MMO Gamers

Beta weekend #4 for Aion has come to a close, and I managed to get a bit more gaming done, though nowhere near as much as I would’ve liked.  So what do I think now that I’ve played some more and has my opinion changed since my previous blog entry?

I’ll start by mentioning the character models again.  I spent a bit more time and made a couple of new characters just to play around with the character creation tools, and I have to say I love the tool and the characters you can make.  I regularly game with my sister and a girl gamer friend, and they made some stunning female characters.  So if you’re the type of gamer that likes to have a good looking and unique avatar then you won’t be disappointed with the range of looks you can create.

Graphically the game gets better as you leave that initial starter area and move deeper in Poeta.  For the most part I was still getting the 80-100+ FPS, but I took a big hit when I came across the lake, dropping down to below 50 briefly, and an even bigger hit when first entering Sanctum, the Capital city for the Elyos.  I also experienced some rubber banding, though not game breaking by any means.

One of the things I really enjoyed was during certain parts of the Ascension quest (and perhaps one or two other quests) there would be a little cut-scene and cinematic.  This just added that little something for me and I really hope this continues throughout the rest of the game.  I’m also a fan of fluff and nonsense.  When it rains your avatar pulls out a large leaf to protect itself from the rain.  When you sit you pull out a stool.  When you sleep a cloud appears and you lie on it.  There’s a whole range of emotes, all with detailed, if a little silly, actions.  I was able to sit down on every chair and bench I came across in Sanctum.  I love this kind of stuff, and when a game is missing it I question why and wonder what else is missing.

I’m still not entirely sold on the combat yet, having only learned one chain skill so far, but I’d only gotten to level 10 and as a result had very few skills at my disposal.  I’m hoping to rectify this next beta weekend.  And it’s not that I don’t like this type of  combat, I’m more than happy with the standard MMO combat system, it has more to do with the Asian anime voices and sound effects; they make me cringe somewhat.  Initially I was concerned that after playing Age of Conan and fighting humans I’d find it uninteresting fighting animals and fanciful creatures, but the models are so well done that I’m enjoying combat as a result.

I have to say, Aion is growing on me.  I played for about 5 hours today and I didn’t want to stop, and even now I want to go back and play (stupid work *grumbles*).  I completed my Ascension quest and got my wings then had a bit of practice flying and gliding.  You can’t fly everywhere because there are no-fly areas, but you can glide everywhere, so no more falling to your death after accidently running off a cliff.  And gliding is fun.  Next beta weekend I’m hoping to get a few more levels on my Chanter and get a better idea about the class and the combat, and I’d also like to have a look at the crafting.