Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First off - the graphics are amazing. The graphics engine supports visually stunning landscapes and both the player and non-player characters are crafted with loving care and attention to detail (if you buy this definitely look closely at the monsters you are fighting, the level of detail on each is impressive). Along with this you have such things as fluid cloth animation, physics for hair that moves and depending on wind and movement. What is nice is that this is a very efficient graphics engine as well, and though many people will eventually be bogged down in a large pvp battle, a recent moderate system will run this game with all settings on maximum easily. Don't look too closely though. Circles are actually octagons, the landscape looks like EverQuest from 1990. There's no such thing as "rounded" straight angles and lines on the landscape, everywhere. Oh, and though the armor is amazing, both in design and graphical quality, it is of a sort of anime nature, so the women aren't wearing much and the guys look like mechs. Since the Armor is actually separate models than your character and not just skins it both looks far more impressive than most games (and the pieces match, unlike the clown gear of WoW) and it also suffers from the straight line effect. Triangular breasts and square pants are in store if you don't zoom out after making your initial observations.
But graphics aren't everything, no matter how much the graphics and the customization of character and even equipment might appeal, there needs to be something else. Aion got a couple of things spot on - the skill chains are an interesting way to add some complexity to the normal one-two-three of many games. Note that depending on your class and situation this just means a one-two-two-two-three button press i.e. because of the way the skill chain works, it many times simply activates, the player clicks through, and you move on to your next skill or skill chain.
Crafting is another big point in this game - if you can gather one type of material, you can gather all similar types (i.e. metals, foods, fibers, ect. form one skill) which makes it much more interesting and easy to skill up gathering skills and to support multiple professions. Each character has the ability to master two trade skills and another to a lesser degree. The items made from this process are very useful and often times better than the items that (very rarely) drop in the game. Anyone who enjoys this aspect of games might find Aion a nice home. Also, you do gain experience from tradeskills and gathering, so while it is not a viable way to level, you don't completely give up gaining levels when you tradeskill.
So why the low rating? Because, after having played it for several weeks I can see why people in many reviews talk about a "lack of content". The fact of the matter is that the game space and world is fairly small. You won't notice this until you're at least level 30, but it becomes quite apparent after that. There are limited areas to quest at any level, limited places to get loot or drops, ect. The first instance you have access to is at level 25 with a 18 hour lockout time. Did I mention you'll probably leave with one to two green drops that you can sell for relatively little money? No loot unless you're really, really lucky. You can't come back here after level 28 either. While instances getter better past this point, it's nothing many players of MMOs will be used to.
Quests also practically stop after level 26, at least as a means of gaining gear or experience. By the time you complete most quests you will have better gear than the rewards and usually killing one to two mobs will equal the quest experience reward. Of course, the quests usually are simply "kill 25 of ___" ... and many of these quests are repeatable, over a hundred times. So you can make what people call "grinding" a little more rewarding, even though running back to the quest giver to turn in and reacquire the quest is probably a waste of killing/experience time. If you buy this game with the WoW game mechanic and theory in mind - you're going to be severely disappointed within your first couple of days playing.
There is no escape from pvp. And pvp in this game means being killed while doing the above mentioned grinding. If you don't mind this, it's the game for you. If you want to level up and do it to other people, buy it! But for many this will become a massive source of frustration and annoyance. When it takes you 8 hours of killing individual mobs to level up, and you have two places to do this in, when a higher level player decides you're not going to use that area, it's game over for the day. Seriously, you *will* be killed, over and over again while trying to level up. You will not even have a chance to fight back either since even if the person is you're level (which they won't be) they have come prepared to pvp, so better gear, potions, scrolls ect are at their disposal to ensure that you die and they escape.
***Parents*** If you are considering this game for a child be aware that after level 10 the player enters the one and only channel that connects the entire server together - LFG. This channel is used for chat, selling of goods, and people actually looking for groups. This chat is most times, if not always, littered with racism, sexism (extreme), graphic sexual content, vulgarity, and plenty of complaining, whining and arguing. Since this is the only channel to effectively look for a group in, you're pretty much subject to this no matter what. You will have to read it, you will be exposed to it.
The player base is really an issue, since this is an MMO it's all about the collective experience and a game that is based (aside from all that grinding) on social activity and interaction. I've found most people to be reasonable and many times interesting once you get a legion or a group, but a very large portion of the people that still actually play this game are generally speaking very self involved, unhelpful, aggressive and rude. If you've played World of Warcraft in an Alliance battleground...this is the same thing, all the time, and much, much worse.I don't really want to say don't buy this game, because I really like a lot of the aspects of it, and I'd like to see the community grow ( and mature) so that the game can continue to develop and expand into a more finished title. At the same time, if you have a tight budget, and realize that this game means continuing to pay each month that you play it, I don't want anyone else to buy it like me, to at first think -"what are all these reviews on various websites and especially the game website about? This is great" It's not. Period. The game is Korean made, and there will not be two versions for a North American audience with different tastes. The game has been out for a year prior to it's North America release, so anyone that says it is a new game is confused. The game has been in a released format for over a year.
Unless you really love "ganking" (getting killed while minding your own business by a player) "grinding" (standing around killing the same things over and over and over again for hours if not days) and a less than supportive or involved community of teens at each other's throats I'd highly recommend that you find a different means of occupying your time.
If your immediate response to this review, that states as clearly as I can some of the most important aspects of the game that a prospective buyer/player might have, is "stop whinging" "QQ" and whatever else you use to describe someone who is dissatisfied or unimpressed with a product, then this is the game for you. You will fit into the community immediately, and probably enjoy the game.
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The Aion Collector's Edition includes these in game items, Black Cloud Wing Set and Earring, Special Title, Exclusive Color Dye, and 2 Character Emotes. Also included, a 6.5" hand painted Asmodian Goddess figuirine, Aion soundtrack, and a double sided Aion.Stunning World: Discover a meticulously crafted fantasy world brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets.Innovative PvPvE: Aion introduces a new dynamic to MMOs by combining both PvP and PvE gameplay into an exciting new style.Intense Visceral Combat: Engage in a spectacular and evolving combat system utilizing combos, skill chains, counterattacks, and spectacular aerial combat.Unprecedented Customization: Take individuality to a new level through an incredibly in-depth character creation tool, advanced crafting systems, and extensive item customization.
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