Just as we finished our hands-on and a review of Aion, NCsoft just dropped us a huge bomb.

This trailer was called “Visions of the Future”, and when we heard about the title we thought it was gonna be another update hints.

Oh MAN we were wrong.

We still haven’t received the official press release, but so far we can tell few things that’s coming for Aion players in the future:

• Graphical upgrade: As of now, Aion is being called one of the prettiest MMO. Looks like NCsoft is going to be raising their bar. We also witnessed a real-time snowing effect for the cities which was nice.
• Underwater cities + swimming: The players will be able to swim and have battles under, above and between the waters.
• Taming monsters to mount: You can ride them for transportation purpose, or you can attack monsters with your own tamed pet monster.
• Huge, HUGE PvP system: At the end of the video, we witnessed a HUGE summoned machine that crashes everything in the town. There’s rumor that it’s the new town siege system, where players (or triggered NPCs) can make their own cities for the PvP.

It’s an epic update, indeed.
Once we get more information out of it, we’ll let you know.

Another Korean MMO! But his one spans across all genres and time periods.

Developed by IO Entertainment, Lost Saga is a Fighting action MMO. What first of all caught my attention was the diversity in characters. You can select from a list of 18 mercenaries, each with a different background in era and genre. Now you don’t need to wait for another episode of Deadliest Warrior to see who would win: Pirate vs Ninja. This game has everything from boxing champs to iron knights, pirates to ninjas, and even cowboys to dark shamans.

Each character has his/her own set of special moves, abilities and combos. You have the ability to switch characters mid game, allowing you to experience a vast array of fighting styles, and to match the right style with the right situation.

Players can duke it out solo or in teams. Furthermore, items and equipment of fallen foes can be claimed as yours, making each battle intense and thrilling.

This game also looks appealing, especially to someone computer illiterate, like me, due to its low system requirements, and user friendliness. The game will check the user’s system and choose teh appropriate system settings for the user’s PC. The control scheme is also very simple, allowing users to learn the game qiuckly, but leaving enough room for strategy and depth.

And of course, the best of all features, this game is free-to-play! For more info, check out their site here.

It’s that time again, folks; another Aion: Tower of Eternity impression article.
If you just want the quick comments or the numbers, here it is: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

However, if you’re a savvy MMO gamer, you know that there are just way too many variables in an MMO to sum it up with a score or a simple sentence. So for the people who care and read our articles, let’s continue from our last two impressions on Aion: Tower of Eternity. (Here’s our 1st impression, and 2nd impression on Aion)

Today, we’ll be looking at some of the endgame related contents, with some of the ups and downs, the community response, and how it can or can’t satisfy your MMO needs.

While we were reviewing Aion, there was a Halloween event. Many MMOs have special events for almost every occasion, and Aion is no different. There was an interesting plot going on for the Halloween event, with promises of items. Actually, it was kind of hard for us to spot the Halloween spirit during the game because we didn’t notice any changes. Some people expected quests and cities full of Halloween decorations, but that never happend. Honestly, I was one of those people who expected more. Did they deliver the items though? Yes, they did.

Well, at least we got the pumpkin heads.

If NCsoft really wants to push their product to the western market, they should consider pushing the holiday contents because some people want more than just an item or two. More variety in contents always helps, no matter how many people want it. But in the end we were all happy to receive the pumpkin head.

The main highlight in Aion is Abyss, the PvPvE area with fortresses and artifacts that Elyos, Asmodians and Balaur can siege and claim as their own. On a random schedule, these fortresses are available for sieges, and the rule of PvPvE really shines throughout the event. You’ll have to protect the Guardian Deity if you’re defending the fortress, while the other side will have to break into the fortress gate and the Aetheric Fields. The defense can repair the gate as the other side tries to break in. While all this is going, the NPC side, Balaur, can come in and be the third player of this already-chaotic-enough siege. If the defender fails to protect the Guardian Deity General, the siege is be over. Whoever damaged the Guardian Deity General the most will own the fortress.

It looks crazy enough without the UI, right?

This PvPvE environment of Abyss works really well. We still haven’t seen its full potential because there are not that many max level players on the servers yet, but it’s already going well, especially when either side come up with plans, working each other’s legions and alliances.

Ahh, so many enemies to get rid of, yet so little time.

Abyss is definitely fun. You’re constantly on edge in Abyss, and with the addition of having wings to fly, it’s just too much fun.

One of the most important aspects of an MMO is content. So, does Aion have enough content for players to come back after a month of subscription? Aion is definitely fun for many, but may not be for everyone and here’s why.

