This second column focuses mainly on the story based content recently added.
The world of Defiance is always changing and it’s very likely that players will find new missions to go on whenever they log back in.
One of the more recent episodes is The Vagabond. Episode missions are time sensitive and tend to appear after the most recent Defiance tv show. It’s supposed to work as a link so players feel like they are a part of the overall experience.
The Vagabond features a series of objectives that will task players with finding out more about some shadowy activities. This all happens after the player meets one of the less friendly characters from the tv show. Anyone that follows the show will know who this fugitive is. Apparently Noel let her go after she saved his life.
Some of the mission objectives feel a little repetitive, yet the whole mission sequence creates a fascinating dynamic, enabling players to interact with a character from the tv show, learning a bit more about them. One particular objective consists of travelling to several locations so the whereabouts of a secret location can be found, one hinted at in the show.
This makes Defiance stand out, and it presents an interesting idea, allowing players to expand some of the story lines from the tv show if they so choose. This is also done tactfully and in a subtle way so the sequence doesn’t spoil anything for anyone that hasn’t watched the latest episode.
In addition, there was also a special event to take part in over the weekend. This time it was the Dodge High Speed challenge. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to try this and instead found myself taking part in more Hellbug challenges. One particular Hellbug challenge comes to mind. It was appropriately called, Mother of all Hell Bugs. Unsurprisingly, there were many different Hellbug creatures to defeat and one big momma. It was absolute mayhem and yet again shows how much fun it is to complete these with other players.
This weekend also marked the start of a special Rewind feature for those who didn’t play Defiance from the beginning. It basically lets them play through the initial Episode Missions that they missed out on. I happily took advantage of this.
The initial Episode Mission consisted of meeting up with Defiance’s main stars, Nolan and Irisa. As expected, the first time meeting them was during an Arkfall crash site while they were searching for resources. What follows is a series of objectives, and the character must help both Nolan and Irisa get back a very valuable item. It’s an interesting mission to take part in, especially as it provides some back story for Nolan and Irisa that viewers of the show won’t be privvy to.
This is a perfect example of the promised connection between the tv show and game. Hopefully it is only the start of similar experience.