PC Gaming: Game Preview: Aion
The latest MMO (Massive Mulitplayer Online) game to hit the market is
Aion: The Tower of Eternity . Now I've got a lot to say about MMOs, and about this one in general, but I'll try to be brief, and maybe pontificate in a later post. To my mind, there are three big players in the MMO world right now:
City of Heroes (and
Villains),
WoW (of course), and
Lord Of The Rings. Yes, there is
Everquest II, which
does have a market, but the days of Everquest are over, so it's these three I'll be comparing Aion to.
MMOs are games without endings, of course, where you build and define characters for yourself and adventure across the landscape gaining power, etc.--no real plot that drives the whole game, no conclusion...think of the
The Sims only fantasy, violent and awesome. In that regard, Aion has stiff competition. If you want to play a game forever, day after day, the above games have the advantage: WoW and LotR are pre-existing franchises (which lend for more material to draw on without anything seeming recycled), and City of Heroes is basically an homage to
every superhero franchise. Aion, by contrast, is new to the market, and a fantasy to boot, which WoW (and EQ) already have covered.
What you have instead of an established franchise to draw from is a concept so ancient it goes beyond the biblical: Angels and Demons. Now, in all my researching and previewing I've never heard those two words mentioned; but instead you choose to play either "The Chosen" or "The Fallen," to the frame of reference is well established. This game actually seems to
have a Meta-premise, which could prove to be interesting: the Tower of Eternity exists as a gateway into the Abyss, and acts as a portal between dimensions; this awakens Dragons, who come to seek vengeance on both sides of the conflict. This Meta-premise may actually help single Aion out as a game to play, for its an area in which other MMOs have feared to tread (the WoW premise is "It's a Fantasy!!" and CoH's is "It's Superheroes!!"...Lord of the Ring's is "It's...Lord of
the Rings!! What do you want from us?!"). I would expect to see expansions that further the meta-story along, possibly changing landscapes, removing playable types as well as adding them, etc. This is all speculation on my part, but the developers over at
NCsoft seem to be placing a lot of emphasis on the story aspect, so here's to hoping, anyway.
Another area that has a lot of emphasis, of course, is the graphics. Which, when you watch that first video, look amazing. I was truly intrigued by what I saw of the landscape. It looks like a fantasy epic if the Myst folks designed it. The second video is a bonus treat: its presumably about costumes, but really it's a couple of minutes of the playable character types dancing. I don't know why, but it made me laugh (keep in mind you can make these characters all move like this, which seems strikingly realistic to what I've seen thus far).
The Crytec game engine will allow you to scale sheer walls, fly through the sky (into clouds!), and the game boasts social, economic and cultural storylines as much cinematic as they are interactive. Which all adds up to very exciting possibilities. As much as other MMOs are interesting, what I'm hoping for here is a truly immersive world. I can play the characters and missions in WoW and CoH, but I'm not really wrapped up in the "second life" I'm supposed to be in the middle of. This game seems the first poised to do that, with the exception of maybe Star Wars Galaxies, which sadly fell apart under its own weight.
This game is set to release in April, but seems well worth the wait. I'll let you know more when we reach the release date, but keep this game in mind. Could be the next big MMO thing.--Rancor
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