I'd rate this game about a 7 so far, but I'm giving it a 10 to balance out Karl H's ridiculous rating. When I logged in there was a long queue so I changed servers and got in right away. At least the goth chicks have a clue. Also, I equate anime with cartoonish big-eyed teenagers and Aion doesn't look anything like that. The graphics look great, even on a mediocre rig. So far it seems like a solid title but it's hard to make a snap judgement on an MMO this big. Installing from DVD took a few hours but worked fine.… Expand

Some people may feel that this MMO mimicks WoW or other MMO's but I feel it epitomizes the MMO experience. The fluid, complex combat along with the powerful storyline stands side by side with the breath taking graphics. The element of flight in this game is remarkable. The PvPvE aspect is unique but successfull. Overall, I think it is the best MMO so far released and I am glad to see it highly populated from the start.… Expand

Aion 2.1 made the game a completely different experience.
The bit of grind that existed at high levels long ago has been dealt with, Aion is very fun to play now if you are a social active MMORPG gamer. Its still hard though for solo gamer or kids who cant deal with the economy of Aion. Positive to see a game not just lure player with skinner box type gameplay like WoW.
New 2.0 questlines are gorgeous and the little story arcs are exciting. I could only wish there where more. The community-forums are though are overrun with people who quit the game long ago. I wish they would prevent player who don't play the game from posting to allow some mature discussions on the forums not overrun with hate and immature trolling. Evading to public fan-forums doesn't work for the same reason and its toppled by WoW fans who hate every other game they aren't pampered in like little babies and praised how great they are.
Theres much to do for the community aspect of Aion and schooling to do for the new community coordinators. Especially how to deal with unconstructive hate and immaturity of quitter and self proclaimed critics also known as trolls.… Expand

I'm new to the MMORPG genre and to be completely honest; this game is absoluely great for first timers like myself looking to get into the genre. Compared to some other titles that I have seen, Aion is simply the best in my eyes and I look forward to future expansions!!!

For a beta or recent release this game is beautiful and polished. All the reviews with a zero score are really offensive. This game looks better than WOW, and WOW is just as much if not more of a grindfest. Is this game breaking the mold or innovative? No one can say just yet, we haven't seen the endgame. At least for me, this is in many ways an improvement over WOW, and very much a welcome change. I'm confident they will add more areas and that there will be more places to fly later on... WOW went through millions of patches to get where they are now. I think this game deserves a chance.… Expand

If you've run out of things to do in WoW and Lotro/AoC/WAR/CO etc. didn't quite cut it as a suitable replacement then take a look at this game. Graphically this game is a treat, performance is good, gameplay is more immediate, challenging and visually rewarding than most. This ticks most boxes for your standard MMORPG, adding a few new and enjoyable features while not breaking the mold. For me, having sucked every last bit of joy out of my favourite MMO and not considering going back until the next big expansion a year or so from now Aion has proved a godsend. Not without it's faults, but then there are not enough of those to prevent me from enjoying this more than I've enjoyed any of the alternative MMOs I've tried in the last few years.… Expand

I give this game a ten, Why?, By not comparing it to a well established MMO, i am rating this as a launch product and by that simple fact it deserves a ten because of how polished and bug free the game really is. I closed beta tested this , then open beta, and now enjoying the live game immensely. Graphics scale well ona basic maching and still look great, they also look out of this world on a high end machine. I come from 4 years of WOW and this comes as a breath of fresh air for me and a good replacement for the WOW machine. Its Charming , exciting, complex and thoroughly enjoyable. Give it a try Graphics 10 Sound 8 Gameplay 9 Polish 10 Community 8.… Expand

it is a very well polished game, it does what WoW did on release, generally fuse the best aspects of the various games on the market and add a little polish. if you've ever played WoW, EQ2, FF11, AoC you will instantly feel the resemblance, and a few extra features (the gliding mostly) that are a pelasant surprise. The combat system is very refreshing with the combo system, but unlike warhammer, has a very 1:1 feel for the animations. when your character hits, you hit. i have played WoW since closed beta, if i had the time i'd be playing this game right now.… Expand

This is an absolutely gorgeous game for a MMOrpg and one of the most addictive games you could ever get your hands on. No grinding what so ever. If you consider doing quests, grinding, MMO is not your game. Unless you played WoW and was influenced by how easy it is to level up.

I've gotten to level 20, and think it's worth checking out if you're already a bit jaded with your current MMO. Aion has fewer options and less content overall compared to WOW, but the graphics / world is gorgeous and some of the mechanics changes are fun. Jury still out on whether the focus on in-world pvp is better than focusing on battlegrounds, but Aion pvp is supposed to be pretty good according to the high levels.… Expand

Visuals are stunning and definitely make it a must-play game. Player advancement Ok, but new skills not available at every level. Some quests not possible to complete without a team. A few quests encountered that were buggy. Personal store interesting concept but not sure about viability.

