So judging from what I've read, it seems that most these reviews are only aware that Defiance existed as a TV show. Most video gamers know that Defiance also exists as a MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) video game that went hand-in-hand with the show. While the show takes place in St. Louis, the game takes place in San Francisco. Each week with a new episode of the show, came new missions in the game which were loosely tied to events of the episode. Characters from the show would periodically make appearances in the game while characters from the game would periodically make appearances in the show. While DC and Marvel have their crossovers and spin-offs, never has a TV show and a video game crossed over in such a way before. This was an innovative idea for sure! I get that not everyone plays video games but you're missing half the story. It's like writing a review about Harry Potter after only reading books 5, 6 and 7.
Now that I've sung the high praises about the concept of Defiance, let's mention the elephant in the room. Gamers know the developers rushed the game to be in-sync with the production of the show. The game could be pretty buggy at times which eventually lead to it's being taken over by another developer and rebranded. Even with all it's bugs and broken bits, it was still a game I enjoyed playing!
For the actual show itself, most of the acting was great, Grant Bowler and Stephanie Leonidas are hilarious together. He's clearly not the parenting type and he couldn't be more over his head with a crazy, rebellious alien! They made such a great team. This show had a "small community" feel to it while it still provided much action. Tony Curran and Jesse Rath play a convincing father and son butting heads over just about everything. His relationship with his mom is a bit creepy but it's a Casthithan thing I guess??
Overall it's still a good watch without playing the game, most of the important story points are touched on in the show but having a game that played out with it just makes the show that much more interactive.
