September is set to be a big month for new MMOs, with NCsoft set to release its new MMO, Aion. The game has already been a runaway success in its native Korea, and in China. With a fantasy setting, it’s impossible not to draw comparisons with the global phenomenon that is World of Warcraft, but is that being unfair?
Of course, Aion can’t expect to scale the heights of 11 million players and growing that World of Warcraft achieved, but NCsoft has never said it was aiming that high, and nor does it need to in order to consider Aion a success. With a monthly subscription model, it just need to attract enough players to generate the revenue it needs, which in turn will ensure Aion has enough gamers in game for a convincing social and gameplay environment – something that is essential for an MMO. And Aion has enough new ideas to generate the interest it needs.
Aion may be high fantasy, and so it will draw comparisons with World of Warcraft, but its setting draws on mythology from around the world, although most heavily from Korea. This makes it very different in feel from World of Warcraft, and the visuals that go along with it are different too.
It’s not just the graphics and story that are a little bit different though, Aion has some new gameplay ideas. The main one that people will focus on is flight: at level 10 your character gains their wings, so the action turns into a 3D experience with some quests requiring you to fly around, and with some options for combat in flight. How fun it is to hover above the target out of their reach and blast them. There is a but, of course, which is that within the main game area, flight time is limited, for the obvious reason of ensuring it doesn’t make you invincible. It does add to the flavour of the game, and the PvP area does allow free flight, so it’s used enough to ensure you’re not frustrated by the lack of flying.
Aion may at first glance look like it doesn’t offer many classes, with only Mage, Fighter, Priest and Scout to choose from, but don’t be fooled. At level 10, so when you’ve had time to experience enough of the game to develop a playing style, you get to choose a path, or sub-class, so you can specialise. The Priest, for example, can choose between being a healer and a buffer.
Additionally, classes can then be tweaked at level 20 with Stigma stones. These allow you to tweak the capabilities of your character in sometimes minor, but powerful ways. Say for example your class can only wear Cloth Armour, but you want to be more upfront in battle – a Stigma Stone can be used to give you the ability to wear metal armour that isn’t normally available to your class. It’s a significant difference from other MMO games – your character can be genuinely different from other characters of the same class.
Aion has little touches as well as big new ideas, so you do feel this is a well-rounded MMO: there’s the Locate feature that helps you find quest targets, the semi-transparent map that allows easier navigation and the Private Store that allows you to set up and sell to other players anywhere in-game.
Nitpickers will want to know what’s wrong with Aion. Well, although NCsoft has very successfully localised the game, some might feel it retains too much of an Eastern feel – the Talking Weasels can feel strange even in a fantasy setting. Also, you can’t help but wish that Aion had taken a leaf out of World of Warcraft’s book and opened up the UI to third party extensions. These are, however, quibbles of a minor nature with what is clearly a polished MMO.
Aion is due to be released in September 2009 and is a PC only MMO. It will be a monthly-subscription based MMO.
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