If you give the game less then 5 only because its a grind you really need to play more games. Anyways Ive played aion since beta Pros: Graphics, Sound, Large Scale organized pvp, crafting produces useful items, plenty of quests to keep you busy. pvp designated and pve designated zones. Monthly rewards for subscribing to the game. Cons: Solo PvP is unbalanced you will be useless without a group if you play certain classes. Drop rates for items are really shitty. a 20 minute boss fight with no loot is pretty annoying. pvp highly dependent on consumables, making it costly to be at your best. Instances are very very long because there are a lot of repeatable quests you do during them that u have to run out and back in for which takes about 5 minutes, when u have a group and 6 people do it there is a lot of slow down. Thats all i can think of but another thing to mention is until u get near level 50 pvp does not scale well. Even though the cons look longer i still find this one of the most enjoyable mmo's i have found in a long time, and considering this game is still pretty fresh the horizon is looking bright and im sticking around.… Expand

A VERY good game. Aion has everything good from many mmo's and if your a fan you need to get this. but ncsofts lack of bot protection might kill the game in the long run. but have faith! this is a A+ game.

Awesome Game , i have an assasin lvl 30 those who give to this game low mark means they have played only 2 or 3 days when you are lvl 25+ you can see how great is the game with the instances , hunting asdomians in abyss and so on GREAT GAME !

Aion is a beautiful game and there's not much grinding XP if you actually understand the game. I give Aion a perfect 10/10 because it stands out far more than any other MMO at release. Aion can be on the challenging side but a difficult game never scares any true gamers away! Aion is great; give it a chance.

Fantastic launch, if you like me played WoW at launch you wold agree it was a terrible time. Aion has managed to pull it off well in my opinion, the grinding aspect can be quite boring, and the end game will probably be updated in time. I have high hopes for this game, good luck Aion.

For those of you that seriously give this game a 1-3 rating, you need to stop being jealous that this is better than whatver mmo you are playing. Aside from Everquest 2. A person giving this a score of 1... plays WoW. Get over it. Yes you lost some of your friends to this game, and I understand that makes you mad, but get over it. This game on full graphics 1680x1050, looks amaizing. If you are grinding at lvl 13... you are retarded. Your first lvl needed to grind doesnt come until about lvl 22. Walk around, find the quests. They dont come to you like other mmorpgs. The quests are fun, the music is brilliant, and although I've only made it to lvl 40 of 50, this game is an AWESOME package overall. Now, it may deserve a score lower than the 10 I'm giving it, but I'm rating this to compensate for the users ratings of 1-3.. STOP PLAYING WOW… Expand

A very good effort, the gameplay is tighter and more engaging than WoW if not as visceral as Conan. It is beautiful and the setting is interesting. Hopefully the PvPvE endgame will shine.

One of the better games I think that are going to be released this year. The visuals are stunning, the controls and camera are very familiar. I strongly suggest picking up this game if you are a fan of the genre. It blows the others out of the water.

One of the finest and most polished games of this generation. This game is groundbreaking in the aspect of mmorpg and all game. I played WoW got over it, have played Conan and Lotr but none of them truly stuck to me. I am a huge fps fan and I love my graphics. This game scenery is beyond anything I have ever seen, the game starts of quick and uses fast paced action so it becomes more skill based and not time based like WoW. That is where the game truly comes into action, the aspect of skill in an mmorpg is something no game has truly been able to accomplish now, even though the grinding can seem endless, their is good reasoning because the skills take that long to learn. I recommend this game to everyone. The first levels seem WoWish at first but once you hit 25 and your PvPing in the abyss, the game truly comes to light. So please if your a gamer and want a new experiance, come experiance Aion and keep in mind everything I said.… Expand

Great game, a lot better then all the other crappy MMO's that tried to defeat WoW. I Think this will come close, it may even beat WoW over time. Unless WoW is able to release some sort of counter attack. But nethertheless, this is an amazing game. Good storyline, and i like how its simliar to WoW in the way its played. Only issues i have is, the movement has some issues, its a bit dodgy. Also the casting, and the fact you can't go underwater. But you never know, patches could fix alot of things.… Expand

Simply the best MMO their is currently. So many dumbasses keep calling this game is a grindfest when WoW is even worse. I played retail WoW for only 2 weeks because it bored me to death. When i first started playing Aion in the chinese open beta, i was hooked within just a few minutes of playing, the game itself also made me buy a completely new computer so i could play the game lag free... Aion is for the ****ing win imo.… Expand

