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Some thoughts on Aion (long)
Some folks seem to have nothing but horrible things to say about this game, so I decided to start my own thread about this, because it seems that some of those here who don't like the game are simply misinformed (although that doesn't preclude you from having your own opinion about the game regardless, so if you simply don't like it, fine, but you're missing out 
).
To start, I was skeptical of this game mainly because I've never been a big fan of Asian games. I'll try them, but for the most part they just don't hold my attention. I have nothing against the market; it's just usually not my style. With Aion, however, I'm impressed. The game is well-made: the animations are smooth, I like the graphics, and it performs rather well with a large number of players in an area.
And believe it or not, no, the starting quests WERE NOT boring for me. I think the problem some players are having with new MMO's is that they've already progressed so much in the other games they're playing, that not everyone wants to start from scratch again. I keep seeing threads about people wanting everything now, and it's probably one of the reasons everyone tries to blow through the quests so quickly. I'm just as interested in seeing how the game plays out as everyone else, but I think if you go about MMO's this way, you're just ruining it for yourself.
As with any MMO, if you don't read the quests, and you don't follow the storyline (and yes, there is one), then you aren't going to be immersed within the game, and you're not going to feel like it's different from <x> MMO, because that's the exact same thing you're doing with your older game. In fact, you're missing out on a rather huge portion (not to mention the entire purpose of) the MMO itself, which should be more of a journey... not a race.
So, before I started playing, I sat down and read everything I could find on Aion lore, then logged on and went through each of the quests, all the while being more interested in the little things about the game that make it great than trying to get through it as fast as I could. To that extent, I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I'm not by any means finished, but I figured I'd take a break to see if anyone else noticed some of the smaller, more interesting aspects of the game.
For instance, I noticed that you can link any location on your map in chat by opening your chat box, opening your map and ctrl+right clicking the location you want to share. You can also rename the locations... that's pretty nifty. I also noticed the automatic environment emotes that your character displayed depending on the weather/environment you're standing in. If you're in the water, you'll try to catch a fish! If you stand in rain, your avatar will pull out a big leaf (haha) for cover. Cool.
It's the stuff like this that draws me to a game. Yeah, the quests are pretty standard in design (at least in Poeta, from what I've experienced), but that doesn't mean they're the same quests as <x> MMO. They're still new, and I still enjoyed completing them.
As far as the combat goes, I can't wait to see what the PvP will be like by end game. I'm currently playing a Sorcerer, but I'll be trying out some melee classes soon. Nothing spectacularly revolutionary here, but it's fast paced, smooth, and has an overall great presentation.
I've read some other posts about individuals voicing concern over the text, which at times does not fit properly. The translations are also not top notch, but I found them acceptable in comparison to other translated games I've played. Let's not forget, however, that this is the exact reason that Aion is still in beta for NA. The game isn't released here, and I'd imagine that they're still working on this kind of stuff. Reporting the spelling mistakes and inconsistencies will only make the game better over time, so all that effort you spend complaining about it would be better used informing someone at NCsoft. 
Overall, I think this game's going to be a keeper. I look forward to seeing what NCsoft has done with the dragon faction; hopefully the AI in that respect will play out more like RTS AI than the standard target/follow/attack/run/die model we all know so well. I'd recommend this game to anyone interested in having fun; just don't go in expecting it to mind f*** you and you'll enjoy it.
9/10 
Comments
"Freedom is just another name for nothing left to lose" - Janis Joplin
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Botters/gold farmers/spammers/you name it will be all over any MMO, especially a successful MMO. There's simply more profit with more players. By the way, have you played the game yet? I find the animation to be great, and I enjoy the style of graphics. I must say, though, that I'll take gameplay/content over graphics. I'm not looking for Crysis here, and neither should you be... perhaps you're in the wrong genre?
The music is fantastic, and yet the sound is still good. If you want an example of poor sound, perhaps you should look at (and I hate to say it) Darkfall.
You bias is blatently obvious.
