Aion Fantasy Takes Flight – Beta Event Hands-On Impressions

[Sardu]

Over the weekend NCSoft hosted the first of a series of closed beta events leading up to the North American launch of Aion later this year. After spending some quality time with the game, Reuben “Sardu” Waters shares his hands-on impressions from the event, offering some insight as to what makes Aion tick and why he walked away eager to see more in the coming weeks:

Another thing I took an immediate liking to is the slick, one-piece UI. While there is the option to toggle the placement of your character’s status window and the mini-map at the top of the screen which has become somewhat of an industry norm, I’m one of those players who will typically opt for a less cluttered screen in exchange for a better view of my surroundings. Many of the other bells and whistles you’d come to expect from a newer western MMO are also present such as the option to add more hotbars at the click of a mouse or even being able to preview armors before attuning them to your character.

Continue reading Aion: Fantasy Takes Flight – Beta Event Hands-On Impressions here!

[RawGutts]

Very nice read.. Can't wait to try it out.

[Bartlebe]

This was a nice article. It is almost exactly how I felt about the preview weekend. Aion is poised to combine the best parts of WoW and WAR.

[velimirius]

nice job done,weekend was great,i had lot of fun

[Suraknar]

Interesting Review.

I found it, odd however, that, no mention of Lineage II (look it up in google) was made.

I mean, if you want to learn about AION you may just as well read L2's guides, the class system is the same (which does not mean that it is bad, yet it is not something new either) as well as some other mechanics such as Setting up Shop with your character, which seems to fascinate so much.

L2 launched about several months before WoW btw.

The bad news is that L2, in all its beauty (Graphics were as stunning back then 5 years ago as AION's seem to be to many today), was actually a game full of Grind and Gold farmers. It is why it did not do well in NA, and it is also why I finally let it rest as well.

So I am very skeptical about AION, and since by now I am immune to the nice sparkling dust of the NCSOFT team's Graphics, since these became quite bitter very soon thereafter, once people started realizing the amount of both XP and Gold (Adena) grind that game required, which of course made for a very poor gameplay in spite of the Combat FX.

On the Positive side, (and in addition to nice graphics) is the Class System and Class balance, Polish and Stability as well as Performance, in that regard they did really good in L2, and it is no surprise they repeat the good things in AION. But what I am concerned about is the gameplay this is what stays with you after the graphics Ooohs and Ahhhs fade.

All in all, I shall wait, a couple of months after launch to read people's feedback before deciding to play this game.

My suggestion to you is to avoid judging the game in its first 20 levels, this was the "new player experience" in L2 as well, and it was after that that the trouble started.

Additionally everyone can appreciate pretty graphics, try not to be dazzled and try to look deeper in to the game's actual game play.

NCSOFT proved to me with L2, that they make games with RMT in mind, so...I am being extra careful with this one.

Happy testing!

[Fluvant]

Mm, can't wait for the next beta invites to come flying around. But then again, who can?

[kitsunegirl]

I absolutely love the one-piece UI. When I can get it to not look worse than the default in other games, I try to set up the UI similar to that. I tried the "standard" ui setup in Aion, and quickly went back to the one-piece.

[Sardu]

Originally Posted by Suraknar

Interesting Review.

I found it, odd however, that, no mention of Lineage II (look it up in google) was made.

I mean, if you want to learn about AION you may just as well read L2's guides, the class system is the same (which does not mean that it is bad, yet it is not something new either) as well as some other mechanics such as Setting up Shop with your character, which seems to fascinate so much.

L2 launched about several months before WoW btw.

The bad news is that L2, in all its beauty (Graphics were as stunning back then 5 years ago as AION's seem to be to many today), was actually a game full of Grind and Gold farmers. It is why it did not do well in NA, and it is also why I finally let it rest as well.

So I am very skeptical about AION, and since by now I am immune to the nice sparkling dust of the NCSOFT team's Graphics, since these became quite bitter very soon thereafter, once people started realizing the amount of both XP and Gold (Adena) grind that game required, which of course made for a very poor gameplay in spite of the Combat FX.

On the Positive side, (and in addition to nice graphics) is the Class System and Class balance, Polish and Stability as well as Performance, in that regard they did really good in L2, and it is no surprise they repeat the good things in AION. But what I am concerned about is the gameplay this is what stays with you after the graphics Ooohs and Ahhhs fade.

All in all, I shall wait, a couple of months after launch to read people's feedback before deciding to play this game.

My suggestion to you is to avoid judging the game in its first 20 levels, this was the "new player experience" in L2 as well, and it was after that that the trouble started.

Additionally everyone can appreciate pretty graphics, try not to be dazzled and try to look deeper in to the game's actual game play.

NCSOFT proved to me with L2, that they make games with RMT in mind, so...I am being extra careful with this one.

Happy testing!

First of all, welcome to TTH!

I've played L2 at a few different points, and didn't really see much room for comparison with Aion at all. Really it would have just been an example of the grindy side of MMOs that Aion seems to have purposefully set out to distance itself from. Another big difference, at least to me, is that L2 starts out pretty fun but quickly gets bogged down vs. Aion which starts a bit slower but as you advance the game continues to open up and offer a lot more gameplay options which tends to be synonymous with a more 'western' approach to MMO design.

L2 definitely brought a lot to the table and I can see where certain comparisons can be made (especially on the visual front). In the end though, I still see the two games as having more major differences than similarities.

[Suraknar]

Originally Posted by Sardu

First of all, welcome to TTH!

I've played L2 at a few different points, and didn't really see much room for comparison with Aion at all. Really it would have just been an example of the grindy side of MMOs that Aion seems to have purposefully set out to distance itself from. Another big difference, at least to me, is that L2 starts out pretty fun but quickly gets bogged down vs. Aion which starts a bit slower but as you advance the game continues to open up and offer a lot more gameplay options which tends to be synonymous with a more 'western' approach to MMO design.

L2 definitely brought a lot to the table and I can see where certain comparisons can be made (especially on the visual front). In the end though, I still see the two games as having more major differences than similarities.

Thank you for the welcome.

And thank you for replying directly as well to the concerns, the fact that there is similarities, on the graphical side or even some of the systems such as classes, is all fine.

I just hope that it is as you say however, and the similarities end there as far as the gameplay is concerned.

It would be a shame that such beauty and potential Fun goes down the drain for sure.

I will wait a bit after launch waiting for commentary from players that go beyond their 30's before joining myself, I was really disappointed by L2 and the disappointment still lingers.

So far so good however, even if cautiously I am keeping an open mind about it.

Cheers!