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Aion: The Tower of Eternity Collector Edition
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| Price: | $69.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details |
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Product Description
The Aion Collector's Edition includes these in game items, Black Cloud Wing Set and Earring, Special Title, Exclusive Color Dye, and 2 Character Emotes. Also included, a 6.5" hand painted Asmodian Goddess figuirine, Aion soundtrack, and a double sided Aion. Stunning World: Discover a meticulously crafted fantasy world brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets. Innovative PvPvE: Aion introduces a new dynamic to MMOs by combining both PvP and PvE gameplay into an exciting new style. Intense Visceral Combat: Engage in a spectacular and evolving combat system utilizing combos, skill chains, counterattacks, and spectacular aerial combat. Unprecedented Customization: Take individuality to a new level through an incredibly in-depth character creation tool, advanced crafting systems, and extensive item customization.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1107 in Video Games
- Brand: NCsoft
- Model: NC00482
- Released on: 2009-09-22
- ESRB Rating: Teen
- Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP
- Format: DVD-ROM
Features
- The Aion Collector's Edition includes these in game items, Black Cloud Wing Set and Earring, Special Title, Exclusive Color Dye, and 2 Character Emotes. Also included, a 6.5" hand painted Asmodian Goddess figuirine, Aion soundtrack, and a double sided Aio
- Stunning World: Discover a meticulously crafted fantasy world brimming with otherworldly inhabitants, mysterious enemies, and ancient secrets.
- Innovative PvPvE: Aion introduces a new dynamic to MMOs by combining both PvP and PvE gameplay into an exciting new style.
- Intense Visceral Combat: Engage in a spectacular and evolving combat system utilizing combos, skill chains, counterattacks, and spectacular aerial combat.
- Unprecedented Customization: Take individuality to a new level through an incredibly in-depth character creation tool, advanced crafting systems, and extensive item customization.
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
| Aion is a visually stunning massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), where players ascend to divinity and fight in a celestial war. Here they will wield divine powers and the capability of true flight, to bring deliverance to your people and restore balance to a world shattered by cataclysm. Choose your side, spread your wings, and claim your rightful place among the immortal legions of Atreia. This is the glory that is Aion.
Explore one of the most amazingly beautiful and detailed MMORPGs ever as you fight to save a vibrant world ripped asunder by a celestial war. Choose between two divine factions, the Asmodians or the Elyos, and save your people from an ancient evil that threatens to destroy everything in its path. Over 1500 story-driven quests lead you through a wondrous and expansive world like no other. Experience the Thrill of Flight Engage in Visceral Combat Unprecedented Customization Key Features
Battle for control of valuable strongholds and artifacts within the Abyss, a hotly contested battlefield resting between the upper and lower halves of Atreia. Plan and execute raids against rival factions, earn special ranks and rewards through victory, and prepare for unexpected attacks by the Balaur, an ancient race freed from imprisonment within the Abyss. System Requirements:
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Customer Reviews
Very happy with Aion
I had preordered the game so I was able to play in the closed beta events as well as the open beta and headstart event. I have played EQ and City of Heros, and I was really looking forward to Aion as I ultimately love a fantasy type setting.
What I like:
The graphics are amazing, the first glimpse of the floating city of Sanctum is breathtaking. I also love the character models. They are very customizable, and everyone should be able to make a toon to please them. Game play also seems to be a lot of fun. I tend to be more of a solo, casual player, and so far I haven't had trouble with that game play style. Now, not every class is going to have it as easy and be as quick. Also, I haven't played a character past level 17 so I cannot comment on the higher end game or the PVP aspect.
What I am not so keen on:
The game, at least in the beginning, is extremely linear. While the story and quests are very interesting, the fact that everyone is doing the exact same thing can cause some trouble. Also, I'm not sure how people will like going through the same storyline every time they create a new character. I will be curious to see how this is tweaked as the game matures. I also have concerns about the PVP aspect; I'm not a fan of PvP, and have not yet experienced that aspect of the game, but I'm hoping that there will be enough content with PvE that I can avoid the PvP if I want. Kill stealing can also be a problem, but not one I have encounted significantly so far.
