Ah, nothing says quality like MMORPGs. With grind-ridden gameplay reminiscent of the original Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games, and backstory out of a Weis and Hickman novel, what could be better? How about inviting a couple thousand blabbering idiots to the mix? In essence, this is what every MMO truly is at their core. A terrible fantasy novel where the drooling fan base of said novel are not only allowed, but actively encouraged, to interact with one another.
One MMO that seems to continually be rearing it's ugly head of late is Aion Online. Aion came out quite a while ago in Asia and is due for a release on the other half of the world soon. It has been gaining popularity in the congested genre via marketing itself as an "east meets west" game, in that it has eastern graphics but western gameplay. While the former trait may be true, with it's utter lack of character customization and the inability to make your character look like a heterosexual male, the gameplay is anything but western. In fact, the game almost taunts themes common to western MMORPGs - it has quests, but they're maddeningly inefficient in comparison to grinding on the same monsters over and over. You have to bind your equipment to your character, much like many traditional western games, but this action requires about five button presses and a seven second long animation. Everything in Aion seems to have been designed with the over-arching goal of making it feel like you're taking sandpaper to your balls.
To make matters more confusing, this game seems to actually be taking off to a degree - or at least the forums can make one think so. Obviously not the most reliable source of information, unless you're in the market for listening to tales as told from the quivering jowls of a noble dwarven warrior as he raises his gleaming silver rune-etched keyboard and furiously types "LOL U NOOB". Forums are always full of incredible bias due to the user having to go out of their way to create a new post - whether be it full of unadulterated fanboyism, or venom-laden hatred - it is just surprising how much love this hilariously awful Asian millstone grind of a game is getting.
One thing that these hopeless forum dwellers will often regale of is how great the game's PVP is - the player versus player combat. An often seeked feature that companies regrettably fail to procure quality within time and time again, PVP can be very engaging and lengthen a game's lifespan with nearly no interaction required from the developers. The players make their own content and reason to play via interaction. Unless you're playing a game like Aion, which has factions for no discernable reason (each side is exactly the same), and then offers PVP combat that is reminscent of playing checkers with a senile elderly man.
One thing that these hopeless forum dwellers will often regale of is how great the game's PVP is - the player versus player combat. An often seeked feature that companies regrettably fail to procure quality within time and time again, PVP can be very engaging and lengthen a game's lifespan with nearly no interaction required from the developers. The players make their own content and reason to play via interaction. Unless you're playing a game like Aion, which has factions for no discernable reason (each side is exactly the same), and then offers PVP combat that is reminscent of playing checkers with a senile elderly man.
I continually failed to understand why this game is being hyped at all within western communities with all of it's horrible aspects, until I finallly realized the answer. It hit me in the head like a shitty design document while I was watching some "epic pvp footage" of Aion (a cleric standing completely still while casting the same heal spell over and over - truly something that has to be seen to be believed). What I realized was simple: western MMORPG gamers are just really, really fucking bored. There literally has not been a good answer to the western market since World of Warcraft, a 2004 release which can also arguably be called the first successful game of the genre over here, as it made the much nerdier Everquest miniscule in comparison of subscription numbers. Now, we are fast approaching 2010, and WoW has not slowed down a bit (aside from Blizzard taking it in the ass thanks to China's government being run by monoloids, but we're talking about the western market here). Every few months a new game comes along that promises glory and riches, and as soon as it opens the doors to beta people come out running, gagging from the toxin from within, to the nearest forum they can to decry the game immediately. A few scragglers who are so passionately in denial from wanting something different will claim everyone else is wrong and cherish these failed titles until they finally break down in a pathetic fit of nerd rage. It's not a pretty sight. A funny sight, to be sure, but anything involving MMO gamers is never pretty.
So, here's hoping that somewhere along the line an actual western game comes to appease this starving crowd of gamers. Most likely it will be announced by Blizzard at their 2010 convention Blizzcon, and will then go on to be released on December 21st, 2012.
Oh, and did I mention that everyone in Aion has wings? They are not an option. In a genre where character customization is the forefront feature, you are forced to become an angel at level 10. Your game is bad and you should feel bad, NCSoft.
YT,
BGG
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