As for the translations, well they aren't done yet. NCSoft has said so over and over again so I am not worried about the game's poor translations yet. Once they release the English translation then I'll look at it.
Fan sites:
AION-On-Line.com
aionicthoughts.wordpress.com/
www.aionarmory.com/
www.aionglobal.com/
www.aionsource.com/
www.areyouhellbound.com/forum/
www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/253
www.onrpg.com/
Official sites:
www.ncsoft.com/global/
www.aiononline.com/us/
eu.aiononline.com/en/
Its because the core gameplay is the same.. you still do not have to aim any of your attacks or time anything.. its still the same old click on your skills and spam skill bar game..
solareus go away. we're all entitled to opinions but it's frustrating when we read a post that's so ignorant. if you wanna give a game 4/10 thats fine, but when you specifically say the GRAPHICS are 4/10 you can't expect anyone to take you seriously when we're talking about Aion's graphics. Even if you hate the art style, AIon's graphics still stack up nicely enough compared to all other games and deserve to be acknowledged respecfully.
Well heh, I think the skill bar will always be around until we're interacting with the game using gloves wired to our pc's.
Really though, I've tried MMO's with hit boxes, and of course TCoS had that skill deck... not sure if they make much of a difference (to me, at least) at the end of the day.
I find it interesting to note, though, that everyone I've seen who doesn't want a skillbar is basically asking for a FPS... and then the devs give it to us! (Planetside, TR, to name a couple... I know there are many more coming out) A month down the road we realize we're paying to play a FPS that we could be playing for free and we're back to square one. Vicious cycle indeed.
I think folks just get bored of the laid back style of MMO's. I know I definitely have in the past. That's when you know it's about time to pull out counter-strike or some good old shooter and just blow stuff up for a day.
Correct, and your point is (if you don't like the gameplay then by all means move on man). They have stated that they are not reinventing the wheel so why even bring it up bro.
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
Gameplay: 8/10 (standard mmo gameplay, not bad but nothing really new)
Graphics: 10/10 (You have to be a F**king fool to say the graphics are bad)
Storyline: undefine (I say this b/c I myself have not be paying attention too much to the lore in the beta. I'm trying to experiene as much as I can during the beta to help me assess the game. This is something i'll Look into in the finished product)
Sound/music: 10/10 (I usually play something from my itunes when i'm gaming. I have yet to turn on my playlist while i've been in the game. The in game music is just amazing to say the least.)
Animation: 9/10 (Typical with any Asian game, the attention to detail is much greater than that of the NA MMOs. All the little gestures are very entertaining.)
World/Environment: 9/10 (Just drop dead gorgeous.)
Costumization: 8/10 (Way more then any other MMO i've played but a few other things I would have liked to change during the character creation but, its not that big of a deal)
Over all first impression : 6/10
Over all impression after clocking in 6 hrs of gameplay: 8/10 (maybe 9/10)
Combat system: 6/10 (This is probably my only problem with the game. Since it merged both Asian and NA combat systems It throws a few people off. It was only after i figured out how to disable say in my case the Asian point, click and go. That the game felt much better to me.)
PvP: undefined ( I've only dueled a few people and rating an entire game's pvp system on 6 duels is unfair. I will say however that the duels where very... very fun.)
Over all average: 8/10 (Keep in mind my grading is based PURELY off of the beta. I have high hopes that in its Final release that Aion will be a perfect game on lauch day with minimum [if any] patches to fix last minute errors.)
In Conclusion, the game runs almost flawlessly in Beta. Everything in my point of view is just amazing. And at the moment as soon as I can I will be preordering this game. Its def got my money.
Botters/gold farmers/spammers/you name it will be all over any MMO, especially a successful MMO. There's simply more profit with more players. By the way, have you played the game yet? I find the animation to be great, and I enjoy the style of graphics. I must say, though, that I'll take gameplay/content over graphics. I'm not looking for Crysis here, and neither should you be... perhaps you're in the wrong genre?
