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Final Verdict after Beta Weekend 3 (PC)
GrayGhost79
Member UncommonPosts: 4,775
Overall I give the game a solid 7/10. It's certainly worth the buy in my opinion but, while theres a lot to like there are some glaring issues that need to be fixed prior to launch.
Lets start off with what I liked
Graphics - These aren't cutting edge but the game looks good.
Gameplay - Minus the UI, Control, and camera issues I'll expand on later the gameplay is rather enjoyable. Its fast paced and fun. I also like that many of the mobs have weak points that you need to hit to bring it down or bring them down faster. Hitting the weak points can be the difference between doing 1k damage a hit vs. doing 40 dmg a hit. Some can only be damaged by hitting the weak points.
Content - Theres a variety of things to do. You have the main story missions, side missions, random events out in the world, Arkfalls, time challenges, and PvP. Theres even a lot of variety in each of those themselves. Time trials can have you racing on an ATV, killing waves of mutants, and etc. Challenge and difficulty can vary from activity to activity and some of it scales with the number of players doing it with you. ArkFalls are especially fun for me. They are better versions of Rifts from Rift.
Depth and Customization - On the surface the game seems fairly simplistic with limited customization options. Once you get deeper into the game though things start to open up. Character creation was fairly limited but you start gaining a number of outfits that let you really tailor your look to your liking. I saw some suits and headgear that I really want but I'm sure those were alpha testers wearing them. Weapons themselves offer a great deal of variety and customization options. Each weapon type has a variety of sub types within them. A rocket launcher can be a heat seeking lock on weapon, a weapon that fires a single rocket that explodes and shoots out several smaller projectiles that do damage in a wider area or a number of other types of rocket launchers. To top that off you can add mods that change things up even more. The EGO system is another area where it seems limited but offers a great deal of customization through the perks. You can really tailor it to your play style.
Uniqueness - There really aren't any or many Persistant Massive multiplayer online Third person PvE centric shooters out there. The show tie in makes it even more unique. It does borrow elements from some newer MMOs which helps as well. All in all there really isn't anything out there like defiance, some games are some what similar but not really like it. Firefall is some what similar but only in minor ways. It also lacks the production quality, focus, depth, and content. Beyond that Defiance is pretty much the first of its kind :P
Now, things I really didn't like
Contols/UI - This is awful. It is in no way shape of form designed with PC in mind. Its counter intuitive to say the least. Alt to dodge, shift is a sprint toggle, to get to the log out menu you have to press F6, esc brings up your character screen, etc. Its just completely different from what has become the standard in PC games let alone MMOs. It really needs to have a lot of thought put into it and completely changed.
Sound - Most of the sound and music is decent but... some of the vehicle sounds are to high pitched and the crashing sound is awful. The music lacks variety and the main song that loops has this faint sound in the background that sounds exactly like my phone while it rings when I'm wearing my headphones. I hope this gets changed before launch. They aren't deal breakers but they are annoying to me.
Camera - My character feels way to far to the left. In close combat it messes with my aiming a lot. I do get use to it but as soon as I play another TPS game when I come back to defiance I have to relearn how to aim and play again. Some will get nauseous from the field of view as well. I didn't but this is the type of thing that does effect some.
One Way Scaling - While I like that some of the content scales, I dislike that its a one way street lol. I had an Arkfall event where several players came in to help and the difficulty increased. They left to go do something else and I was left to finish it alone. However it didn't scale back down. I was left with some pretty difficult mobs and a great number of them and they kept respawning. I had to eventually abandon the Arkfall. I hope this gets fixed prior to launch.
Chat - Hitting enter should bring up chat, it does not (Though this may be a bug for me as it seems like it is supposed to bring up chat). I actually had to go into a menu to find the chat box lol. I haven't talked to anyone in game because its to much effort to do so. I'm not sure what the deal with the chat system is but... I really hope this is fixed and brought more inline with the standard in MMOs.