All in all I have thoroughly enjoyed the game and will be playing for a while to come.
AION is Eons Ahead of its Time.
Well, maybe not eons ahead, but it certainly has caught my attention and that of many of my friends both online and off. Aion: The Tower of Eternity was first seen at a sneak-peak during E3 2006. Produced by the company NCSoft, Aion will not go unnoticed in their already large line games including; City of Heroes and Lineage 1 and 2. Korea and China were the first to check out the game, which allowed for a lot of time to beta-test and tweak things for the North American release on September 22nd.
Personally, I think this game is the embodiment of all of the things previous MMORPGs should have been doing all along, it's still not perfect, but it's currently as close as you are going to get with any game on the market. When you begin the game you start out as a "Daeva" which is a magical human enhanced by the use of "Aether", the back story to the game is original and certainly won't deter you from playing it in any way, but so far lacks the depth as many dedicated single player RPGS. However, to compensate NCSoft has created a pretty cool system of questing with a built-in quest tracking system which is nice since they have not yet announced that they will allow UI mods. There is a story-driven series of quests called Campaign quests, completing these will usually display a cut-scene featuring yours truly right in the middle of the screen, which puts you right in the middle of the action. It's a very nice feature since most MMORPGs leave you in the dust feeling like some story is happening but you are just there grinding through quests while the world passes you by in a flurry of instant quest text. Visually speaking the game is very pretty, based on a dumbed down version of FarCry's CryEngine the graphics certainly won't leave you asking more. One of the largest advantages to using CryEngine is that it's so scalable which means that if you are using grandmothers laptop or a custom built gaming rig with frames to spare, everyone gets to enjoy the beautiful scenery. People have told me that Aion has a subtle Anime look and feel to it, personally I can't really tell. The characters do look quite human though so don't worry, you won't be running around as a wide-eyed bobble head, unless of course you want to. Aion boasts one of the easiest to use character generators and one of the most detailed that I have seen since The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, what it does lack is the 2 hour process of designing a character to a perfect T only to still have it look like complete garbage which Oblivion decided to leave in. Your character can either be the most gorgeous elfin looking babe in the world of Atreia or the gnarly looking pirate inspired assassin of your nightmares. That is, if the assassin of your nightmares is a beautiful GQ looking model, the fact here is that most of the characters, no matter what faction you choose, are going to look pretty good if you stay within the realm of normal body proportions (you can go far beyond them if you like though). The factions in Aion are the Elyos and the Asmodeans, with the Elyos being the faux-hawk sporting good guys, while the Asmodeans are the clawed foot and hand bad guys and girls of the land. For lack of a good segway here I'm just going to jump in and say that the sound-track to the game is pretty good, Ryo Kunihiko did the composing, who you might have heard of from the famous anime "Emma" (I haven't, but you might have). Music is laid back and classical sounding, with nice bursts of upbeat fighting music as you progress though battles and kobold brains. Actually, bashing kobold brains and any other creature that stands in your way isn't a bad idea, since they have went ahead and made both grinding out mobs and questing (or both!) viable options for success in getting to level 50. Especially since NCSoft has incorporated a channel system which is reminiscent of Guild Wars where there are 10 playable instanced "sub-servers" which are shared on a single server, the difference here being that you can swap between then once every 3 minutes. In a game like World of Warcraft killing raid bosses is easy since it's all in a single instance, however grinding out those 10 elk hides might be a huge challenge since everyone and their mother wants a set. Problem no more! In Aion you can just do a little channel surfing and appear exactly where you were except now there is no more competition for the mobs. Don't worry though, it's not going to stop you from grouping, since you can chat, group, and interact with players cross-channel. Since so far NCSoft has only improved upon the creations of other MMOs they wanted to add a little flare to the game. Other MMOs have tried to make flying a legitimate option, which they have done and successfully at that. However, the flying system in Aion makes those games look like a little league team at the World Series. Flying in the world of Atreia is easy, smooth, and really fun especially since many of your player attacks and skills are modified or usable only in the air like the sorcerers Comet Fall. Well, you might be asking like I did "So I can just fly over or around mobs I don't want to fight, or zones I want to skip?" NO, but the developers did think about people like me and added a nice feature called "Gliding" which is initiated by pressing the spacebar to jump, then again while in the air. Which is especially useful in zones where flying has been disabled (but don't worry there are plenty of flying zones to spread your wings through).