If you’re used to MMOs that have a storyline with a low max level caps, like Guild Wars, then you might feel like you’re grinding too much. You might be used to hitting the max level cap in weeks or even days, so reaching level 50 might take longer than you expected. If you’re used to some of the hardcore MMOs, you won’t have this problem because you already know that to fully enjoy the content of a large size MMO, you’ll just have to work your way up to the level cap. So, who’s right and wrong? Nobody. They’re all right and they’re all wrong.

I am indeed a cooking expert!

Again, if you’re comparing Aion to the MMOs that have been around for a couple of years, filled with contents, Aion might not look so big. But from our experience, there are enough things to do in game to keep you busy. If you just have one goal, like reaching the level cap or finishing the whole story by yourself without grouping, you’ll lose interest rather quickly. If you take time to get into the storyline, doing other stuff like customizing the looks of your items, crafting for your legion members and friends, you’ll hardly feel the grinding. But isn’t this true with almost, if not every MMOs out there? Why would you want to give yourself a hard time reaching the end without enjoying all the other stuff to do?

Aion is not about reaching the level cap before anyone else, because eventually the server will be full of max levels. And if you put enough time into it, reaching max level cap isn’t too hard like some other MMOs. Once the majority of people can access the endgame content, it all comes down to who you play with, whether it’s joining a legion or grouping with other players for elite dungeons.

Customization and item remodeling are excellent features of Aion. After all, we're worth it, right?

So if you look at the big picture of Aion, we’re still in the early stages of determining the game’s lifespan. But from what we’ve experienced so far, —leveling scales, flying, PvPvE, spy quests, crafting and visual customizations— I think it’s safe to say that Aion can be great fun for many people. We really hope that NCsoft works hard to bring in more content for players to enjoy in the coming future.

Our Score: 8.5 /10

We love the PvPvE and the Fortress Siege idea. And flying is just too much fun. If you liked all of our hands-on impressions, you should really give it a try!

- UPDATE 2009.11.20: Looks like NCsoft’s latest patch did wonders for many of the crashing players. We still witness few forum threads about crashing but most of people reported that the crash in Abyss is gone. Well done, NCsoft!

Seriously. You heard it right.

Valkyrie Sky is a Shoot ‘Em Up styled MMORPG.

MMORPG + Shmup = Valkryie Sky

When we tried the “closed beta (though anyone can register to play),” it played like any other MMO with fixed camera, but the battle system was just like shmup with RPG mix. It’s a very interesting concept, for sure. You can watch the video and see how it plays out.

The beta begin at October 21st, 2009 and will be going on for two weeks since. And as far as we know, the game will be free-to-play before and after the official release. You can register and try it by visiting their website – http://valkyriesky.gamekiss.com

And I thought I’ve seen it all.

LEGO Universe, an MMO game due in 2010, is in development and by the artworks screenshots, it looks very interesting. Let us show you the artworks first.

We like it so far. Now, let’s see how it would translated to the virtual 3D world.

We’re surprised to see so many varieties even before any releases. If you want explanations to the screenshots, here they are:

• “Spaceship” – A rapidly disintegrating spaceship is the dramatic setting for the first location in LEGO Universe. Players must familiarize themselves with their minifig avatar and build a rocket to exit the zone safely.
• “Pirates” – In a rocky cove on the edge of Gnarled Forest, pirates offload cargo from their ship and ponder how it came to be stuck in a tree.
• “Battle” – Minifigs take on a hostile robotic creature, while in the background, evidence of a breakout signals that a potentially greater menace awaits.
• “Build Challenge” – In Gnarled Forest, minifigs prepare to cross a broken bridge that stands high over a menacing ravine. Tension and excitement build as they work together to problem-solve and repair the collapsed overpass.

LEGO Universe will have monthly subscription fee once it begins its service. You can find out more about LEGO Universe at their official website – http://www.legouniverse.com

Continuing from our first Aion coverage, we’ll talk more about the environment, which for those between level 15~25 will find themselves in the world of Atreia.

One of the first things that we talked about in Aion was the character customization. The more you play Aion, the more you witness the flexibility in character customization. Some people don’t take advantage of it, but many will stand out from the crowd. Funny or hot, we love the diversity in characters.

Yes, I know. I'm hot.

We also mentioned that you don’t have to grind much to level up. Like many other MMOs, constant quests can feel a bit like grinding. At least with Aion, you have a choice; you can either follow the main story campaign without being sidetracked, or you can try to do every quest out there. Or, you can just kill mobs and try to look for rare drops. It seems like as we level up higher, the quests don’t give out enough experience points for you to just stick to the main story. We will have to see how far we can level up before we grind.