The music is fantastic, and yet the sound is still good. If you want an example of poor sound, perhaps you should look at (and I hate to say it) Darkfall.
Eh, don't mind Solareus. Just another everyday troll in the magical world of forums >.>
Currently playing: Star Wars: The Old Republic, World of Warcraft, Dota 2, League of Legends
Waiting on: Blade & Soul, Guild Wars 2, Tera, Kingdoms of Amular, Firefall
Heh, its quite funny when someone says graphics only score a 4/10. After reading that i couldn't take the rest of the post seriously.
One of the best looking games ive ever seen in a MMO and runs on most machines! Hell, i run the game on my motherboard's video chipset and i get a decent 60 fps!
Gameplay 8/10 ok fine if you like PVP no problem your entitled to your opinion.However no sub class system puts it in the backseat to FFXI so right off the hop it is no better than a 9/10.Lack of races means it is another notch down because game play is that much limited,so 8/10 already and that is IF the game is perfect with no possible means for improvment.No reason really to group,quite possible to solo re definmes what an MMORPG SHOULD be ,so it is another notch down...7/10 and again that is if it is pefect,so since NOBODY could ever say sopmething is PERFECT wioth no means for improvment my score could never give it more than a 6/10
Graphics 10/10 umm i won't even bother there obvious biased score.
Storyline your answer was at least fair ,so no problem there.
Sound/Music 10/10 lol umm must be PERFECT,witch by anyones definition is IMPOSSIBLE biased again.I would at best give my favourite game a 7/10 at best because there is so much more that can be done in that area,only a person that knows how it is done would understand.Sound and music files can really eat up a game,so they are usually 8 bit,far from amazing.Music is usually relegated to each zone and sounds are NEVER top notch in any game.
Animations 9/10 that would mean you are saying they are one notch from perfect?IMO from all the animations i have seen they are hit and miss.There is times i say to myself they are on par ,other times they look cheap,far too fast because they lack .ani frames.This is an area that once again you have to actually understand it to realize how much can be done,so giving this area more than 8/10 at best is unjust.Animations apart from just the frames can include several different animations on top of each other,this takes a lot of effort and is only times as i said hit and miss.BTW when you say "TYPICAL", Asian MMO's are typically REAL bad,i think you are confusing animations with something else.
World /environment 9/10 ? well here is a case of what each individual thinks is proper or drop dead gorgeous,this area will always be debated so i guess if you feel it is 9/10 you are entitled to your opinion,i will not even give it a score.
Costumization 8/10 well right off the hop only 2 race choices ,that is so lack it falls behind almost every single MMO on the market,so i would say this score is far stretched,it could never be more than a 6/10 because of it's lack in choices.I might also add that once again no sub class ,also means you are lack from having several chjoices for customization of your character.
First impression 6/10 once again this is to each their own,so i cannot give it a score.
Overall impression 8/10 i think it lacks too much in game design so my impression of the game is quite low,however if it offers what you were looking for in a modern game,then again your score and you are entitled to this opinion.
Combat 6/10 i would say this is a fair score as i judge all games against FFXI's combat system,witch is more in depth than any game on the market.BTW i would give FFXI's combat[the best]only a 8.5/10 because there is still so much more that can be done.
PVP no score,but i can give one barely a 5/10.....I know PVP well i played serious PVP in Unreal tournament back in the day,it is crazy how much skill it took to play.MMORPG's offer NONE of the skill it takes to play a true FPS PVP,they will always lack in that area and for most MMORPG'rs we do not even want PVP period.When i play a FPS i am there to compete against others,when i play a MMORPG i am there to work together and relax in a gaming environment with others,i am not there to compete against anyone.
I try to be fair when i rank a game ,i am not trying to bash a game in any fashion,i know how these games are made and i understand every aspect,so i do not rank scores on a whim,i will often give examples as well to my reasoning.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Personally for my review I'm basing it off of all other betas i've seen and the games at the Time of the betas not Aion's beta vs fully finished released games with a year (or years) of patching. To that alone. Yes Aion in my opinion is the best MMO yet. I've played quite a few MMO's including WoW for 3 years. I've come to hate wow for a number of reasons (mostly the idiot people) so I am in no way a first time MMO gamer with a complete bias view on Aion.
