WARNING: This blog may have spoilers. Note also some of the facts in this blog that doesn't seem to pop in the show pops up in the video game. This is not a full Summary of the show or game.
Me and my friends were talking about video games when Defiance entered the conversation. One of my friends says the show is actually pretty good. After hearing this, i decided to check out the 2 Hour pilot on demand after working at my job. The first 5 minutes was weird. You have a human (Named Nolan) and a alien red head (Named Irisa) singing country. Later in the show, its found out that Irisa is Nolans adoptive daughter. The setting of the show is 33 years into the future. In those 33 years, Aliens has immigrated to earth. After conflicts in the U.N, Humans and Votans (All the alien species that immigrated) went to war. During the war, Earth has been terraformed. The planet has changed, including the landscape,the animals, the nature, etc. Later in the war, a few humans and votans defied war orders during a war. This was known as the Battle of Defiance. After that battle, humans and aliens lived peacefully on earth. Now the 5 minutes of them singing left me wondering what this is. I understand what they were doing, but i just can't help but think what is going on. After the singing, Nolan and Irisa deal with some troubles and end up in Defiance, a city named after the battle in the remains of whatever is left of St. Louis. Centered in Defiance is the infamous St. Louis Arch that we know off. The Arch is still standing, all though it looks damaged. After some issues, conversations, surprises and battles, the 2 Hour pilot ends. The pilot inst exactly jaw dropping, but i found my self having a liking to the show. Soon i found myself recording new episodes of the show. As new episodes roll on, the show gets more interesting and i like the show more. This is only the first season though, yet people think negatively of it. They didn't give the show time to progress, or they never really seen the full pilot or it's new episodes. Regardless, some people hate the show, some people like it. But i can say this is a defiantly a show for those who are hardcore alien show fans and gamer's.
After watching the pilot, i decided to buy a new copy of the Defiance video game for the PS3. After issues with the PS3 Hard drive, the 1 and 1/2 hour patch update, i find myself in the world of the Defiance video game. After creating my character, i find the 2 main characters of the show (Nolan and Irisa). Trion and SyFy's purpose for a show and a game is so they can co-exist with each other. I found out later there were Episode missions, missions where you team up with Nolan and Irisa. I couldn't play these missions because of the show. In the game, there was a Episode 1 Mission. It was only available until Episode 2 of the show is aired. Once it's aired, the Episode 2 Mission is released into the game and the Episode 1 Mission is gone. You could only play these missions if you've played Episode 1 and continued to play the following Episode missions. I started playing the game after Episode 1 and 2 of the show has been aired. So i was late to try these missions. Otherwise the game is great. The game is a 3rd Person MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game. MMO is a type of game where you are constantly online, in which you need to be online to play it. For PC gamers, this really aint a problem. For Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers, it kinda is. For PS3, you need to be PSN to play it, and for Xbox 360, you need Xbox live to use it. I was never interested in MMO's, but Defiance has changed my mind. After completing the tutorial and the first story mission, i explore the area a bit. The graphics are kind of beautiful yet kind of bad. The environment reminds me of Fallout, with damaged buildings and weird tress and plants and mutant soldiers attacking you. The game's controls are simple. Switching weapons is a breeze and activating your EGO Power is simple. It takes a while understand how everything works (such as your EGO power, grenades, etc.). But in the end, you get used to it.
The story line doesn't co-exist with the show, but it is unique and similar though. You play as Ark Hunter (A person hunting down rare alien stuff from crashed Arks) who has to find his employer after your ship has crashed. After teaming with characters to find him, you realize he has a plan to re-terraform the planet back to the way it was. There are 5 acts in the game, each act revealing new characters, weapons, enemies and areas. Every new act usually begins with a type of intro to new enemies and a new area. This act system is pretty cool and very different than most games i played. I was made it halfway into the 3rd act before my PS3's hard drive became massively corrupted. I plan to get it for the Xbox 360 soon, but until then, i'll continue to enjoy the show. The Game's Co-Op system is pretty cool. If your not doing a mission, you usually see players driving,walking, shopping or interacting. If your also doing a certain mission, side or story, you end having help. There's also 2 different types of ways you play with people: Arkfall and Shadow War. Arkfall is basically what every Ark Hunter is after (in logic and theory). Arkfall is when a meteor like thing (called an ark) falls out of the sky and players come together and get the Arkfall. Each Arkfall has different situations. Players has to complete the situation before they get the arkfall. The prize is usually some rare loot or Scrip (a type of currency in Defiance). A situation may involve players having to fight hellbugs, 49ers or mutants. These are usually minor arkfalls. A major arkfall is when players have to battle a giant hellbug and kill it to get the arkfall. Shadow War is a massive game of Domination (In Call of Duty) or Dominion (In Halo). The usually set up is 64v64. Players can use there own loadouts they use for missions. Players will battle and take over positions. Winning team needs to get the most points from the positions.
The game and the show is great. But there are a few problems. For the game, there are usually server shutdowns for maintenance. Trion does this to keep the game updated and to prevent many long patch updates. This happens a few times, but when it does, they usually tell you how long until then. But when they shut down, you can't tell for how long though. Plus if you just bought the game and did the long patch, it'd be really annoying if the server is shutting down in 10 minutes. Another problem i have is the Revive system. It's kind of confusing to understand. If your down for the first time in a mission/battle, you can either extract yourself (force yourself to die and respawn in the nearest respawn area) or revive yourself. You can revive yourself once for a period of time. Until then, you have to extract yourself, which costs scrip. I yet to understand it. I had full shield and health and i couldn't revive myself. After 20 minutes, i couldn't revive myself. So i wonder if you can do once a battle or mission. For the show, i have no problems with it.