The lack of Banks/Storage - I have no means of storing anything that I'm aware of besides in my inventory. I hope this is going to change prior to launch. All the mods I couldn't currently use that I've come across that I may want to use later fill up my inventory fast. It really would be nice to have some place to store this kind of stuff.
VOIP - Quality is awful, no push to talk option, and its set to on by default. This has made for some annoying times in game. This is a must fix type of thing.
It may seem like I should rate the game lower due to the amount of negatives vs. positives but the fun factor and the level of depth and customization I found makes up for a lot. The lack of a monthly fee helps slightly as well.
Like I said, I certainly believe its worth the buy but.. it also has a number of issues that they really need to address.
Comments
Totally agree with that. Its a fair summary.
I think i rated it 7.5 - 8. I actually do enjoy the game and feel its pretty refreshing for me atleast.
I have noticed a fair bit of bashing on it though and would encourage people to try it for themselves before making a judgement.
I mean a proper go
All in all its a good game to be that 2nd or 3rd game you dip into, when you want some change from your main MMO. The biggest problem on PC is the UI and lag of options to costumize it. Most of the sound is good but there is some that will get on your nerves. Personally I found the music to be anoying in the long run and had to turn it off. But all in all it a good and fun game.
Currently playing: AoC, RIFT, Champions Online, DDO, LORTO, STO and Tribes: Ascend
Have Played: TSW, SWG, AO, EVE, WOW, EQ, EQ2, SW:TOR, GW,CoH, DCUO, RotMG, WAR,
http://chroniclesofthenerds.com/nerdfight/
Y U NO FLIP TABLE?!?!?!
Exactly so. And assuming that all of those things the OP didn't like (and many other people as well) are still in there at launch (and they most likely will be) the game deserves a further downgrade. A game that scores about a provisional 7, with downgrades coming unless things are fixed before launch (and frankly, this late in beta, large changes are not coming), is not worth $50-$60 out of the gate.I would give game a 7 for some fresh aproach. Game is average in all aspects but still can be somethig you can play for a bit after a long working day. Price, 50 euros is common for this sort of games and big plus is that is b2p.
As for me, I am not big fan of consoles and this game was made to fit console standards. They did a good work but myself as a PC gamer cant connect to that way of production.
Good review. Agree with either score of 6 or 7.
It is quite good but not exceptional - at least the best thing about it is it is a game u can just pick up and play even if u don't have a lot of time, unlike some other mmos.
Decent review, personally Id rate the game betwine 7-8.
And my only note worrthy gripe is the lack of bank/storage.
I wouldnt mind more customization options at creation, more facial and body options and... let us rotate our character in character creation.
A good review.
My rating is a No/10. It's not a bad game, but I've got better games to play.
I give it a 7. These days a 7 is enough for me to buy the game, easily, so I did.
I consider it a "holdover" MMO until something else comes along that piques my interest more. It was this or Neverwinter for the most upcoming games and Defiance is leaps and bounds ahead of the garbage F2P "D&D" title (that has no D&D traits beyond the setting the game takes place in). There are some minor glaring issues but I did not encounter any deal breakers with Defiance. Trion is a good company, and they went above and beyond after the Rift launch to fix all that they could. Many people will say it was too little too late, but I have faith that they will work just as hard with Defiance post-launch to make the game the best it can possibly be. Definitely worth a play to those of you who enjoy FPS games AND MMOs, and are looking for a break from the same WoW clone fantasy setting.
I'm not sure if you've tried it, but the controls really aren't that bad at all; regular FPS WASD + Mouse controls, space to jump, shift to sprint. Only odd thing out is the Alt to dodge. I'll agree that the UI is a bit of a mystery, but that has nothing to do w/ the controls.
It's not just how they are laid out but also how they work. Heres a funny experiment for you if you can still log in. Go up to an NPC with a sniper rifle equipped. Aim so that their head is direct center of the crosshair, then hold down the right mouse button and look at where it actually is aiming. When you zoom in you get to see where you are actually aiming. It gets worse the closer you get to a target.
