It's far too early to know if NCSoft's upcoming Aion (pronounced just like "ion") will offer anything new to the MMO genre besides its lovely graphics. But golly are they nice graphics, at least if you like that school of particularly Asian fantasy design, with ornate armor, fantastic creatures more aquatic than terrestrial, and colorful forests of giant mushrooms. Your character, at level ten, earns angel wings. That should tell you a lot.

It even has a strange, nearly pop music soundtrack, which adds a lot of personality but will probably grow tiresome after a couple of hours. Unfortunately, at this relatively early stage of development—we're talking late 2008 for Korean release, although the American NCSoft offices are localizing the content as it is created—it's impossible to say if Aion will bring anything new to the genre. I am already wary of any game that gives you wings, but doesn't let you fly in every zone.
Joel Johnson