Choose my Adventure: Goodbye Defiance, hello WildStar

​In my final week with Defiance in this Choose my Adventure series, I want to talk about my overall impressions of the game as it stands.

First off, I'm sad to say that I didn't reach my goal of a 1000 EGO rating, because seriously, what was I thinking? I am, however, happy to say that I had fun and experienced more of the game than I ever had before. But will I continue to play when it goes free-to-play next week?

Defiance is the type of game that really plays to those of us who like to game-hop, which is perfect for today's (over?)saturated MMO environment. You can choose to jump in and do some quick PvP, or a public arkfall, or multi-tiered incursion, or whatever you fancy without worrying about joining a group (although you still can) or finding a healer for your all-ranger party.

And if you still want to play the game as something a bit deeper, the storyline will keep you entertained for a while.

In the last article, I talked at length about my character's build, which pretty much stayed the same. I did max out my equipped EGO perks and abilities, and stuck with mainly SMGs and my trusty grenade launcher because giant explosions and five-digit damage numbers across the screen is satisfying. Incursions are still my favorite part of the game, probably because they're packed with so much action, although the rewards aren't as great as I'd like. It's an easy way to level, though.

Your votes last week pointed me toward a focus on the main storyline, and while that can be tricky to talk about while avoiding spoilers, I'll let you know my impressions.

Overall, I think the plot is well done and it did keep me hooked enough to keep on to the next part without getting distracted (too much!) by the other parts of the game. There were certainly over-the-top cheesy parts, especially when combined with the character acting, but I think the cutscenes work well. I didn't finish the original storyline completely, but some friends brought me in to fight the endboss, although it didn't count, of course. He was a tough one, and I have no idea how I'm going to take him down when it's my time.

The crossover missions are especially fun since they correspond with "the entire Defiance universe," including some say as to what happens on the TV series. The newest crossover missions went live last week, so I hope to try those out soon. Just don't really expect this feature to mean that you're playing in the exact same world as that of the TV show, and don't expect to automatically be a fan of the game if you're a fan of the TV show, and vice versa. The main characters from the series are in the game, but you're not fighting along side them the whole time.

Since I don't have any of the DLC, I wasn't able to explore any of that further content, including a new race, more weapons, maps, and more, but that could be something saved for a future revisit to CMA.

Will I continue to play Defiance? Yes, but only when I see the icon on my desktop and go, "Oh yeah, Defiance! I remember that game." It's not really the type of game that has grabbed me enough to occupy my mind when I'm away from the computer, but it's fun in short bursts.

June's Adventure

While I spoiled the surprise in this article's title, I'm excited to say that I will be playing WIldStar for the month of June.

As with The Elder Scrolls Online, I haven't touched this game at all prior to launch and I'm saving myself for Choose my Adventure. I used to love trying games out as soon as possible, but in my old age, I'd rather just play them when they're closer to being ready for the public. So this will be a brand new experience with a brand new game, and I can't wait!

Since the game's classes are limited by the races, I'm going to have you vote now for my gender, class, and faction, and I'll choose the race from there. Of course, you're certainly free to state your case in the comments for which race I should play, but this might be the easiest way to do things.%Poll-88303%%Poll-88291%%Poll-88288%

You'll also choose my path between Soldier, Explorer, Scientist, and Settler. These have less to do with a specific class in the game and more about how you (as the player) like to play MMOs. Since there's no path called Altaholic With No Attention Span, I'll let you pick this one for me.%Poll-88298%

If you have any experience with the game, I certainly welcome any pointers, but I'm looking forward to reporting back on what I see from a fresh perspective and allowing you to vote further on my progression.

So get those votes in by June 2 and I'll get that character ready for action on launch day. Next week's article will be my very first early impressions, so that should be fun.

Shawn Schuster is now permanently at the helm of Massively's Choose My Adventure with you as the co-captain. It's going to be a rough ride, so put on your seat belt! Join him every Wednesday for a reader-guided deep-dive into a new MMO every month. Farcical puns about cars and farming sold separately.