Still feels like you’re out of options? Well, from around level 15, you can start getting quests that require you to group up with other players. That’s right, they’re dungeon style quests. Loots and boss fights; one of the true meanings of life in an MMO world.

People wouldn't go to dungeons with me since I rolled a couple of 100's on my dice.

Now, forming a group and going to the dungeons can be a great experience, but not always pleasant. Even if all five members are dedicated to teamplay, one single selfish player can ruin the fun. One time  I (as ClassicMoments) was in a group with five other people, but one Spirit Master couldn’t control his summoned pet, aggro-ing many elite monsters and ended up killing all of us. And there was this one time where two other people and myself formed a small group, but since we all knew what we were doing, we never had any problems killing mobs even with a couple of elite monsters trying to make us taste the dirt on the ground.

But isn’t that all part of an MMO life? Sure it is! Just remember though; no matter how good you (think you) are, you just won’t be able to overcome some of the obstacles that the dungeons will throw at you alone.

Just another typical day in Aion.

The difficulty of these group quests/campaigns/dungeons are well balanced, and so are the classes. No matter how high your level and skills are, you can never take on a dungeon all by yourself. Some players however, may prefer more options to the difficulty and class design. It’s always fun to find some clever way for a Cleric to become the ultimate tank or an Assassin with a one-hit-kill damage but with only 10% success rate of landing any attack. Yes, these alterations can sometimes result in a catastrophic unbalance, but options are options. If you’re worried about balancing though, you shouldn’t because it looks like NCsoft is keeping a close eye on it. Since Aion is well-balanced, it comes down to the skills of the players, and with the group, you can determine how good the player really is.

MMOs are all about varieties, and no one will enjoy Aion to the fullest by doing quests alone.  Sometimes you want to loot good items. If you’re into crafting, you might want to gather up some materials. However you want to play, the environment changes as you progress throughout the levels.

A scene I captured while resting between flights.

Aion is a very colorful MMORPG indeed.
If you’re a tech-sensitive guy/gal, you might notice low-res textures here and there, but compared to many other MMOs out there, it’s not only pretty and beautiful, but also vivid in colors. This was one of the reasons why NCsoft chose CryENGINE, and good for us that they’re fully utilizing its potential.

The art is also distinctive. We could tell that some of the designs are either western or eastern culture influenced, but many times we enjoyed the creativity.

We like the design so much, we're killing them with joy!

As the environment changes, we were hoping for fresh monster designs each time.  Compared to other MMOs, we witnessed fewer repetitive designs, but we could still spot a few of them. We’re not concluding anything about the monster designs yet because first of all, we’re (probably) only half way done with the game and second, many of the monster designs were still very impressive. Some of them were surprisingly ‘different’, but we’re not going to spoil it for you. You shall meet them in due time.

Once you get used to the group environment while following the main storyline, you’ll reach level 25. What’s so significant about level 25? I just have one word my friend, one word; Abyss.

The Abyss is where the various raids are happening, anytime, any day. What’s so intense about the Abyss is that it’s PvPvE, which means that monsters can attack either race, Elyos and Asmodians, while Elyos and Asmodians can battle each other as well. Simply put, anything goes.

I was playing with an Elyos character in Abyss, and another Elyos characters came and pointed over the horizon. He told me that there were many Asmodians getting ready to attack the area where I was. I didn’t know what the heck he was talking about, so I just ignored him and focused on the monsters. Couple of minutes later, I was screaming for help (literally) to my fellow Elyos, while I lay kissing the dirt on the ground I was standing on, under the feet of 6 Asmodians. An Elyos came and helped me, but we couldn’t take on 6 Asmodians, of course.

Flying itself can be heart pumping and intense, and now I have to look around and make sure that I’m not too far away from my race while hunting monsters. It can be stressful, but in a good way and same time it can be so much fun.

Because the Abyss can easily turn into a PvP battle ground, there are rewards for the players that survive. For killing the monsters and enemy race players, you can increase your rank within your Legion while ranking higher for Abyss Ranks.  You can also earn Abyss Points by killing monsters and enemy race players, and spend those points on Abyss weapons and armors. If you’re into the PvPvE stuff, Abyss is the playground for you.

Abyss can be fun, even if you don't like PvP too much.

Trying to reach level 25 can feel like a chore because accessing the Abyss is such a huge step forward as an Aion player. What we would suggest though is to enjoy the moments instead of watching your experience points bar slowly fill up to your next level, especially from 24 to 25.

