a single click. All you need is Adobe Reader.
For use with either a modern browser, or an RSS program.
An Hour With...Aion
First impressions of NCSoft's latest fantasy MMO
Written by Chris Joyce, 05 November 2009
A new feature here on Gamerzines is our 'An Hour With' where we offer our first impressions on a game.
Aion screenshotsAion is the latest fantasy MMO form NCSoft - originally released in Korea in November 2008, it made its way to Western gamers in September of this year.
Aion screenshotsNow that the game has had a month or so to settle in I figured it was time I gave it a try to see if it lived up to all the hype.
Aion screenshotsWhile the game was installing I made my way over to the PlayNC website to create my account. As I already have a PlayNC Master Account I presumed this would be easy enough - just a matter of adding the game key to my account and away we go, but it was here that I came across my first problem.
Aion screenshotsAion, like most MMOs, comes with 30 days of playtime included. However, to get these 30 days you are required to set up a subscription method which bills you in advance for whatever time period you chose to subscribe for.
I found this to be very unfair. What if I didn't have the money available at that time to pay for another month, or more - that would have left me unable to play. Many MMO gamers will pick up the latest release and give it a test for the 'free' 30 days - what if someone didn't like it and wanted to stop after this time?
After re-reading the notes for each subscription method I found that the Paypal option seemed to be the only one that didn't charge you immediately, so opted for this one to get the account created.
So, with my account created and the game installed I settled in for my first hour in Aion.
There are two races in Aion, the Elyos and Azmodians - the Elyos being the good, lighter race, and the Azmodians being the darker more sinister race who have evolved to the harsher conditions of their side of the world.
Four classes are available to choose from - Warrior, Scout, Mage and Priest - which I initially thought was quite limited until I read the descriptions and found that each class later 'evolves' into one of two roles. I settled for an Azmodian Warrior and moved on to the character customisation, which is quite impressive.
There are plenty of options available for the various parts - hair, face, body etc - and slider bars to modify each one to your liking allowing for a more unique avatar.
MMOZine Issue 15
For our latest Aion coverage, click here to download MMOZine Issue 15 for free.Upon entering the game world you're placed nearby an NPC who offers your first quest. The first few quests are the standard kind to introduce you to other NPCs, the starter area and sending you into combat with the various low level mobs.
The pop-up tutorials, to assist new players, are well set out with animation and voice to help you perform the basic actions such as movement, combat and looting. Although these simple actions are pretty much the same as other MMOs, the tutorials do a good job to set you on your way without too much confusion.
The quest log gives you the full details of the quest you've been asked to complete, but for those that have difficulty finding certain areas or groups of mobs, there are clickable links within the quest text that will mark the location on your world map.
The combat flows smoothly enough, as you use the various powers on your action bars. As the Warrior I started out with one offensive ability, and as I levelled up this increased to two.
Similar to Age of Conan, there are linked abilities that flow into combos - the second skill I learnt was a follow up move to my first offensive attack. What I liked about this was the dynamic buttons - once you activate the first ability it changes the icon in your action bar to the second skill in that combo, meaning you don't fill up your action bars with dozens of buttons.
The one thing I found irritating with the combat was that the Cooldown time on my abilities was a bit too long, so most of the fight was spent watching my character swing away with auto-attack. Hopefully, as I learn more skills and attacks, I will have more variation and interaction available.
Training new skills is done by purchasing books from your class trainer, which you then 'read' from your inventory, consuming the book and adding the skill to your list. Upgrades for existing skills are automatic each time you level up.
There are various vendors and merchants around, each selling their own items, and the vendor screen works very well. Instead of purchasing each item at a time you have a shopping cart where each item is added to the 'basket', adding up the total as you go along until you are done. You can add and remove items as you wish, and this allows you to see how much everything is going to cost, rather than making a mistake and running out of gold and having to sell items back to the vendor.
After playing for a short while I realised that there was no-one chatting. I decided to say hello to the other players, and found that players under level 5 cannot use the chat system. Although this is probably to combat a plague of gold seller spam, or similar, I found it spoilt the new player experience and wasn't very good for anyone that needed help with something.
The map has a very useful feature where you can open a semi-transparent version allowing you to check where you are, but still see your character.
In the first hour I managed to reach level 7 which I thought was quite good for a newcomer to the game, and overall I was very impressed.
The visuals of Aion are very nice indeed. Even though I was supposedly in the darker side of the world everything was vibrant, colourful and well presented. The water effects were very good, and with everything set to maximum in the options it's certainly pleasing to the eye.
So, after an hour in Aion I can say I will definitely be returning to the game and seeing what else it has to offer. My worry is that they have spent a lot of time on the early parts of the game leaving the later sections less pleasing - something that is, unfortunately, common in some MMOs. Only time will tell.
Aion coverage available in MMOZine Issue 15 - click here to download it for free!
»View more Aion features...
