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My weekend in Aion, its not just a job...its an...well you know
Hail shipmates,
This is my first time at sharing the experience of a new product after many years of playing games so please take it easy on the flames, rare charbroiled please. My pc meets and/or exceeds recommended system requirements which I found acceptable for this game in accordance with pre-order case.
Expectations:
I fully admit that I struggled with putting down $5 for the beta key after reading the pro’s/con’s and forums. What I had come to expect from the game is exactly what has been advertized: Epic adventure/Innovative PvPvE/Intense Visceral Combat and Unmatched Visuals. Additionally, I wanted to finally have what my Xwife has…the ability to wield devastating powers, per advertisement on the Pre-order case.
Download/Install:
Ok, so this section rarely comes up on professional reviews but, I find it important to note as part of my gaming experience. Not to mention I am not a professional game reviewer, just some old dude who has been gifted with the ability to retire and be a bum. I have a previous NCsoft downloader and found the Aion registration easy to follow and complete. The game download in acceptable time with little effort on my part other than having to sit and wait as I mixed my margaritas. My rating to this point is as follows:
Recommended system requirements= 8/10 I am not rich and this game seems reasonable in running operational requirements.
Download/Install = 8/10 having not to go through the long path of NCsoft may be a factor.
Xwife= 6/10 pure hell to live with but man,,,,can she cook!
Margaritas=10/10 properly mixed, they are better than sex…well almost. Don’t forget, “just say NO to drugs”
Character Customization:
It is obvious that the game has an Asian flavor to it which is refreshing in game, at least to me. I was unaware if my toon’s appearance would really stand out so I opted to spend some time becoming unique. That is, will all my time attempting to look 6 feet tall, zero body fat, bullet proof and absolutely adorable to women remain overt with armor on? Unsure I went ahead and manufactured a toon similar to myself. I found the process to offer ample enough chose’s in building my character the way I wanted. The four voices seemed limited however; the ability to have voice was a neat experience. I decided upon the scout dressed in standard clothing.
The Starting Area:
The first thing noticed entering the world is the music, this rarely affects my experience and is often turned off in other games. I left it on and did enjoy the different tunes along the way as they had changed in situations and locations. I spent some time reading about the mechanics so the interface was not completely foreign and the controls worked smoothly. Increasing the level of graphics did not effect game play however, I would not go as far as to say that the visuals were unmatched. While they were good, I have observed equal graphics in other games. The quests appeared plentiful and I had to force myself not to focus on leveling and balance the missions with normal quests. The currency was in one denomination which I found strange and wondered how much items at higher level cost. For example, if bandages at low levels cost $50 gold, would the price be greatly increase at higher levels? Not a big deal just something that grabbed my attention in the beginning.
NPC Combat:
I am not going to address class balance as I had only one toon during this experience. Both grouping and solo combat was entertaining during NPC combat sessions affording the opportunity to observe the abilities of other classes which seemed almost equal to my scout. My favorite class is ranged as I enjoy watching the action instead of face to face combat. If there is an extreme class balance problem I did not notice it being a scout. What was evident was the NPC ability during combat. For example, having reached level 5 I had decided to run up and start whacking on level 7 NPC’s and quickly ended up in the respawn area leaving me with two schools of thought. 1. The game developers had placed a god mode hack in the NPC I was fighting that activated when they came close to death or 2. A level 7 NPC actually fights at level 7…you make the call.
Community:
It is my humble opinion that the community of a game has a large effect on the outcome of the experience. This pre-order weekend event appeared to draw in all types of players to the server. I was taken back by the fact that there were a number of players selling items unto and including the last 12 hours of the weekend. Nevertheless, the majority of players in chat seemed focused on the game and not personality. Questions presented were addressed in an appropriate manner and offers of grouping were plentiful. Loot stealing was rarely experienced however; there was an occasional debate of this issue viewed in chat. Having participated in similar events of other games, I would say that this community was more civil and mature. It is hoped that such behavior continues when the game is released. Ultimately, the time enjoyed playing this game was increased by those who participated and I made a few new friends along the way.
Leveling:
The topic of the game being a grind or easy advancement is a difficult one at this point. For me, if I am having fun with quests and activities that take my attention away from my level then the game is doing its job. Much of my time was spent on such learning how drop items increased my abilities/armor, observing others and completing assigned quests/missions. Therefore, I did not notice how fast the leveling took place or how many kills I made to get to said level…it was enjoyable leveling in that state of mind. There were times when “getting my wings” seemed to drag but, my attention was soon captured by situations at hand.
Conclusion:
Unfortunately, a weekend such as I had is just not enough time to place any decent rating to this game. The game is refreshing at the beginning stages and I had enjoyed the time spent learning the system. I did not get to PvP nor experience the claimed epic adventuring as described by the advertisements. Perhaps what I did not experience during this time is more important, that is, I did not notice leveling at times, the hours spent playing the game or a need to “keep up with the Jones” feeling. All of which makes a good start in my books. I will risk the rating of the $5 refundable price I paid for the weekend and say it was worth it. If the advertisement is as good as presented I believe that the game will attract all styles of players. The debate of purchasing the game for this OP is favorable and remains a hot topic in my community of gaming friends. I enjoyed the game so call me a “carebear” if you wish, I’ll just make another Margareta and remind you that “sticks and stones may break my bones…but whips and chains excite me.”
V/R,
SEABEAST
Comments
Nice, one more excellent and well written post.
Yes, I am also starting to like this community. Most of the worst posts around here seem to be written by some of the people who won't be playing the game at all; so there's plenty of room for the others.
