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| Source // MobyGames |
I don't have the biggest history with MMORPGs, another genre that I run screaming from, come to think of it. These days though, MMORPGs that have found a spot in the 1001 list have likely been refined to the point where I'm not tearing my hair out trying to play them, and probably have free-to-play entry points for us newcomers to dive into.
Aion: The Tower of Eternity is the next challenger to try and show the world that you don't have to play World of Warcraft like everybody else, and it's still going a decade later, so let's find the download button and get going.
Frustrations
We need 6 gigabytes to start with, says Aion, and you can play after that if you'd like, but otherwise there's another 20 something to download after that to ensure things are there waiting for you to play.
I set the updater to grab it all and headed to bed, where I was met with appalling wireless internet speeds because Aion was taking as much as it could. Fine. I'll get some sleep and return tomorrow, ready to play.
Of course, downloading isn't installing, so there was some of that to do too, and when that was done, I was finally ready to see this South Korean MMORPG that the 1001 write-up made sure to describe as 'ravishing' twice.
You've already seen what I was faced with when it came time to register an account. Not only was I unable to register, both in-game and out of it, the message was one with such a 'screw you, potential customer' wording that on the spot I decided to not play Aion.
"But it might have been an error, did you try the support page?" you might be asking. No, but I did manage to stop anyone from using FrankCavil as a username. And FrankCavil1. And FrankCavil1001. And none of those usernames have received an email to activate the damn account and allow me to play Aion.
As far as awful starts to experiences with games go, this must be one of the worse ones. Oh well. Let's find out what we're missing out on.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
Aion sits atop the CryEngine, and while its looks have improved over the years, its looks were something to talk about way back in its release as well, not just in terms of fantasy environments to travel through, but character creation options that make for a mind-boggling array of possibilities, all of which seem to be centred on impossibly high standards of beauty.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
Aion isn't about anime girls, but glancing around the Internet looking for screenshots it's basically about anime girls. If you want to make an absurd character and explore this world as a cartoon bear or something, it seems you can. Want to change the colour of your eyeballs individually, go ahead. Who is going to see such details in-game? Very few people, I'm sure, but you'll know those details are there, and that makes you unique.
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| Source // MobyGames |
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| Source // MobyGames |
Less unique is the gameplay, which has been described both positively and negatively as Player vs Player vs Environment, 'Grindy', and pay to win.
Lots of fetch quests, lots of dungeons to empty, lots of loot to equip to customize your character even further - if other MMORPGs don't give you want you're looking for, literally, then maybe Aion might.
Final Word
Truth be told, of course, I've no idea. I watched a short video about playing Aion in 2020 that showed off the character customization and an interesting character class in the form of the artiste, splattering paint everywhere instead of arrows or fireballs, but nothing in that video made me wish I could register an account and play it for myself.
It was like every other MMORPG - full of a HUD that's showing its age, lacking in a compelling story to follow along with, and if player counts are important, those number in the hundreds and that's about it.
Back in the day, a visually impressive competitor to WoW probably went a lot further than it does a decade later. I don't know, and likely never will. These games don't inspire me to stick with them, they don't offer me any hooks to get into, and Aion, for whatever reason, doesn't even allow me to register an account.
Don't expect me to update this post. I'm more than happy to let this one get away.
Fun Facts
A million western downloads did well for NCsoft when it was released and topped the Steam charts, but critics would soon point out that underneath the visual flair was nothing terribly special.
Aion: The Tower of Eternity, developed by NCsoft, first released in 2008.
Version watched: PC, 2008 (TheLazyPeon)