With anything and everything in the realm of MMO's being drowned out by three other huge letters: W-O-W. It's amazing to think that something could ever rise up and go head to head with the monster that Blizzard created. Aion by NCsoft may be just that contender.

First off, the game is visually amazing. Running off the Cry3 Engine, Aion succeeds in pulling the player into its world from the get go. In combination with the visuals, NCsoft did a phenomenal job with the music in the game. Whether you are fighting mobs, trudging through a swamp, or simply walking into a tavern, the music creates its own personality that keeps the game moving at a nice pace. Also, the built-in quest helpers (the "locate" button for the win!) and other UI options take a lot of what WOW did and actually improved it. Although there are only two races, the character creation screen is another huge success! You could, and I did now that I think about it, spend upwards of 30 minutes just tweaking and playing with your characters look.

So why pick this MMO up? The visuals, score, and interface options are amazing, but not reason enough to drop 50 bucks on a game. Where Aion shines is in the game play. Not only does it have a fast paced leveling system, but the path to higher levels is just flat out fun to play. Oh, and did I mention you can fly! You play as an angel-esque immortal that is able to fly or glide through zones, and it adds a whole new element to taking down enemies. Once you hit the higher levels you steer away from standard leveling and questing, and into a area known as "The Abyss" where you take on the opposing race in epic aerial PVP battles!

Having only played the first 20 levels, I can tell you that Aion is a very well-rounded and enjoyable experience. It's not perfect, but offers a whole lot out of the gate. Depth, however, could be its downfall in the MMO race. With a level cap starting out at 50, and having only 2 races to play (the Elyos and Asmodians) and the same classes on each side, Aion will have to start adding content quickly to keep its fame from being short lived. Can it hold up against the house that Blizzard built? Only time will tell.

Written by :

Mazrem

 

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