Part of it is how the controls are laid out, part of it is that you are toggling sprint when you hit shift, part of it is how off the camera is. There are other issues with the controls with them being a bit sluggish as well.
There are numerous issues with the controls lol.
Now guys when it comes to graphics and gameplay there has to be a balance when it comes to these style of online games.This game is optimized for large amounts of players therefore the game would suffer on most pcs where there are large amounts of players in one area if the graphics was pushed higher.
I'm not sure how this has anything to do with whats being dicussed in the quoted post...
It's likely due to the low FOV (Field of View) and its a common enough issue that developers really need to keep it in mind when designing a game. It mainly effects PC players due to how close they sit to the monitor. When a developer designs the game with a low FOV it typically means they have developed it for console where its needed due to how far away players are from their TV screen.
On PC typically you want between an 85 to 100 degree horizontal view. This tends to keep the nausea and migrains away for those that are effected by low FoV's. 75 and under tend to present issue.
I only explained in a bit of detail because it sounded as if you may not know why you are getting headaches and nausous while testing some games lately.
Unfortunately this game does have a relatively low FOV. Its not as bad as some but its below 85 degrees.
The off center character isn't really helping things either. I'm hoping they fix this otherwise my wife won't play and my son can only do short gaming sessions.
I don't really understand the problem with this. You are going from shooting from the hip to using a scope. Technically the mark should be off when switching between the two.
That's just me, though...
im not even interested in this game or neverwinter but come on people. Its beta not a finished product , U dont rank a game till its been released then u can rate it when all the bugs, ui issues and other things have been fixed.
No mmo ever launches without some issues weather its quests that dont work right or something but the point of a beta is to fix bugs and test server capacity . Its not to preview the game and rate it .
No wonder so many people yell mmo's suck today u never really gave them a chance.
I didn't rate the game, I rated the Beta Weekend 3 event. Aside from that Launch is in 9 days so unless they just decided not to test a new UI, controls, and what not I'm not sure they are going to have those changes in by launch.
In any case I believe I was fair and gave them slack since this was just beta.
----> Camera - My character feels way to far to the left. In close combat it messes with my aiming a lot. I do get use to it but as soon as I play another TPS game when I come back to defiance I have to relearn how to aim and play again. Some will get nauseous from the field of view as well. I didn't but this is the type of thing that does effect some.
I too felt as if I was 'off' - reminded me of Deadspace 1
A little off is one thing, but we are talking about a foot or so off. Firing from the hip should at least hit somewhere near where you are aiming. It does at a distance, but up close within a few feet or less you start to see how off things are. Your rounds don't even make it to your cross hairs let alone anywhere inside them.
I think I can agree with the original post completely.
I like the game, don't love it.
I think a few, should be simple, fixes made and it could be a game I would love.
One, The PvP is not balanced at all, a high level player is going to dominate, I don't mean be better then everyone else, I mean a single player that was like 400+ Ego was damn enar taking on my entire team by himself. I'm not huge on PvP so not a deal breaker for me, but like to dabble a bit when bored, so would be nice to be able to survive more then 3 seconds.
The in game voice chat is horrible, I can not hear half the people, and the ones I can hear I don't want to, because I hear their speakers feeding the game sounds to me slightly delayed from my speakers. Annoying! Then I would get people that sound like their vibrators were on high speed, voices all garbbled.
The social in this game just needs to be over hauled, I should have more grouping options than the co-op missions. I want voice to work, but with the option to mute player, and to adjust other players volume on my system.
I think outfits are missing something, some really cool outfits, but they have no purpose other than to change your look.
Over all I enjoyed the beta, and looking forward to see how much more there is to the game when it releases in about a week. .
Not so nice guy!
hahaha I agree as I clicked on the wrong quote link by accident, this was ment as a reply to someone mentioning about graphics
I found that it actually wasn't bugged for me. The chat box was this barely noticable thing in the bottom right hand of my screen. I actually didn't notice it until I was calling it quits lol. Its almost as if they sat down and thought of all the standards for PC game UIs and decided to do the exact opposite lol.