**This review was originally published on October 13 2009 at www.gamefocus.ca You can view the original review here**

Aion : Tower of Eternity is the latest offering from NCSoft, the company that brings us the Lineage, City of Heroes and Guild Wars games. The fantasy genre of MMO’s is very crowded, and the expectations are high. Aion needs to not only bring the goods right away but continue to deliver top of the line content and an exceptional game experience if it intends to compete with the other major players. In this first look review we tell you what Aion brings to the table from the get-go and where the value lies in this exciting release.

The setting for Aion is the world of Atreia, sundered by the “Cataclysm” into two sides of a shattered planet. The two playable races: The Elyos and Asmodian live on opposite sides of the now divided world. In the center of Atreia lies the “Abyss” the home of the Balaur, a non playable, but very important race in the world of Aion. The Abyss is the home of PvP in Aion as Asmodians, Elyos and Balaur all struggle against each other for dominance. The story in Aion is deep and intriguing. NCSoft has spent a lot of time working on the background for the game. Creating a fantasy world from scratch is NOT easy, hence why a great deal of MMO’s are based on already established IP’s. Aion has taken great care to fully explain the who, what, when, where and why of the story of Atreia.

Gameplay

What was once a ground breaking system in City of Hero’s is now the generally accepted minimum for character creation in a new MMO. Such is the way with MMO’s and the bar constantly raising. In Aion you can fully customize your characters proportions and features to your heart’s content. Sliders exist for virtually every feature. There is of course also a randomization option if you just want to get into the game and get playing. This freedom has created some very attractive character models, and some very entertaining dwarf sized people with afro’s. Again, as with most modern character customization systems now, the act of making your character is a thoroughly entertaining experience in and of itself.

You choose between 4 “base classes” to start – Warrior, Mage, Priest and Scout. From this initial archetype comes 2 classes in each base class. You don’t choose your final class until you “ascend” at level 10. You will then have the choice of becoming a Gladiator (Melee DPS) or Templar (Tank) from the Warrior class, a Spiritmaster (Pet Based/Ranged Spellcasting) or Sorcerer (Ranged Spellcasting) from the Mage class, an Assassin (Melee DPS) or Ranger (Ranged DPS) from the Scout class or a Cleric (Main Healer) and Chanter (Support Healer/Buffer/Melee DPS) from the Priest Class. As you can see, Aion doesn’t break any molds in the “fantasy” class archetypes. The classes all have firmly defined roles and obligations in a group. While at later levels there is some customization in the form of the “Stigma” system; the classes generally remain firmly entrenched in their root purposes.

Entering the game world itself you now get a first look at the user interface of Aion. Now that we are here, let’s take care of the elephant in the room right now. YES, Aion “looks” like World of Warcraft. Do you think World of Warcraft was the first game to feature action bars and a mini-map? NO. Just as World of Warcraft did with Everquest and other predecessors, Aion has taken a lot of the exceptional and proven elements of other MMO’s and perfected them. This circle will never change and eventually someone will take a feature of Aion’s and alter it and un-informed people will call the game an “Aion Clone” If you don’t play Aion because you think it’s a “WOW Clone” you need to educate yourself on the history of MMO’s and get your head out of the sand. /endrant

Back to business… The main gameplay UI in Aion is fabulous. Taking its cues from hundreds of other games, Aion utilizes ability buttons on an action bar. The bars and mini-map are all tied up in attractive artwork. The main screen UI is scalable, and can also be shifted from its default bottom of screen position to the top of screen. It seems obvious when you move it to the top, from an appearance standpoint, why NCSoft chose to make the bottom setting the default. It doesn’t seem at this point that UI add-ons are going to be a part of Aion, though an extensive macro system is in the game.

There are some elements of the user interface that definitely need some work. The search functions are quite weak, it’s hard to understand how a game could be released without having the ability to search for people by Legion (the name of the in game communities in Aion) The Legion system system definitely needs some work as well. I am surprised that 5 major updates into the launch version, they still have not added the ability for Legion members to deposit and withdraw goods from the Legion Warehouse. There is also no ability to customize the rank names, or change their position, or add ranks. All three of these features seem like common sense items that do not appear in Aion currently and I am at a loss to explain why.

There are no earth shattering elements to the way you play Aion. The game takes its cues from popular predecessors, with familiar methods of advancing your character and moving forward in the game. There are plenty of quests with typical goals and objectives – kill this, collect that… Questing as the main method to advance your character is not an uncommon element to modern MMO’s and definitely seems the way to go in Aion. While you generally will play solo up until level 10, after that you will find it more and more advantageous to play with friends to tackle objectives. There are group areas, even in the early zones, which require a team to complete the quests related to them.

