Neverwinter and Defiance Open Betas: An Exciting Weekend For Online Gaming

The recent weekend was an incredibly exciting time for online gamers, with the first open beta for the Dungeons Dragons‘ MMORPG Neverwinter and the second open beta for Trion Worlds’ MMOFPS Defiance. 2013 promises to be an exciting year for fans of video games and the online gaming community is looking forward to schedule jam packed with exciting new MMOS. The Inquisitr was invited to participate in the open beta for both of these exciting new games and we were happy to accept the invitations. Although we didn’t get much sleep over the weekend, we were able to spend a full day with each game.

Join us now for a look at the open beta weekends for Dungeons Dragons’ Nverwinter and Trion’s Defiance.

DUNGEON DRAGONS’ NEVERWINTER FIRST OPEN BETA WEEKEND:

Neverwinter is the latest installment in the Dungeons Dragons (D&D) massively multiplayer online role-playing game universe. The game is slated for release in the spring of 2013 on the Microsoft Windows platform. There will be at least two more open beta weekends, and players purchasing one of the two founders packs are guaranteed access to the betas, plus early access when the game goes live.

The team at Cryptic Games described Neverwinter in glorious detail:

“ABOUT NEVERWINTER:”

“One hundred years have passed since the Spellplague forever changed the magical and mysterious lands of Faerûn. Mighty empires fell and great cities toppled, leaving only monster-haunted ruins and survivors struggling to rebuild.”

“The city of Neverwinter, the Jewel of the North, seemed blessed by the gods. While the rest of the Sword Coast was devastated by the event, Neverwinter survived largely intact. But this was only a temporary reprieve from its inevitable doom. Nearly 75 years later, a volcanic eruption rained fire, ash and molten fury upon the city, annihilating everything in its wake.”

“Today, Neverwinter has restored much of its former glory. Lord Neverember of Waterdeep has taken the city under his protection and put forth a call to all adventurers and heroes of the Savage North to help rebuild Neverwinter in the hopes that one day he can lay claim to her throne and crown. But evil forces conspire in the dark places of the world, seeking to undermine all…”

“Neverwinter Reborn”
“Explore and defend one of the most beloved cities from Dungeons Dragons as it rises from the ashes of destruction. This action RPG set in an immersive MMO world will take you from the besieged walls of the city to subterranean passageways in search of forgotten secrets and lost treasure.”

“Challenging, Complex, Classic”
“Epic stories, action combat and classic roleplaying await those heroes courageous enough to enter the fantastic world of Toril and the ruined City of Neverwinter.”

“Build Your Fantasy”
“Easy-to-grasp adventure creation tools empower players to add their own tales to the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. Bring compelling quests to life and build challenging levels! Share creations with the entire world in-game. Become a part of the existing Dungeons Dragons universe… Then build a new one.”

“Forge Your Path to Glory”
“Encounter dangerous foes and perilous environments. Work strategically with others to overcome nightmares, demons, monsters and beasts of legend.”

“New D&D, Beloved D&D”
“Neverwinter is a true Dungeons Dragons experience, brought to life with the dynamic Cryptic game engine. In the classic D&D setting of the Forgotten Realms, players will explore and defend one of the most beloved cities from Dungeons Dragons, as it rises from the ashes of destruction.”

The game itself looks spectacular. The graphics are simply outstanding, bringing the world to life in an brilliant rainbow of colors and attention to detail that is absolutely stunning. The designers at Cryptic Games have managed to capture weather effects to perfection; snow, rain and sunny skies are all portrayed naturally and help make Neverwinter a living, breathing world.

Every spell or attack has a vivid animation that enhances the excitement, but the effects do not interfere with the speed of combat. Even the dust on the ground is kicked up into the air as you trudge through dungeons, while rocks and pebbles fall perilously from above.

Neverwinter offers online gamers the very best of traditional D&D dungeon exploration and open world questing. Players choose between a wide ranges of classical races and classes, build their character, and jump into a huge world full of mystical enemies and creatures. PvP is an integral part of Neverwinter and players can even design their own quests and dungeons through a feature called The Foundry.

Combat in Neverwinter is action packed and forgiving. I took my guardian fighter to level 20 in the open beta weekend and although the combat was fast and furious, I was never in danger of dying. I was able to survive by using a powerful selection of six basic attacks and on rare occasions, a health potion. This is MMO combat at its simplest and its very best.

Dungeon Dragons’ Neverwinter is brilliantly executed, wonderful to behold, and easy to learn. The game offers gamers all the features they have come to know and love about D&D, honed to perfection in one outstanding package. If you are looking for a game is simple, straight forward and absolutely great fun, this is the MMO for you.

DEFIANCE SECOND OPEN BETA WEEKEND:

My weekend would not have been complete without spending time playing Defiance, the exciting new MMOFPS from Trion, the people who brought us Rift. The second open beta weekend for Defiance gave us an opportunity to explore more of the game world and test out the abilities of our characters.

Defiance is an ambitious collaboration between Trion and the SyFy Network, combining the game with a new series that will debut on cable this spring. Events that take place in the TV show will have an impact on the events in the game, and there is even a plan to import a character from the game into the TV show at some point during season one.

While this all sounds very exciting, our readers are here to find out about the second beta weekend. Unlike many of the other MMOS available to online gamers, Defiance will be available on the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3, in addition to the Microsoft PC platform. This should be exciting news for owners of gaming consoles, who tend to get short changed by the online gaming industry.

The game is up against some rather stiff competition from Planetside 2 and Firefall, both of which are outstanding new MMOFPS. While Planetside 2 takes place on an alien world, Firefall and Defiance are both located on a shattered earth following a great apocalypse.

Here is a detailed description of the game from the game’s developers at Trion Worlds:

“WHAT IS DEFIANCE?”

‘A NEW FRONT LINE ON THE NEW FRONTIER”
“Join the futuristic online open-world shooter where thousands of players scour a transformed Earth competing for alien technology. Hunt alone or with others as you improve your skills and level up, unlocking powerful weapons that will help you survive the massive battles that await.”

“LIMITLESS GAMEPLAY. REVOLUTIONARY WARFARE.”

“UNIQUE OPEN-WORLD SHOOTER”
“Shoot the way you want, with a multitude of weapons, armor, and special abilities that evolve with experience. Custom character creation means you can play as human or alien, modifying your appearance to become a unique citizen of the Defiance world.”

“AN EVOLVING ONLINE WORLD”
“Fight for survival in a constantly evolving environment with regular content updates and dynamic events. Play solo, or join tens of thousands of simultaneous live players in a futuristic San Francisco Bay Area that’s a fully-realized open world. You’ve never imagined a 3rd-person shooter this huge.”

“THE GAME NEVER ENDS”
“Experience dynamic missions, massive co-op battles, and endless exploration across a gigantic game environment. Plus, brought to you by Syfy, the Defiance TV series is a revolutionary weekly drama that impacts the game, and gives you the chance to change the show.”

Perhaps the tie in with SyFy, and the availability on console platforms will give Defiance an edge over the competition. The game is certainly on a far with other top of the line FPS when it comes to game play and it takes full advantage of everything the excellent Havoc game engine has to offer. Gameplay is smooth, combat is exciting and the game looks great. Defiance has all the pieces in place to provide online gamers with a first class experience and it is still early in the beta testing period. That being said, for Defiance to forge ahead of the competition, Trion will certainly have to come up with some truly innovative new ideas as they continue the development and testing cycle.

There is much more to come for both of these great new games in the weeks and months ahead. Be sure to visit The Inquisitr often for all the news on these two exciting MMOS and the most up to date date information on the exciting world of video gaming.