Welcome, Ark Hunter, to the world of Defiance. Before we begin, our technicians at Von Bach Industries will need to outfit you with some basic gear and most importantly implant your EGO. After that, we’ll drop you into the area formerly known as the San Francisco Bay Area and set you loose to hunt for Arktech. Good luck.

I think we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here. First, let’s step back and answer what I’m guessing is your most pressing question: What’s Defiance?

Defiance is multiplayer open world shooter that Trion Worlds is developing, and will be launching this April on PlayStation 3.



To break it down even further, Defiance has a huge evolving online world where thousands of gamers play side-by-side, massive co-op battles, intense individual and group missions, and a story and world that doesn’t stop at the console: Defiance is both a shooter and global TV series that were simultaneously conceived of and designed from the ground up.

So now, back to you, the Ark Hunter, and what you are doing in the alien terraformed wasteland formerly known as the Bay Area. Hired by Von Bach Industries, you are a soldier of fortune tasked with tracking down valuable alien tech. Aided by your Environmental Guardian Online aka EGO, injected directly into you courtesy of your enterprising employer, you have access to enhanced abilities (Improved stamina! Better healing! Heads-up display!).

Whether you are human or an alien Irathient, over the course of your adventures you will increase your power rating, unlocking more abilities. You’ll also find and earn some sweet gear and weaponry to further trick out your personal arsenal of Ark Hunter-y.

And about that arsenal: Defiance has a hugely customisable character creation system that doesn’t simply slot players into classes but allows them to power up EGO abilities and specialise in different weapon types. No matter how wacky your play style might be, you can spec a Defiance character to suit your needs.

Chances are most of you still have one last pressing question: what makes Defiance different from other shooters?

In short, Defiance is a on a magnitude greater than any other online game you’ve seen on consoles in the past. We have a massive story line, not counting the plethora of side missions, that can be played out alone or with your friends. And since we’re an MMO, the sky’s the limit on the number of friends you bring to the party.

We have co-op instances that let smaller groups take down bosses in a variety of settings and situations. We have Shadow War – competitive multiplayer that happens within the expanse of the game’s open world, as well as more traditional competitive maps. And if more competitive face-offs aren’t your thing but you’re still looking for a massive co-op experience, Defiance features Arkfalls that take a veritable army of people to conquer (for the good of the world and for the valuable loot they supply.)

We have trophies, side missions, time trials, skill challenges and loot galore. And as an MMO with an ever-evolving world, you’ll always be getting new content to play.

So, that, in a nutshell, is Defiance. Check out our just-released massive co-op trailer to see some of our four-play co-op instances and get a glimpse of some of the Arkfalls you’ll face in game. You can also head on over to www.youtube.com/defiance to see our other game play trailers and teasers for the upcoming Syfy show (also launching this April!).

And just in case I didn’t answer all of your questions, hit us up at www.twitter.com/defiancegame or join us on our forums at http://forums.defiance.com.