Playing Aion you will find the ability combo system to be one of the more enjoyable elements. There are abilities in Aion which are not usable until other actions are performed. These chain abilities typically flow from the previous abilities animation making for a smooth and exciting chain of events. Combos can extend up to 4 abilities long in some cases, there is also occasionally more than one option in terms of chained abilities, all with various cooldowns. This element implements the idea of strategy and choice into every fight you undertake. While it is yet to be seen, I would suspect in “endgame” situations, the theory and data behind your combo choices will be a strong factor in your strength as a character. There is certainly plenty for the fan of data and number crunching to chew on here.

Graphics and Sound

There are a small handful of games at the VERY TOP of the graphical spectrum in MMO’s right now. With EvE Online and Age of Conan I would certainly feel comfortable putting Aion at the highest end of the graphics spectrum. In virtually every measureable way you can compare graphics in an MMO, Aion shines. The UI is clean and designed to not only look asthstetically pleasing but be very functional. The player models are of the highest quality (make a female Elyos, really…do it) The landscapes are…amazing. I am a HUGE fan of the animations in Aion and I feel from a graphics perspective that is where Aion really wins. Every animation and spell cast is a blaze of light and glory. Your VERY FIRST actions in the game are performed by your character with such force and determination it certainly lets you feel the power that your character will have. I lost count of how many times I said to myself “I can’t wait to see how the abilities look later on in the game, if I look THIS GOOD now!” No game makes hacking and slashing look as good as Aion does. There isn’t really many more adjectives I can use without repeating them to tell you that Aion Online is easily in the top 2-3 best looking MMO’s in the world right now.

The score in Aion is very well done. I found the music added to the experience of the game very effectively. When entering a battle the music changes from the default music for that area to a more action based song while you are in combat. The changing of the music depending on the situation, while not a new idea, is expertly executed in Aion. There are a number of voiced cut scenes, which add an element of story to the game that is not a common element to many MMO’s (we should see a lot more of this in the future though i.e. Star Wars)

Value

I’ve chosen to wait until now talk about flight for a few reasons. Flight for Aion is their crown jewel of gameplay. Flying, as part of your characters normal makeup has never been done. It is ingrained in the story and the actions of Aion intimately. Let me give you an example of how I think Aion took their signature element and kind of missed on it.

You just finished off your “ascension” quest and have been summoned to your races capital city to be recognized as a “Deava” The cut scene when you arrive shows an elaborate ceremony – this is clearly a big deal. You finally are able to join your fellow players in free flight. The excitement of the moment as the cut scene ends is palpable. Back in game and now winged, all you want to do is try out this new, exciting feature! What’s this? Why isn’t it working? What do you mean I can’t fly here? – Your ability to fly is not unfettered, and most disappointingly, you can’t fly in the capital.

While I acknowledge that flights primary value is seen in PvP in the abyss, it could have been, and still has potential to be much much more. I find flight at the moment to be not much more than a gimmick and certainly not an element of the game which I log in to participate in or experience. Flight to me doesn’t create the perception of value that NCSoft wanted it to create. Interesting element? Yes Element that makes you want to buy and play Aion? Not Really.

Aion is priced along the same lines as other MMO’s using the monthly subscription model. There is a lot of competition in the “fantasy” MMO genre and I think Aion gives the player more than enough to deserve their money. As with any new MMO, you can’t compare its content versus a game that has been out 3-4-5-6 years. By releasing in Korea first and releasing version 1.5 as the initial western version, NCSoft has been able to show the western playerbase that they are going to support the game with regular updates, adding to the gameplay often. While Aion doesn’t have 10 “tiers” of end game content YET it will eventually. I expect Aion to be a beautiful, rich gaming experience down the road.

Conclusion

Aion is very close to being a perfect example of the current idea of how a fantasy based MMO should be implemented. I would even suggest Aion might be the climax of the typical design elements of the genre. There was room for 1 more player in fantasy based MMO’s (as long as they were a major player) and Aion has taken up that spot, and definitely pushed some competitors out of the picture by doing so. The downside of this point is that instead of offering something new to the gameplay of MMO’s, Aion has chosen to perfect already implemented ideas. Aion doesn’t offer anything that you haven’t already seen in one way, shape or form in another game. If you like the current generation of fantasy MMO’s, play Aion, you won’t regret it. If you were looking for a ground breaking game, you may need to wait a little longer (not much longer I suspect) You can play Aion in the meantime though, I am.