Aion General Impressions and levels 1-10

Aion is an overlooked gem in the MMO marketplace but it is gaining momentum. As some of you might remember, WoW was not huge when it began but grew after it was released to the giant that it became and remains today. Aion is already catching the interest of many gamers as it nears its North America release and for a good reason. It has smooth and well polished game play, is relatively free of bugs, makes good use of MMO inovations over the past decade and has some new innovative features that make it an amazing game to play.

The first 10 levels in Aion play very much like any other MMO but if you pay attention you will notice that it is well polished with subtle actions like your character catching fish when stopped in water or fashioning an umbrella out of a leaf when it starts to rain. This stuff doesn't really mean much, and many gamers don't take notice, but it adds just a little something special that makes the game feel right.

The game also has cut scenes that occur when doing the main quest lines, which bring back some of the pleasures of single player games and epic storylines that are generally lost in MMOs. It also helps that the game looks gorgeous, although a bit towards the anime style, which can be off-putting for some, and yet still runs smooth and fast on my mid-range laptop.

The first 10 levels play out very solo friendly but with an end area that is soloable but with a high death risk for most classes if not in a group. You are required to finish the main quest lines to move onto a new area so this ending area starts the push for community early. Everyone will be doing these quests and they are much easier and faster in a group so it is likely that you will meet and join up with some fellow gamers that are in the area with you. While this group experience is short, this concept becomes more important in later levels as the main quests lines will sometimes require a group to complete for all players but the most savvy of soloers that also have a lot of time to spare for their solo attempts or just get lucky.

After reaching level 9 in Aion the main quest line will allow you to ascend and you will gain the ability to glide or even fly in certain areas. This is another item that adds polish to the overall experience and makes even normal grinding seem fun when you finish a fight, spot another needed enemy on the path below you and then jump off a cliff and glide down towards it delivering a blow much like Batman would before then commencing your attack. This also adds a huge amount of fun and creativity to PvP, as you might expect, which will be covered in another post.

Overall, Aion is definately worth a try. I came to Aion sceptical that it would provide anything that great. The website isn't very flashy and it didn't give me the impression that this would be a well done game. After playing it, though, I couldn't have been more wrong in my pre-conceived impressions. The game is fantastic and I really expect that as word starts to spread amongst gamers of how great the gameplay is in Aion, this is going to become a very successful game. A lot of recent game failures have been loaded with hype and then flop after release when people chose not to continue their subscriptions. In the case of Aion the lack of hype will probably lead to a slower subscription rate out the door, but since the gameplay is so fantastic it should then pick up momentum as friends of Aion players see the game and realize just what they are missing. If you havn't already picked up your pre-order, which will allow you to play in the closed beta weekends, then here is a link to Amazon.com to get in on the action.