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As the last closed beta event ended last August 17, all eager hands are set for the game’s full release in September. The game enjoyed a major positive reaction from MMO players, switchers or newbies alike. If you haven’t played in any of the past six beta events, then you don’t have that much idea about what Aion really is. Allow me to give you a quick rundown of the game’s major highlights and give you an idea what to expect from the game. (Arranged in no particular order). Read on the top 10 reasons why you should play Aion Online after the jump.
Background
Aion is an MMORPG developed by Korean company NCSoft. The game was first released in South Korea November last year, then followed by China on April of this year. It is set to be released in September to cater European and North American audiences. Due to the success of NCSoft’s previous titles Lineage I and II, Aion has become the most anticipated game in South Korea ever since its announcement. At the end of 2008, it was chosen as the “Best Korean Game of the Year” for its “epic scale, immersive story, and stunning graphics and sound design”. Now, it has become one of the most anticipated MMO titles for this year.
Story
The game’s story is set in the planet Atreia that was split in two due to the cataclysmic events involving the Tower of Eternity. Long ago, the god Aion, ruler of Atreia created the powerful dragonic Draken race to protect the humans. Time passed and the Draken started to rebel against him, prompting him to create 12 Empyrean Lords. These powerful protectors erected a barrier to protect the humans from the Draken, which are later known as the Balaur. Humans later learned how to harness the power of aether, which enabled them to become Daevas – winged beings under the leadership of the Empyrean lords. Ten of these lords gathered an army of Daevas against the Balaur while the other two remained to serve as guardians of the Tower of Eternity – the embodiment of the god Aion.
After a failed attempted peace talk initiated by the Tower Guardians, the Balaur invited inside the tower launched an attack, prompting the guardians to sacrifice themselves – severing the world into two. Then born the two selectable races in the game. The Elyos, pure angelic beings resided in the lower half of the world. The abundance of light gave birth to lustrous vegetation and majestic landscapes. Asmodians reside in the harsher yet alluring upper part of the world. Exposed to the tower fragments and the dark, freezing world, Asmodians evolved talons as feet, darker complexion and red eyes t adapt their unfriendly environment.
1. Engaging atmosphere, beautiful imaginative environment.
Aion features a sublime, ethereal fantasy world, blending Eastern and Western cultures. It is as if you’re in a breathing, living concept art. As you traverse the vast world of the game, you’re sure to find eye-catching
landscapes, exotic flora and fauna, interesting landmarks and beautifully rendered locations. The weather and time of the day changes realistically, immersing players in the world. Players may also change perspectives at a roll of their mouse scrollers. You can zoom out for a full, third-person view of your character or zoom in for a full first person view of your surroundings. You can even view NPCs, enemies and other objects up close in full detail. The game is built with CryEngine, and NCSoft sure know how to fully utilize its power and bring the very detailed, high quality world to life – without requiring high-end PC components. Players using mid-range cards should be able to appreciate the wonderful world of Aion even in medium-low settings.
![aion04[1]](http://www.mmogrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/aion041.jpg "aion04[1]")
Illustration 1:
2. Enhanced Character Customization
It is every player’s dream to create a unique character worthy of calling their own. Aion offers a powerful character customization tool that players can use to directly modify almost every aspect of their character. Aside from the presets, players can modify smaller details including the daunting yet rewarding task of facial reconstruction. Players can also define their characters’ heights – so don’t be surprised to see armored kids
running around with massive weapons strapped on their backs.
![aion-face-creation-sliders-600x375[1]](http://www.mmogrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/aion-face-creation-sliders-600x3751.jpg "aion-face-creation-sliders-600x375[1]")
3. Partying Up Encouraged
You won’t be able to go far in Aion as a lone wolf, since some of the missions will require you to team up with other players, simply because the common mobs are just too powerful (even if they’re at the same level as you) or you’ll need to defeat insanely difficult bosses that requires several characters to take down. The party system of Aion is very effective and player-friendly that partying up with others never seemed to be a hassle. For example, players can share objectives and loot. If one quest requires them to kill a boss, it doesn’t matter who in the group kills lands the finishing blow to it; as long as all party members have the same objective, it will be completed or updated for everybody. Experience, kinah (game’s currency) and items are evenly distributed. Rare items are put up in an automatic dice roll, with the highest number declared the victor and the owner of the item. Besides, “elite” enemies drop high amounts of exp and loot, making party grinding a mutual benefit for everybody in a group. And with the variety of classes in the game, players will learn to take up their roles in the team and cooperate to win battles.
4. Characters have wings
Unlike in other games, wings in Aion are not just for display but for practical use as well. Though players can only fly on selected areas of the map, just find a slope or an elevated area and “glide” with your wings. This
provides an easier way of escape or faster way to travel. Later in the game, you’ll be introduced to aerial combat, where you need to fight other players and enemies while airborne. Flying (and gliding) in Aion is not long-lasting however as it consumes “Flight Time” (default is 60 seconds). It is replenished while on the ground. There are also some areas in the game where you need to fly to meet up certain NPCs and gatherables. Also later in the game, players can access more spectacular wings to attach to their characters, adding more eye candy to your beloved character.
![aion-wings-front[1]](http://www.mmogrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/aion-wings-front1.jpg "aion-wings-front[1]")
5. Enhanced PvPvE (Player vs Player vs Environment)
Players can fight against other players in localized duels or even in larger scales of legions (the game’s version of guilds) against legions. Players can fight each other in massive battles taking place in the Abyss, the core of the broken world to capture fortress and take control of territories. Players can earn Abyss Points by killing players from another faction, killing the Balaur and other abyss NPCs, or doing some quests. These points accumulate and define the player’s Abyss Rank which unlocks more goodies and privileges – and of course, the boasting factor. These points can be also used for purchasing exclusive Abyss equipment to make your character even more menacing and powerful.
![Aion0377[1]](http://www.mmogrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/Aion03771.jpg "Aion0377[1]")
The presence of a third, CPU-controlled faction in the game, the Balaur will surely make things a lot more interesting and unpredictable as they can choose to aid any of the two player-controlled factions or better yet,
join the fray and fight both of them at the same time. Besides, fighting ground and aerial battles above floating rocks against an eerie, bottomless backdrop should be mighty interesting.
You can read on the remaining 5 reasons to Play Aion Online here
Tags: Aion
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