Video games based on TV shows is not a new idea. From Monty Python’s Flying Circus to the recent Walking Dead games, our video game libraries are peppered with varying levels of success in transferring between media’s. Modern day integration of digital TV has also spawned the crossovers between online videos and games such as Halo 4 : Forward unto Dawn and Far Cry : the Experience.
Since the 80′s, tv shows have tried to tap into the video game industry potential in some ways, with the most memorable being the phone in video games utilised by early morning childrens TV programmes. (Gamers of my generation will know exactly what I mean when I mention Going Live! and Live & Kicking!).
Recently it has come to my attention that there is a game on its way that is trying something somewhat new in bringing the two platforms closer together, that game being Defiance.
Brainstormed by those gents over at Syfy, Defiance is a persistent multiplayer shooter, that promises to give the gamers the opportunity to influence the very plot of the TV series being released at the same time, with events in the TV series having direct outcomes that will also affect the game.
The story premise is nothing short of standard Syfy fare. The game follows the exploits of the Ark Hunters and the events occuring in the city of Defiance (previously St Louis, Missouri) in the near future.
The Voltan collective, an ensemble of races on an exodus from the dying Voltan star system, arrive at Earth and petition for Mankinds help. Political maneuvering and discord drag proceedings on for years, to the point where the Voltan races, due to dwindling supplies wage war to make Earth their new home, one way or anoher. During these decades of war, numerous ships in the Voltan fleet are shot down, and the terraforming technology within radically change the entire biosphere. Alliances are drawn as the diminished numbers on both sides realise that the world around them has changed and become so inhospitable that only by drawing together can they hope to survive. With wreckage of the destroyed Voltan fleet still in orbit and occassionally falling to earth, with rare and valuable alien technology, spawns a new breed of Scavenger; The Ark Hunters. This is the primary role of the players in the video game, where they will also feature heavily in the TV show.
Now I know that this was announced last year after researching this game, but given that I hadn’t heard anything regarding this title I believe that it may be the case that some of the community are in the same boat. With such a unique and original idea on how to bind the two platforms together I would be loathe to ignore its potential.
The site has gone live, and you can now register for the beta and pre-order the game available on most platforms., which is due out in tandem with the TV Show this April.
You can sign up and see more about this title over at the Defiance website.
I’ve signed up for the Beta, so hopefully we can get a preview to give you guys an idea what to expect. Stay tuned to midlifegamer.net for more information.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 at 12:01 and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.