Game is awesome. Been playing for the past week. Can not say much about it, but for those that are worried about it being a grind fest I would have to say they did a really good job of blending questing and grinding for levels. The most I have had to grind is maybe three to four bars, and that flew by farming for items or doing repeatable quests. I am about to hit level 20 on my main and have loved every second of it, can't wait to see what the game is like when there are more than ten people on the server.
Played the Chinese beta and didn't care for the game. Game play felt cheap, sluggish, and linear. Visually it wasn't impressive at all. I'd say Guild Wars is better, and free.
Maybe my standards are too high, I come from FFXI and WoW so I expect a lot from an MMO.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Blade & Soul looks FAR more fetching than this Lineage 2 superclone. And it's from the same publisher, to boot. Again, could Kotaku at least make an effort to highlight Blade & Soul so that our uneducated gaming masses can see just how inferior Aion is? :P
@NKato: So far there are no plans to release Blade & Soul outside of Korea. NCsoft isn't releasing assets for it, so we have nothing to pass on top you.
"I'm hoping the final game contains some sort of reward system for just standing around being attractive for screenshots, because I believe I could excel in that area."
Wow, so some people really do confuse fantasy with reality. (just kidding)
I think i'm getting to old for these sort of games. They suck your life dry. I have fond memories of playing my Titan to level 78 on Lineage 2, but i also remember how crippling that was on my social life and vowed to friends it wouldn't happen again. As much as Aion looks wonderful, and i trust in NC Softs development prowess, i just won't be joining the bandwagon this time.
I want to see more from this game other then it's Wing Gimmick or "Make it look pretty" screen shots. I want to see the combat, how innovated the quests are, and what else could you do other then a Quest.
@kiramon: Look, I'm sorry I can't live to everyone's super elitist grammar of high expectations. If I would've known that people would judge others for their grammar, I would've took collage English classes. Yet again, I am sorry. Srsly I am. Can't you tell the enthusiasm in my post?
Dangeresque (Kojima-san doesn't have to make Metal Gear any more) was starred
Dangeresque (Kojima-san doesn't have to make Metal Gear any more) was unstarred
Constant teasing is a bad sign for me, in my opinion. It just means they are trying to overhype and draw attention away from what they think might be a disappointing product.
@NKato: The game's already had several very successful betas in Korea. I just don't think a beta outside of Korea is their priority right now, but they're giving us enough promotional material to make up for it, passably so.
What am I looking at? Grass and stuff? Giant mushrooms? Streams?
...I think this is lost on me. I've always been more of a character kind of guy. The setting can be whatever it wants, but the characters had better be awesome or I'll pass. And for God's sake, if their hair disappears when they put on a helmet, someone's getting a whisterpoop.
@Zuluhero: Initial customization is only part of the story. The characters should be in the first place attractive, animations should be expressive and convincing (with, optimally, loose cloth and hair flowing naturally), and the customization should not stop at creation (choosing clothes, skills, etc. should give you a freedom ungoverned by efficiency). That's my ideal game.
Hmn, I think PSO came closest to this, actually. *Longs*
I love big open worlds to explore ... the only reason I played WoW for as long as I did was just to explore the world a bit more and take some nice screen-shots. Bit sad, but it was fun.
I'd say I'd keep an eye on this one, but there seem to be a lot of MMOs reported on this site that I never hear of ever again beyond a trailer or something.
I was gonna mention SotC actually ... I can't even place exactly what it was, but I've never felt more inclined to just explore a game world than that.
I mean ... there wasn't even anything going on, bar finding shrines or fruit trees ... but it was just so much fun to explore and ride around in. And it's still gorgeous.
I'll just drop this in here too
If no-one's seen it before.
How awesome would that have been? I mean ... at the slight loss of the personal atmosphere/experience, but still.
Tentatively excited about this game. It has some good ideas mixed in there somewhere. Unfortunately, it also looks like your standard class-based MMORPG character progression, and I can already feel the Korean grind coming on. So one step forward, 2 steps backward perhaps.
05/11/09
05/11/09
Maybe my standards are too high, I come from FFXI and WoW so I expect a lot from an MMO.
04/17/09
04/17/09
04/15/09
Wow, so some people really do confuse fantasy with reality. (just kidding)
04/15/09
My laptop chugs EVE Online at a blazingly fast 10 FPS; I shudder what Aion would do.
04/15/09
04/15/09
03/27/09
/tear
03/27/09
03/26/09
03/26/09
03/26/09
03/27/09
03/27/09
I care about grammar, but he's not writing a term paper or submitting research documentation. Perhaps a "break", as they say, is in order.
03/27/09
03/23/09
03/23/09
03/23/09
03/23/09
03/23/09
03/24/09
03/05/09
...I think this is lost on me.
I've always been more of a character kind of guy. The setting can be whatever it wants, but the characters had better be awesome or I'll pass. And for God's sake, if their hair disappears when they put on a helmet, someone's getting a whisterpoop.
03/06/09
the character customiser is one of the best i've ever seen in a mmo :)
03/06/09
Hmn, I think PSO came closest to this, actually.
*Longs*
03/05/09
I love big open worlds to explore ... the only reason I played WoW for as long as I did was just to explore the world a bit more and take some nice screen-shots. Bit sad, but it was fun.
I'd say I'd keep an eye on this one, but there seem to be a lot of MMOs reported on this site that I never hear of ever again beyond a trailer or something.
03/05/09
Shadow of the Colossus did this great. If you saw a place waaaaaaay off in the distance, you could travel there.
oh crap. nerdgasm.
Just realized how unbelievably fucking AWESOME a Shadow of the Colossus MMO would be.
03/05/09
I was gonna mention SotC actually ... I can't even place exactly what it was, but I've never felt more inclined to just explore a game world than that.
I mean ... there wasn't even anything going on, bar finding shrines or fruit trees ... but it was just so much fun to explore and ride around in. And it's still gorgeous.
I'll just drop this in here too
If no-one's seen it before.
How awesome would that have been? I mean ... at the slight loss of the personal atmosphere/experience, but still.
03/05/09
:O
*Hasn't seen it before*
Screw Aion. I will never play another MMO until they make this.
(That might be a lie.)
02/20/09
02/20/09
02/20/09
02/20/09
Unfortunately, it also looks like your standard class-based MMORPG character progression, and I can already feel the Korean grind coming on. So one step forward, 2 steps backward perhaps.
11/14/08
I think I do.