If you pick up Aion you aren't going to be disappointed, you aren't going to be surprised either. The game is very playable, and if you've played any other MMO (or if Aion if your first) you should be able to start right up and have a really good time playing it. NCSoft has really done a great job with this one (which is saying a lot since I was not a fan at all of City of Heroes or Lineage) Really the game shines with all of the improvements that it has made on many other MMOs without going too far out into the realm of experimental. If there is any selling point I can make for it, it's the smooth details of the game that make it worthwhile. Take it easy and have fun, and watch out for my next review, and say hello to Grundy in game!
Pretty Solid MMORPG
First some background - I've been involved in a moderate number of MMO games in the past (City of Heroes / Villains for a couple of years, World of Warcraft (WoW) for 4+ years, dabbled in Warhammer Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Champions Online (CO), and a few other lesser known games). So this is not a review for the hardcore, but more for a casual, semi-serious player. I've played Aion since open beta and have moderate level (30+) characters for both factions.
Character Creation - Somewhere between WoW and CO. A reasonable number of controls including overall size (you'll see some characters that are very short - usually for PvP reasons), a couple of dozen face and body part combinations with reasonable adjustments that can be made. Not nearly as customizable as CO, but for me that works well since character creation is a smaller part of the game to me.
Introduction into the Game - As an experienced player, this may turn you off a bit, but as a new player, the help system is very nice including screen shots and animations as appropriate. If you take the time to look over the help as it is offered, you will get a very good understanding of the controls and the environment you are in. The starter zones (only one for each faction) have a reasonable variety of missions including collecting items, killing, looting, and traveling. The storyline is a bit light for the first zone that will carry you to level 10 (a couple of hours), but picks up fairly well afterwards.
Capital Cities - There is only one capital city for each faction. I personally like the Asmodian capital better (Pandora), but they are well organized with crafting all centered in one area (so if you decide to have multiple professions, you don't need to travel all over capital cities or across a continent to continue), all trainers are in one area, and storage and auction house system together. The cities are well rendered.
Classes - There are only 4 classes that each branch into 2 specialties. I think this actually works very well since the roles of each class are well defined. If you need a serious healer, you need a cleric...simple as that. No need to argue about whether healing variant A, B, C or D is sufficient or not. You have the Plate wearing Warrior classes (Templar - tank, Gladiator - melee dps), the Chain wearing Priest classes (Cleric - healer, Chanter - dps/buff), the Leather wearing Scout classes (Assassin - melee dps, Hunter - ranged dps), and the Cloth wearing Mage classes (Sorcerer - magic dps/cc, Spiritmaster - magic dps/pets). Each class is fairly well balanced; and I'm very pleased that my cleric (healer) is able to do things solo with no real issue unlike some other games.
Flying - Once you reach level 10, you get your wings. You are limited in what areas you can use them (very restrictive in the PvE areas), but are available in the most important area (Abyss). Flying is actually pretty easy to pick up (game defaults to 'R' and 'F' keys to control climbing and falling)...especially if you use your mouse to steer (right-click to turn in any direction). You are limited to 60 seconds initially, but will find additional items and potions that can extend that time significantly.
Continuing Zones - The zones after you hit level 10 are limited in number, but are pretty large zones with a lot of variety throughout. Unlike some other games, you won't find yourself running for long periods of time to get somewhere...most quests involve activities that you can walk to within a minute of where you got the quest. You don't have a mount, but you aren't going overly far most of the time anyways, so the lack of mount currently (NCSoft is apparently looking at adding mounts soon) is not that big of a problem. There are some areas with elites that will require you to team up with other people in the game.