Going into the beta I wasn't expecting much. Like most hardcore MMO gamers would know, same shit just repacked and with a bunch of new features. Cutting through all the shinny armor and wings and pvpve, etc its really just like every other MMO.
That said, after playing in the beta I was quite surprised for an ASIAN MMO how entertaining it turned out to be. Playing an new MMO with the same crap is one thing. Playing the New MMO and actually not walking away for stupid reasons like servers crashing 10 mins into the beta (WoW), or failed/empty promises (AoC), or what not, is another thing.
Aion is on its own a great game. Visuals are great. Gameplay for an Asian game in an NA region is great. And people interaction is also ok. Now before anyone cuts me off after the people's interaction line, yes at start there isn't really much grouping and you find yourself and everyone else soloing mobs BUT, in what MMO in the early lvls do you not find yourself soloing? Maybe its just me and the servers I found myself playing on in my MMO's but I never found myself looking for groups until at least lvl 20+. So people complaining about other players soloing mobs in the starting zone just makes me laugh. Are you that bad of a player that you need another to help you kill something that is practially free xp handed to you? really now...
My review might look a bit bias and I can even understand why. But me giving it a 9/10 doesn't mean that i'm saying this is the best and completely perfect game in the WORLD... no its just saying that compared to what I've seen... all the MMO's on the market, this is the prettiest repackaged mmo crap that I've come to see.
Let's grow up here -- you don't have to bash MMOMedic because his opinions are different from yours. He didn't ask you to rate his rating, nor did he mention that his ratings were facts. His post does not reflect how much he understands or doesn't understand about the creation of the game; this is from the perspective of the consumer. And no, you don't know everything.
Not every game has to have sub classes and a bunch of races to get a high gameplay rating, nor would that necessarily negatively affect gameplay. And I don't believe you can comment on "no reason to group" based on the first 10-20 levels of a game (especially not the first 10) because those levels are generally reserved for learning how to play your own class before you interact with others. But if you played Aion CN, and you've raided solo and you can successfully PvP solo, please let me know. I'd love to hear how worthless groups are in those scenarios.
His point about the sound has little to do with the quality. I can listen to a fantastic 8 bit song and give it a 10/10 simply because I like it, and the same goes for the graphics. Diablo 2 graphics kick ass.
I do also believe that he gave customization a high score based on the fact that you can change so much about your character's face/body type, along with all the slotting for armor, stigmas, and dyes that help you customize your avatar. I've heard it a million times, and I'm sure you have too, but I'm sick of elves, orcs, dwarves, and trolls. Aion is just fine without them.
And this is not a FPS. It's not even close. So I don't understand how you could compare the two in terms of PvP and still call that rating by any means "fair". They're different styles -- just because you use a sword and a skill bar to kill someone doesn't make it any less of "player versus player" (Pong is PvP), nor does the amount of "skill" (you're playing a game, not designing a spaceship) determine what constitutes "real" PvP. Playing against someone means just that, and we all prefer different ways of doing it. You tell me how much money you won doing "serious PvP" in Unreal Tournament, then go look at the arena tournaments Blizzard holds for real $$$ playing WoW, nonetheless.
The 9/10 at the bottom of my original post was not an overall rating based on every aspect of the game. It's an enjoyment rating. I'm enjoying the game, regardless of what I like or dislike about it. I did not intend for this to turn into a "let's rate every fkin detail til we figure out what's bad about Aion and bash it for being a horrible failure of a game" thread. Quite frankly, if you're just going to compare it to shooters and games that aren't even out yet, I don't know why I bothered reading.
I was going to rate your post 2 out of 10 on the trolling scale, but the tinfoilhattery in the last part of the first sentence really bought you some points and warrants an overall 4 out of 10.
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