And I agree on the ratings, 10/10 for the Margaritas can only be right
Glad you are enjoying yourself in Aion.
Bottom line:
Aion is a fun, addicing, MMORPG with a high rate of subscribers, very grindy, very fun, very engaged combat and great graphics.
I agree with everything you say, except "Grindy". The game has almost no grind, especially when Aion is up to date (1.2 patched). I'm really not sure where people are getting this grind thing from. I guess people were burned by L2?
~ ~
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
I AGRERES WITH U, GRATE POST, BUT IF HE HATEDED ITS HES A TROLL.
I agree with everything you say, except "Grindy". The game has almost no grind, especially when Aion is up to date (1.2 patched). I'm really not sure where people are getting this grind thing from. I guess people were burned by L2?
Alot of people like to use the word grind on everything coming from Asia. and they use the word even knowing they haven played the game.
I agree about the community playing a large roll in the success of the game. So far eveyone has been quite just testing things out but I hope when release comes people actually do socialize with one another.
I agree with everything you say, except "Grindy". The game has almost no grind, especially when Aion is up to date (1.2 patched). I'm really not sure where people are getting this grind thing from. I guess people were burned by L2?
Alot of people like to use the word grind on everything coming from Asia. and they use the word even knowing they haven played the game.
I suppose, I really wish people would atleast go into a new game with an open mind and not deem something "Grindy" because it isn't exactly like WoW or LOTRO questing( which funny enough it actually is).
~ ~
Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths, Enwrought with golden and silver light, The blue and the dim and the dark cloths Of night and light and the half light, I would spread the cloths under your feet: But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
No, why would he?
There are a lot of good posters on these forums who don't like some of the games. Not everyone feels the need to post some wrong, misleading or uninformed information when they don't like something.
I agree with everything you say, except "Grindy". The game has almost no grind, especially when Aion is up to date (1.2 patched). I'm really not sure where people are getting this grind thing from. I guess people were burned by L2?
Alot of people like to use the word grind on everything coming from Asia. and they use the word even knowing they haven played the game.
I suppose, I really wish people would atleast go into a new game with an open mind and not deem something "Grindy" because it isn't exactly like WoW or LOTRO questing( which funny enough it actually is).
I 100% agree with you on the "open mind" part. I don't understand how people can live with a closed mind.
But I didn't see Syno as being negative in any way when he said the game is "very grindy".
Because many players, including me, also like a "good" grind from time to time. So for me it's a + point if I can chose to play in such a way if I want to.
A good grind is for example L2. You can grind away and its fun - the addictive combat makes it fun.
A very bad grind is Lotro (this doesn't make lotro a bad game, it was not meant for that): you can quest (which is another kind of grind on its own), but if you want to just grind away for me the combat is so slow and boring that it isn't fun at all.
Now we have Aion : we can chose to play how we want, both are fun
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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Let us all trust the opinion of a person who spends actual time out of his day nearly every single day of the week to troll a forum on a community website for a game he doesn't even like.
Let us trust the opinion of a man who cannot even spell his unfounded insults properly.
Let's trust the man who blames Aion and NCSoft for Gamestops inability to deliver beta codes in a timely fashion.
What do you do for a living that during your free time your priorities are to insult internet games anonymously with no possible gain to come of it? It truly is mind boggling.
I concur, was only mentioning the music because it is the first time i left it on for more than a day. yes the sound of weaps and footsteps and the Kia of the toons makes for the iceing on the cake. I love Eve online and have a couple of toons there too, but i got to share with you. the music just dont fit, i listen to Eve radio instead and lose more ships laughing at the DJ's.
Let us all trust the opinion of a person who spends actual time out of his day nearly every single day of the week to troll a forum on a community website for a game he doesn't even like.
Let us trust the opinion of a man who cannot even spell his unfounded insults properly.
Let's trust the man who blames Aion and NCSoft for Gamestops inability to deliver beta codes in a timely fashion.
What do you do for a living that during your free time your priorities are to insult internet games anonymously with no possible gain to come of it? It truly is mind boggling.
my guess would be SSI for a living, so lots of free time to comb very thread about a game he doesn't like and never played.
to OP glad you enoyed it, haven't got my key yet but not in a hurry as long as its here before headstart i'll be happy. i still have an account with time left on it for the chinese retail
Let us all trust the opinion of a person who spends actual time out of his day nearly every single day of the week to troll a forum on a community website for a game he doesn't even like.
Let us trust the opinion of a man who cannot even spell his unfounded insults properly.
Let's trust the man who blames Aion and NCSoft for Gamestops inability to deliver beta codes in a timely fashion.
What do you do for a living that during your free time your priorities are to insult internet games anonymously with no possible gain to come of it? It truly is mind boggling.
my guess would be SSI for a living, so lots of free time to comb very thread about a game he doesn't like and never played.
to OP glad you enoyed it, haven't got my key yet but not in a hurry as long as its here before headstart i'll be happy. i still have an account with time left on it for the chinese retail
been seriouslly considering goin the chinese route, some of my gamin buds have shared of doing the same. My only problem is the shift to the NA server when the time comes and if they will allow transfers and/or shifts. In anycase, its well worth waitin for as we observe what new additions will come with it., if any.
According to this thread, the CN route doesn't seem to be such a good idea. It's better to play on the Korean servers (via a vpn like i.ex. 3zoom.com) where they keep the bots and the hacking under control.
I still haven't seen this on the newest Chinese server myself, but if it is established on the older servers as they say I have no doubts it will be coming soon.