Campaigns - In addition to moderately generic quests, there are campaigns that have a reasonably strong story line. About 1/2 the time, each step of a campaign contains a nice cutscene. Completely a campaign usually results in a nice reward. Regardless of class, the reward is something useful due to the nature of the reward (e.g. potion that extends flight time) or due to choices (e.g. choice of gear type that fits your character).
Instances - You won't run into your first instance until level 25. The instances I've been in so far are relatively short, with several interesting bosses. You will want to have a balanced team (up to 6 people) including dps, cc, tank and healer. This gives everyone a roll, and if you develop other characters, a chance to do something different even though you've been in that instance before. The instance can be challenging if you don't understand the things that your character can, and probably should, be doing.
Abyss - This is the central focus of the game. NCSoft has labeled the game as PvPvE. While questing in the Abyss, you can be attacked by the other faction (this can occur in some other zones as well) which adds an interesting dynamic. The classes are balanced enough that you will not be one-shotted (unless the other faction includes a very high level character which is not to their benefit) or stun-locked to death (potions to avoid some of this are relatively cheap).
Crafting - Rather than making an explicit limit like some games, you can pick up as many crafting professions as you can afford. The problem is, you probably can't afford more than 2 professions initially. So if you decide to farm enough Kinah at level 50, you could have all professions. As you level, keeping your profession relative to your level (10 points for every level 10 and above) actually allows you to craft level appropriate gear. Rather than have you gather tons of materials and use those materials to level your skill, Aion has a work order system that lets you spend some money to level your skill and gain some rewards in the process (additional materials or designs). This saves your gathered material for actually making useful items for yourself (or to sell at the trade broker - Aion's auction house). I've had no issues keeping my skill level up appropriate to my character's level.
Interface - The interface comes packed with plenty of options. Not quite to the level that you can get with WoW add-ons, but pretty close overall. There are some add-ons from WoW I kind of miss, but I think NCSoft did a very good job putting in the majority of options that casual to serious (but probably not full hard-core) players are looking for.
Customization - The primary method of customization in the game begins in the 20s with the use of Stigmas. You will get a quest to understand the use of stigmas as well as a standard (for your class) stigma. Additional stigmas drop throughout the game and eventually you'll be able to equip 8 of them. The stigmas act as additional powers, so every stigma is another spell that you can cast. You can exchange stigmas fairly easily, but do have to have stigma shards (obtained by questing in the Abyss mostly). Additional customization comes in the form of manastones, enhancements, and godstones. Manastones are basic buffs to your stats (defensive and offensive), enhancement stones can be applied to weapons (for damage boost) or armor (for defensive boosts). Godstones have more unique properties. By the time you get to 50, you can have a very different character from the person next to you.
Overall - This is an enjoyable game that hearkens back to the better days of WoW (the easiest to compare to). It's not particularly innovative (neither was or is WoW who continues to steal ideas from other MMOs), but what it does do, it does very nicely. The graphics are a nice step up from WoW(but doesn't stress the video card as hard as you'd expect), the environment has some nice backgrounds, the mobs are some interesting and different designs, and the PvP is pretty well balanced. I've found the game to be a reasonable challenge so far (which is a very, very nice change from how WoW is currently set for easy mode). The options available on the interface are actually very good without any add-ons (could always use a few more options). The biggest struggle the game seems to have today are the bots. NCSoft is taking steps, and we'll see if they go far enough (of course, anything short of instantaneous action results in complaints from the masses).
If you are looking for a decent MMORPG with a bit of challenge and some PvP action, this is a good game to try out. If you are annoyed by challenge or PvP, I wouldn't recommend this game for you. The penalties are not steep (pretty much non-existent if you die in PvP), but I know some people take dying pretty harsh.
