Aion: Tower of Eternity
Review
East meets West in this MMORPG
by Stefanie Fogel
reviewed on PC
Eye Candy
Much fuss has been made over Aion's use of the CryEngine, the same engine used for the first person shooter Far Cry, and that fuss is totally justified. The world of Atreia is gorgeous, yet it won't make your computer's CPU curl up in the fetal position like some other MMOs (I'm looking at you Age of Conan!). The world is full of vibrant colors – lots of deep reds, purples and blues – and the water and snow effects are lovely. There are a lot of interesting visual details as well, whether it is a pirate ship in a harbor, a face carved in the side of a cliff or a winged creature lazily flying in the sky above you.
As nice as the lands of Atreia are to look at, they take a backseat to the characters themselves. The character models, and some of the monster models, are highly-detailed and look fantastic. They might be the best looking character models in a MMO to date. Careful attention has also been paid to their animations. Stand idle for too long and you will see an animation play based on your location. For example, your character might try to catch a fish while standing in a lake. If it is raining, you can grab a big leaf to act as an umbrella. They are small touches that add to the game's charm and visual appeal.
Be Unique
Character customization is an important part of any RPG and in this area Aion delivers big time. Choosing what your character will look like is no small task. There are over 20 different preset faces you can choose from, as well as over 40 different hairstyles. There are options for hair color, eye color, skin color and lip color. You can give your character a mole, freckles, a beard, a tattoo, etc. Asmodians can even choose to have demonic horns. If that isn't enough, you can go into the Advanced tab and find adjustable sliders for everything from brow height, to ear shape, to... ahem... chest size. The character creation system is as robust as Oblivion's but, unlike Oblivion, you don't have to work for hours to create a character that isn't butt ugly. However, you can spend hours, if you want, creating a character that you can be fairly certain is unique in the game world.
Character customization extends far past the creation screen. Armor can be dyed and socketed with mana stones that provide a small boost to your stats. At level 20, the game introduces you to Stigma stones. They let players gain an ability that normally would be unavailable to their class or level. For example, you might find a stone that allows you to use a weapon or armor your class normally couldn't use. Players gain one Stigma slot at level 20 and extra slots at levels 30, 40 and 50.
Flying Too Close to the Sun
I had more trouble than I thought coming up with negative things to say about Aion but there are a few sticking points. GameGuard, a third party anti-cheating software NCsoft decided to incorporate into the game, gave plenty of people headaches during open and closed beta. Luckily, the developers seem to be listening to the players and have removed it for now, but plan to implement it again at a later date.
Sound in the game gets the job done but doesn't really stand out and after seeing what Bioware is doing in the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic, the bar is set pretty high for what I expect out of voiceovers in my MMOs.
While campaign quests are interesting and include cutscenes to help immerse you in the storyline, standard quests are the same "Kill X amount of Y" and "Deliver this!" you see in every MMO. Luckily, the game includes a handy dictionary and quest tracker to help you locate objectives. Many aspects of Aion borrow heavily from its predecessors (World of Warcraft in particular) and while those new to MMOs will find comfort in the familiarity, more veteran players might feel a bit of "been-there-done-that" deja vu. At least until they reach level 10 where the game takes off, literally and figuratively.
Aion has had a few problems during the headstart with queue times and lag but, really, what MMO doesn't have those problems at launch? I haven't experienced any of the problems myself and I'm sure they will smooth out within a week. Queue times aside, with a year's worth of development in Asia already under its belt, Aion makes for a fairly smooth playing experience.
Much Potential
MMORPGs are difficult to review; they are organic creatures, constantly changing and evolving over time. There are a lot of things I haven't touched on – the economy, dungeons, the endgame – that are near impossible to judge so early into the game's lifespan. But the things I have seen look promising. With its gorgeous graphics, PvPvE system and deep character customization, Aion has the potential to carve out a place for itself in the western MMO market.
8.0
fun score
Pros
Deep character customization.
Cons
The standard quests are the same you see in every MMO.
