The graphics in the game are nothing but superb, using the Cryengine. For those of you who don't know the Cryengine. It's an amazing graphics engine that was built for the machine busting Crysis. This is a graphics heavy game, that can bring medium level machines to it's knees. Aion isn't on that level of detail, an above average computer would be minimum to run this game. NCSoft has done a great job of utilizing this newer technology, while being able to use Blizzard's Wow design idiology. If this game lasts longer than 5 years, it will definitely hold up on graphics the way World of Warcraft has.
Gameplay so far has been straightforward, and easy to pick up. Anyone who has played WoW will be able to jump right in without a problem. Combat animation, effects and sound are equally impressive. Hitting mobs has that visceral feel to it that seems missing in most mmo fantasy games.
As I get more into the game, I'll post more. So in the mean time check out the online gallery I have started. Please be aware that the full image size is large and in HD.
7 comments:
Well I guess we now know why Grexis missed D&D on Sunday night.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the game. I probably won't be checking it out because I really don't need another fantasy MMO to play and from what I've been reading the end game is going to be far too PVP centric for my tastes.
I actually started to have somewhat of a craving for WoW again this morning. Your idea of making a level 1 toon and leisurely going through the content is starting to sound rather appealing. However, I'm going to give Cryptic a bit more rope to either hang themselves or climb out of the deep deep grave they've dug before I call it quits with Champions.
I'm sorry for missing the game Sunday night. I literally forgot what day it was. What I thought was Saturday was really Sunday. : /
Aion had some interest by myself, that is until I read Grexis liked it, LOL. Note to self avoid it >>>> HEHE just kidding buddy I've been intrigued by it for a few weeks now, however I think like Nick I am going to excuse myself from further MMO purchases until I see that "One" that I have to have.
Geeon, I totally agree with ya. This time around, I'm not recommending it just yet, just giving my impressions of the game for those who might be interested. After the AoC flop and the new flop that is looking like CO, I'm not looking to jinx this one. So I'm definitely playing it safe and a wait and see.
It's clear this game is a wait and see game. Though the game up front looks and feels great. It is not without it's problems. The primary culprit is lag. The character/story introduction is horribly laggy. Once inside the game, it's not bad but they do seem to be plagued by some server instabilities and disconnects can happen at any time. The only other laggy issue, is the help system. They have a nice video help system, which would be GREAT if it wasn't for the lag it causes. The lag really effects the audio and makes it pretty much useless.
Something interesting however is the character creation. It's got an excellent character creation system. The press so far hasn't really been clear on this and have given everyone the impression that you have to play a human looking character. While this is technically true, you can make your character look human, elf, dwarf, gnome, or even halfling. If you play asmodian, you can play any of those combinations with a demonic look with wicked looking skin, and horns.
Xan has played this game more than I have, and is very impressed with the game. That's a good sign for the casual player as she is as casual as you can get. This means the game should prove to be very accessible to a wide range of player.
I'll be playing it tonight when I get home and will give further impressions afterwards.
I was just reading an article on Massively about transportation and it sounds as though NCSoft hasn't learned much from WoW in this regard. According to Massively there are zones that take over 30 minutes to cross on foot and there are no mounts in the game. You can apparently somewhat fly, but from the sounds of it it's not all that fast. Flight points do exist, but they said that quest points are often far from towns where these flight points can be found.
I would think that they would have learned from people bitching about WoW's transportation system that large zones and unreliable forms of faster transport are bad. I realize they imported this game from Korea where mindsets are likely different, but those of us here in the States tend to be rather impatient when it comes to things like travel.
The starting zones aren't that big and traveling on foot isn't a big deal. After you hit 10th level you get your wings, and can fly. The zones after that are enormous and would be pretty silly to do that on foot. Flying doesn't seem to be that slow. Going from quest to quest doesn't take much time at all, but it does take a while to fly across the zones because they are so huge. From what I have seen so far, they have done a really good job in keeping level equivalent quests in a manageable region. This could be different in the higher levels but I have no complaints so far.
Well it's good to hear transportation is not that big of a problem. That alone would keep me from playing that game as I HATE wasting time traveling from one spot to another. That was my beef about WoW. Take for instance the required run from Westfall to Redridge at newbie levels. 30 minutes of running to a new town is not what I call fun. Here's hoping all of these games realize travel is not something enjoyed by most. I have to say Champions has done a great job by having the travel instantaneous from zone to zone and having the travel powers right off the bat makes traveling around Millenium City virtually painless. It sounds like Aion is getting it in gear from what Grex says though so that's good.
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