Whenever I try to imagine what the development process might have been like for Aion, I usually picture a circus performer trying to manage half-a-dozen spinning plates on sticks. See, NCSoft's latest MMORPG tries so hard to simultaneously cater to a number of divergent tastes: Namely, fans of either Western or Eastern MMO design. The developers have made an admirable effort, for sure, but I'm afraid it's one that's doomed to disappoint on more than one front.
Aion's heritage as a Korean MMORPG lends it a refreshing and distinctive look, especially in a genre dominated by Tolkienesque clichés. Though it's possible to finagle something resembling a dwarf or an orc out of the game's robust character creator, Aion steers clear of typical fantasy tropes for the most part. And as fond as I am of my gnome warlock, the slender, angelic beauties that inhabit Aion's shattered world are a welcome sight.
That Eastern influence carries a lot of baggage, however. Like Final Fantasy XI and Lineage II before it, Aion exhibits a very old-school attitude towards, well, just about everything. Player death results in a loss of experience points, and while it's possible to pay in-game currency to recover from this penalty, it still comes off as a cruel and dated mechanic. Also frustrating: attempts to gather resources or craft items occasionally result in random failure -- which consumes valuable materials in the process; there's nothing fun or rewarding about wasting an entire batch of expensive components on a botched blacksmithing venture, and I'd hate to envision the kind of deviant that gets his jollies from being terrible at picking flowers.
Aside from that lingering tinge of punitiveness, Aion plays exactly like what you'd expect from any modern Western-developed MMORPG. If you've spent any time at all with the genre over the last five years, none of this should be too jarring: Large icons appear over the heads of NPCs who desperately need someone to slay 10 of these or collect five of those; combat consists of patiently tapping the number keys on your keyboard until either you or your target is a corpse; and the slaughter of countless wild animals and monsters is rewarded with the weapons, armor, and other treasures that these creatures inexplicably have on their person. Nothing too revolutionary there.
That's not to say Aion is completely devoid of progressive ideas. The game's chain attack system -- wherein the correct sequence of abilities can unleash more powerful skills -- adds a unique rhythm to the combat; though it still usually boils down to pressing the same series of keys over and over again. Another interesting feature allows players to remodel pieces of armor after any old gear they have lying around, making it possible to preserve choice outfits while still chasing improved stats. And while some MMOs restrict flight until players approach the endgame, Aion lets characters take wing as early as level 10. There are even brief cutscenes that accompany certain story-driven quests, but they rarely amount to more than a single line of spoken dialog asking you to go bump off some cat people. Still, they're a nice touch that I wouldn't mind seeing expanded upon.
