Aion (pronounced "ion") is the latest massively multiplayer online role playing game offering from South Korean developer NCsoft, the makers of several moderately successful MMOs including Guild Wars and Lineage.
First things first; yes, Aion shares more than a passing resemblance to Blizzard's immensely popular World of Warcraft in terms of interface design and play style but it certainly has more than a few important differences as well. To be fair though, considering WoW has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, it would be foolhardy not to copy it just a little bit, as its makers clearly must have done something right.
One of Aion's greatest strengths is its rich story. Without going into too much detail, there is a war going on among three different sides. The player can choose to side with the Elyos or the Asmodians, which are the two primary opposing factions in the game. A third race, the Balaur, is not playable but will often attack one side or the other as a way to ensure balanced game play. Early in the game, the player will become a "daeva," which allows access to a set of angel-like wings and the ability to fly in certain areas. The game's writing is above average for a genre usually plagued with weak storylines and overdramatic prose. Additionally, a lot of time and effort clearly has been spent to localize the game for American audiences.
Game progression is similar to most other MMOs and involves leveling, completing quests and teaming with other players to take on larger challenges. There is a lot of content here for the perfectionist, and I often found myself going back into previously explored areas in search of some quest or other mission I had missed. There also are a whole slew of side activities that will be familiar to veteran MMO players such as crafting, gathering and player vs. player interactions, including arena bouts and one-on-one duels.
Visually, Aion is unparalleled in the world of MMORPGs. The draw distance, texture detail and character customization options are all top-notch, and I didn't notice much in the way of lag or frame rate issues. The soundtrack also is very well done, though the voice acting is only average.
There's not much to gripe about with Aion, but there are a few minor annoyances. I often found myself wishing for some of the small touches that make World of Warcraft's interface so easy to use, especially while using the in-game auction house, which feels clunky in Aion. The classes available to the player are somewhat generic, though it is possible later in the game for characters to become more specialized. Finally, there are currently minor bugs in the chat system affecting some users, but hopefully many of these problems will be addressed in future patches.
The takeaway: There's a lot to love here for fans of the genre, but if you've never been inclined to pick up a MMORPG before, this probably won't be the game to change your mind.
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