Let’s set things off with the bottom line. The quests tied to the Defiance TV series – better known as Episode Missions – have so far been the quests I’ve enjoyed the most.
The Episode Mission storyline is more engaging and interesting than the main storyline I’ve completed thus far (Bear in mind, I’m not terribly far into the game). This is thanks in no small way to Grant Bowler and Stephanie Leonidas’ rendition of Joshua Nolan and Irisa Nyira–two of the TV show’s central characters. Nolan is fun to watch with his Han-Solo-esque smart-assed-ness.
If you are familiar with the show Firefly, I’d say the Episode Missions have a very similar feel to that show and it works well.
I also think tying these TV characters into the game is going to pan out very well. There’s a sense of urgency with the quest lines as you need to finish them before a particular TV episode airs. I’m also very curious to see how well the two story-lines will mesh together. I’m definitely planning on watching the show now that the first Episode Mission is done and ended with a cliffhanger.
Aside from plot goodness, the Episode Missions also give you some decent loot ranging from different outfits to special weapons. Strangely enough, I actually looted better weapons from dead bad guys during the missions than I was awarded for completing the quests.
As I said before, I’m very interested to see how the TV Series and the game continue to mesh over time and I’m very glad to see Trion Worlds trying something unprecedented in MMOs.
