Defiance MMO shooter launches on April 2

Trion World's massively multiplayer shooter Defiance will clear the way for its SyFy network TV counterpart on April 2, the developer announced today. The "transmedia experience" (somewhere a marketing team fist pumps) will begin simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

The television show shares the same universe and even the same chronological setting --characters may duck out of the program's spotlight for a bit only to become a central actor in the game, and vice versa--and will premiere two weeks later on April 15. That should give gamers plenty of time to mop up all the horrible space crabs, restore order, and let the TV show enjoy peace as a sort of post-apocalyptic Melrose Place.

Check out our preview coverage to learn more about Defiance's MMO and competitive shooter sides, and see the live-action trailer below to learn more about the ongoing threat of space crabs.

We ask only that you take a moment to consider who is the real monster in this grimy world of all-terrain vehicles and inadvisable barfights.

It's the crabs. Duh.