So, we’re on our second impression of Aion, and so far it’s been a great experience. We might do another impression on Aion, and we’re planning to focus more on the game systems and varieties. Aion so far has been very satisfying and it is often compared to the best-selling MMORPG yet, World of Warcraft. You can’t deny that WoW has more content, and many times you might have more choices between styles of gameplay (quests vs grinding).

Aion is a relatively new game though, and what we want to find out is not if it’s a WoW killer, but to verify that Aion will have enough content to build its own fan base, large enough to survive for many years to come. No doubt Aion is good and that is why it’s compared to top-of-the-line MMOs out there, but we’re not even sure if we want to compare Aion with other MMOs. We just want to see if it has the originality and fun elements, and from what we’ve seen so far, there are a lot, and in high quality too.

As we reach level 25, it looks like it’s just another beginning. We’ll come back to it once we find more about Aion.

A Flash based MMORPG, Dofus 2.0 update is popular than ever.

Just when we were ready to publish the article with the new screenshots, they posted another news about the Collector Packs for DOFUS 2 was sold out in three hours. There were 10,000 copies of French version, and if you ask us, not a bad game launch at all.

Nexon America is going at its full speed with updating contents and stuff; we get frequent updates about their products. And surprisingly, their games are famous for free-to-play.

This update will feature, of course, dragons.

The new storyline will have war between dragons, hot air balloon battles, new zones, pets and monsters. The update introduces main focus on conflict between Red Dragon and Blue Dragon, who are maneuvering for control of the mythical Golden Dragon. If you ask me, that’s plentiful dragons. If you’re into dungeons, this update will include hard-mode dungeons as well.

For more information, please visit official website – http://mabinogi.nexon.net

A popular MMO adventure game, Free Realms, gets an update called “Goal Time.”
I don’t think it’s common to get a soccer-related update for an MMO game, but since World Cup is coming, and one of the most popular sports around the world is soccer, I guess it was a good move for them.

If you haven’t heard about the game, here’s the feature list:

• Experience a vibrant new world that’s an exciting mix of real-world and fantasy.
• Be a wizard one day, and a warrior the next, without having to make a new character.
• Join your friends in the game and adventure with them, wherever they are, no matter how long they have been playing.
• When you’re ready for some excitement, head out to the wilderness and battle challenging enemies like giant spiders and forest trolls in fast-paced, strategic battlegrounds.
• Cooperate with or compete against other players in battle!
• Explore, quest, and collect items that you can wear, use or display.
• Play a wide variety of mini-games to craft armor, weapons, potions, clothes, furniture, and many other items.
• Grab a root beer at the inn and hang out with your friends while a rock band plays on the stage.
• Interact with humorous, unique characters, become their friends and receive emails from them!
• Raise a dog or cat and teach it to be the kind of pet you want–shy, brave, or funny.
• Decorate your own house and grow a variety of plants and flowers.
• Send links, share images and videos, and chat with friends from your own, personal, customizable social networking page!

Free Realms is free to begin with, and has a microtransaction system for you to make more characters, multiple logins with family members and such. If you’re not too familiar with MMO games but would like to try it out casually, this game might be a jump starter for you. You can visit their website for more info - http://www.freerealms.com

Bounty Bay Online, a free-to-play MMO is making you fight between players. PvP system that is.

If you haven’t heard about the game, here’s the feature list:

• Hundreds of authentic ship models
• Land and sea combat
• More than 60 realistic towns and harbours in historical authentic style
• Guilds can conquer towns
• Trade system based on supply and demand
• Free Colony Add-on: Guilds can now found their own colonies and then decide upon the rules in their territories.
• Coming in 4th quarter of 2009: The comprehensive expansion ‘Beyond the Horizon’ will allow a complete circumvention of the world for the first time and will contain new cities, one new continent, some new instances and many new quest.

The game is set for Age of Discoveries (15th to 17th centuries), and the players can set an online career as a merchant, sailor, fisherman, pirate or adventurer. You can travel the world to make fortunes with your guildies, or alone if you don’t get along with the crowd well.

And the new upcoming expansion Beyond the Horizon will add one-vs-one, 2 vs 2 or 5 vs 5 system with two new arenas and tournament system.

It’s a free-to-play so you can check out the title for yourself with no strings attached. http://www.bountybayonline.com

Wow, Funcom.
You guys really did a good job, making gamers curious about your upcoming title.
Even we had the limited access.

Now that the embargo has lifted, we’re finally revealing The Secret World:

Concept art is as cool as the screenshots:

And yes, this is actually a MMO.