As usual, I'm behind in my DVR watching, so I don't know what happened in the Defiance TV show last night. I have been digging the Syfy series, mostly because it has played out much more like a Western than anything else. I've enjoyed the subtle nods to the MMO shooter counterpart, as well. The most recent server update brings a new element to the western/sci fi/apocalypse adventure: Zombies! Plaguers!

I know, I know. We've been down this road before. I think it's a little early in the game's life cycle to bust out the zombie apocalypse, but it's happening. A disease is spreading across the Bay Area Frontier. A strange new viral hemorrhagic fever is infecting the people. It's kind of like Ebola, with added zombie-ism. See the infected for yourself in the following videos and screenshots. 

Defiance is free to play on Steam this weekend. Trion Worlds' massively multiplayer third person shooter is still plugging along. The game has received numerous patches since launch, so if you haven't played it since the free beta back in March you might want to check it out. The free trial will last until 1PM PDT Sunday, May 26th. That's more than enough time to shoot some aliens and earn some decent scrip. 

Players will also be treated to a few missions that are tied directly to the Defiance TV series. In the two week span between the launch of the game on April 2nd and the debut of the pilot on April 15th, there were a handful of episodic missions starring Nolan and Irisa, two of the main characters from the show. Once Defiance debuted on the Syfy network they were no longer available. This weekend you can play those missions, which act as a mini-prologue. If you complete them you'll also be rewarded with some fashionable outfits, and isn't that what MMOs are really all about? (If you've already finished these missions they will not be available.)

If you were trying to play Defiance this morning, and I know some of you were, you may have noticed the servers were down. This is a common occurrence with new MMOs. Servers get updated, patches get patched, bans get hammered. So it goes. While we won't cover every single patch and update (Trion has their own forums for that), we will let you know when something impacts the co-op play.  

Today's new patch will improve the accessibility of cooperative maps, mainly lowering the level requirements for three of the seven missions. Just before the servers went down my EGO rating of 417 granted me access to the "Liberate the Lost," "Soleptor Excavation," "Explosions 101," and "The Motherlode" missions. After updating and installing the patch I am able to play "Island of Lost Soldiers" and "Scrapworks Salvage," as well. The minimum level requirements have been lowered to 150 and 225, respectively. This will grant a little more variety to the co-op options for newer players, which is always a good thing. You can see the patch notes in their entirety after the break.

We don't normally give the full review treatment to MMOs around these parts, but Defiance's simultaneous multiplatform release and promise of an open-world shooter has grabbed our attention. While it's built on a solid framework, does it hold its own as a game, or does it come across as a cheap tie-in to the TV show? Grab your guns and hop into your Roller and let's find out.

A huge new patch dropped for Defiance today. Well, it's currently dropping, being dropped, in the sate of falling, whatever. I'm guessing Trion is trying to hook anyone who might decide to dive in after watching last night's television series debut. (I thought the show had some flaws, but I'd watch another episode.) To do this they'll need to fix some very rough spots in the game. Patch 1.010 went live this morning, caused some problems, and then it was pulled. According to the Defiance twitter feed it's back up now. Looks like the game was down for about 6-7 hours. Ouch.

We had a Defiance Co-Op Review all ready to go this morning, but we decided to give the game another spin before we post our review. The patch is indeed substantial. The notes total about 3000 words, and you can read them in their entirety here. I included the co-op fixes after the break. 

A couple of days ago, War Z succumbed to a serious hacker attack that put private user information at risk. Both the game’s database, as well as the forums that sparked the huge controversy over the game’s legitimacy last year, were hacked to the point where developer, OP Productions, was forced to shut down their servers and take it offline until further notice.

Defiance launches today. A quick look at the Twitters tells me the servers are having issues, which is something to be expected from a new MMO --especially a new MMO which is launching simultaneously across the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. I think I may wait until tomorrow to try to log on. For now I'll just cozy up with the Defiance launch trailer before I venture forth to explore the Bay Area Frontier. It's got explosions, guns, aliens, and alien cleavage. What else could you want?  

Chances are you've caught an advertisement for Defiance, the new shooter/MMO crafted by Trion Worlds. The game also happens to have an accompanying TV show of the same name debuting on the Syfy channel on April 15th. I recently visited Trion Worlds and put some time in with the sci-fi shooter, talking with developers, engaging in the Shadow War, getting crushed in PvP, and most importantly, checking out the co-op.

The Defiance beta event is underway on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. PS3-based Ark Hunters have been at it for a few days now, and PC and 360 gamers were finally able to get in on the action this morning. The winners from our massive beta key giveaway should have received their PC codes from Trion or been PM'd console codes from Co-Optimus by now (check your Co-Optimus profile inbox).

Several Co-Optimus staff members will be participating on all three platforms. Hit us up if you want some help on co-op missions. A few of us might even be persuaded to break from our strong co-op roots and engage in some PvP. Maybe. Probably. I already did. Sorry. 

Did you hear? The good folks at Trion Worlds will be conducting another beta event for the upcoming MMO shooter, Defiance. Judging from the Co-Optimus community's response to our beta key giveaway, plenty of  you want in on the action.

This is actually the third Defiance beta, dubbed "Advance Mission Beta 3." Prospective Ark Hunters will be able to play cooperative and multiplayer game modes. Players will have access to the Mt. Tam and Madera regions, which jives with the whole California theme. Co-op players will be able to team up on Angel Island and Cronkhite Bunker. PvPers will duke it out at the Observatory and the Freight Yard. Sweet. Looks like we'll be battling all across the the Bay Area.

The massively multiplayer online survival horror game The War Z has been removed from Steam following consumer complaints. The War Z presented information on the Steam page that did not appear to be true in the actual game, and that doesn't jive with Valve. People have demanded refunds, and as of yesterday Valve has offered refunds to those who purchased the game.

Due to major changes in the core game engine, DayZ, the mega-popular, zombie apocalypse mod of ARMA II will be pushed back until 2013.

More video footage of the alpha phase of upcoming MMO/FPS zombie-thriller, War Z, has surfaced, showcasing some good use of defensive tactics to survive in an apocalyptic world. War Z is the first MMO, sandbox style zombie game to feature an open world, with no emphasis on a set storyline or even character classes.

“So what do you want to play for our TWICO article, Mike,” I asked. “Well… there’s always Diablo,” he replied. “I think folks have probably had enough of that for now,” I said. “Have you checked out The Secret World,” he then inquired. With that simple question, the characters of Dana “Frumpypants” Scully and John “Doc-Brown” Lovegood were born.

At PAX East, I had the chance to be walked and talked through the upcoming D&D Online expansion, Menace of the Underdark (MotU). As would be expected of a DDO expansion, MotU is story-driven. A fissure has opened up right in the middle of the capital city in Eberron which leads to other D&D realms, including the worlds of the Underdark and the Forgotten Realms. The Spinner of Shadows, Lolth’s agent in the DDO universe, is behind all this madness. Players will travel through four huge areas (the Demonweb, the Underdark, Evening Star, and King’s Forest) as a hero from another world, trying to unravel why the drow are invading the town of Evening Star and the nature of “the thread of the weave.”