures, wooden animations and an all-devouring grey mist that swallows up the horizon. [May 2013, p.82]