Keero
Tribe of Judah Membership Administrator
Hey guys. Well, my subscription runs out in about 3 days, I move to the dorms tomorrow, aaand I'll be checking out WoW here soon. I'll be keeping an eye on further patches because I'm mainly holding out for the crafting update, and especially the graphics boost. Here's my quick and simple review of Aion:
Gameplay: The combat feels much closer to Guild Wars than say something like LOTRO. That is, more fresh than stale. Skills look flashy, have nice feedback, and are responsive. While some of the skills are mostly tiered (Counterattack I, II, etc.), there's plenty of neat options when you reach the low-to-mid twenties. Quests were a bit cliche with the whole "get X of Y, kill Y of Z", but they did offer ample amounts of experience. From what I saw, the only real "grind" (at least before 30) was probably killing 7~10 creatures to get that last 5% of your EXP bar. I found 22-24 to be quite a drag also, but you'll shoot through the levels when you begin certain instances (HTC, Haramel) as well as getting some rather nice loot for doing so. Also you can fly and glide, which is very fun. What I did see of PVP was mostly me getting ganked by twinked characters, but with region chat, it was only moments before a group of Elyos folks began hunting around. While I didn't like people kicking sand in my carebear PVE face, I did enjoy getting them back with a decent sized group.
Overall, 8.5/10.
Graphics: Other than a misplaced map texture here or there, the game is both gorgeous and highly detailed. Character creation is varied with some 30~50 options for hairs, faces, and dozens of sliders for bodies and faces, too. It's hard to make an ugly character in this game. Speaking of which, other than some leather armor and a majority of the hats (which can be toggled off), the armor and weapons can look downright awesome. The animation when it rains, when on a sandy area, or when it's hot fit perfectly and gives a very polished feel. Enemies look neat, villages and places like Sanctum are even neater, and there's tons of opportunities to snag a screenshot. If you're PC can handle it, crank this baby up and enjoy. Oh, and you may even see sky whales in the distance. Overall, 9/10.
Sound: While the voices for casters make can get annoying "Vengahirya! Vengahirya! Jevvenpleck!" (It sounds made up. >.>), the voice acting in the game sounds decent overall. Music is nice, combat sounds engaging, and nothing felt out of place. So it's competent, but not mindblowing. Also, Shugos sound very unique, nyerk. Overall, 7.5/10.
Morality: While I can't speak too much for mid-to-endgame, I did want to say that what I did play was rather... clean. Content that may be objectionable to some (necromancy, demons, etc.) never really showed up. Sure there's fireballs and summons to be had, but other than people running around in skimpy female armor, it's not as "dark" as say, Warhammer Online. It has a unique universe with a cool story. This is playing as the Elyos (good guys/angels) though, not sure if Asmodians are that much different (but no one likes them anyways. >.>) If something like WAR or Guild Wars is a bit too heavy for you, Aion may be your thing (though others that reached 40+ can correct me if I'm wrong). If you don't like the skimpy outfits, a simple Shift+F12 can remove PCs too. Overall, 7/10.
I'd like to thank <The Elect> for being a great group of people to play with, and I would suggest anyone sitting on the fence when it comes to playing to totally check out the game. While I had my reservations before I picked up the game, I was pleasantly surprised by how polished the whole experience was, how deep some of the mechanics were, and how fresh the combat felt. If you ever see a sale for it, snag it up. Oh, and you get wings. Wings.
Gameplay: The combat feels much closer to Guild Wars than say something like LOTRO. That is, more fresh than stale. Skills look flashy, have nice feedback, and are responsive. While some of the skills are mostly tiered (Counterattack I, II, etc.), there's plenty of neat options when you reach the low-to-mid twenties. Quests were a bit cliche with the whole "get X of Y, kill Y of Z", but they did offer ample amounts of experience. From what I saw, the only real "grind" (at least before 30) was probably killing 7~10 creatures to get that last 5% of your EXP bar. I found 22-24 to be quite a drag also, but you'll shoot through the levels when you begin certain instances (HTC, Haramel) as well as getting some rather nice loot for doing so. Also you can fly and glide, which is very fun. What I did see of PVP was mostly me getting ganked by twinked characters, but with region chat, it was only moments before a group of Elyos folks began hunting around. While I didn't like people kicking sand in my carebear PVE face, I did enjoy getting them back with a decent sized group.
Overall, 8.5/10.Graphics: Other than a misplaced map texture here or there, the game is both gorgeous and highly detailed. Character creation is varied with some 30~50 options for hairs, faces, and dozens of sliders for bodies and faces, too. It's hard to make an ugly character in this game. Speaking of which, other than some leather armor and a majority of the hats (which can be toggled off), the armor and weapons can look downright awesome. The animation when it rains, when on a sandy area, or when it's hot fit perfectly and gives a very polished feel. Enemies look neat, villages and places like Sanctum are even neater, and there's tons of opportunities to snag a screenshot. If you're PC can handle it, crank this baby up and enjoy. Oh, and you may even see sky whales in the distance. Overall, 9/10.
Sound: While the voices for casters make can get annoying "Vengahirya! Vengahirya! Jevvenpleck!" (It sounds made up. >.>), the voice acting in the game sounds decent overall. Music is nice, combat sounds engaging, and nothing felt out of place. So it's competent, but not mindblowing. Also, Shugos sound very unique, nyerk. Overall, 7.5/10.
Morality: While I can't speak too much for mid-to-endgame, I did want to say that what I did play was rather... clean. Content that may be objectionable to some (necromancy, demons, etc.) never really showed up. Sure there's fireballs and summons to be had, but other than people running around in skimpy female armor, it's not as "dark" as say, Warhammer Online. It has a unique universe with a cool story. This is playing as the Elyos (good guys/angels) though, not sure if Asmodians are that much different (but no one likes them anyways. >.>) If something like WAR or Guild Wars is a bit too heavy for you, Aion may be your thing (though others that reached 40+ can correct me if I'm wrong). If you don't like the skimpy outfits, a simple Shift+F12 can remove PCs too.
Overall, 7/10.I'd like to thank <The Elect> for being a great group of people to play with, and I would suggest anyone sitting on the fence when it comes to playing to totally check out the game. While I had my reservations before I picked up the game, I was pleasantly surprised by how polished the whole experience was, how deep some of the mechanics were, and how fresh the combat felt. If you ever see a sale for it, snag it up. Oh, and you get wings. Wings.