This is a very good MMORPG. Top tier, polished, evidence of abundant time, financing, and art put into the development. While the mid-tiers need a little love in some patches to add a few quests, the storyline is engaging throughout, the graphics gorgeous, and just that little cuteness that turns me on. There's a deep system underlying the "coating" with mana stones, godstones, cooking etc ... that will leave hardcore gamers studious but casual gamers with plenty to do. While many may say its not revolutionary, it is the MMORPG with the brightest future out there right now .. given a chance to fine tune and an expansion or two (which all NCSoft games have done well), this will be here for years to come. It feels like familiar ground for ex WoW or DaoC fans, yet has a few new things. All games have a grind early on until content develops, but this is the best launch I've been in.… Expand

If you like your standard mmo fair w/ a pvp twist this is it. If you are looking for something new or innovative you need not apply. This is way better than any mmo's I've played in the last 3 years w/ the exception of maybe LOTR.

People, it all depends on how you play the game, I suppose. I did the quests one after another until now, I have played 3 characters, one to 16, one to 14, and one to 12. True, this game is not like World of Warcraft in the way that you cant just drop any quest you want and go find a lot more elsewhere, but there are few quests in this game that you would want to drop, and none that you would have to. I like the character customization system because its much unlike Guild Wars. In Guild Wars, another NCsoft game, you couldn't customize much. You pick a preset hair color, preset face, preset skin color, and choose a very limited height. This game's customization system provides almost limitless possibilities, from 1 foot tall characters with giant heads, or a medium sized person with a regular sized head. You can change your face like the Oblivion face modifier, where you can change almost anything on the face. This game has amazing graphics. Somebody said that the graphics were just a bunch of solidly colored, stretched textures. My question to him is if he was playing the right game... To be fair, this game does have a few glitches and not a big variety in armor and weapons, but it will provide you with a lot of fun. Speaking of glitches, just to show you what I mean, there is one glitch where you can fly down under the main city if you go down just a certain way. The funny thing is, though it is really messed up, terrible graphics, 2D objects, and so on, they actually meant for someone to figure out how to go down there. If you look at this one structure at a certain angle, the face from Saw looks at your character and instantly kills you. They even put towns down under the city which at first I thought was just for somebody in the flying city to see, but when you get down there the insides of the buildings are actually fully designed and painted. The wings bring a delightfulness to the game too, but the problem is that there is few places you can fly. However, anywhere in the game you can 'glide' which is just a quick way to move downhill and on flat ground very quickly, and it adds a really fun aspect to the game, not to mention the air to air combat and pvp. I switched from World of Warcraft to Aion, and I will say it was definately the right choice, and I would encourage others to do the seem thing.… Expand

I find this game to be a refreshing balance between the new MMO WoW-esque style and the more traditional EQ/UO MMO style. The leveling process is slower than your modern MMO but it is a far cry from the grinding days of yester year. Group play is very PUG friendly. Whether you want to solo or duo or storm a castle there is a avenue for leveling for your playstyle. You even get xp when you craft. And with the CryoEngine the game does not need an amazing machine to run and it runs well.… Expand

Brilliant game, only people who like a shit version of Aion Say things like "omg it doesnt add anything new" nah, it just is basically a 5x better less market strangling MMO Than WoW. Great Graphics, Nice Instances, Unique PvP, Movies in Quests, Minimal Grind(some people think this means that you dont have killing monsters and quests <.<;)
Queues were a bother but it was the first DAY of Aion and they did expect to have so many users logon!

AWESOME!… Expand

This game is amazing, hands down the best MMO I have ever played. There are problems with the game and it's not perfect but assuming they fix that Aion will be the perfect game. Right now they really need to fix the quest exp to make it so you wont have to grind as much. Got lvl 50 yesterday so it's not impossible dont play this if you dont like pvp cause it's going to find you regardless… Expand

A great game for the casual / hardcore gamers out there. A game with great graphics, awesome quests, and to top it off you can battle while in mid air!!! Ncsoft is always updating and tweaking the game for improvements. You will see some amazing future updates from aion. I will bet on it! Just google aion vision. =]

I came into this quite skeptical, not joining at launch, but waiting a few weeks afterward to let the dust settle. Having played MMO's since UO Beta and EQ Phase 1 Beta, and regularly since, I have a pretty good idea of the strengths and weaknesses of most offerings, and I have high, jaded, standards. My initial take was that there wasn't much new to the game, and I don't necessarily disagree with that conclusion now. Still, something about the gameplay has got me hooked again, even though I've tried so many other new MMOs and left them shortly. The combat mechanics are cleaner and simpler but still sufficiently dynamic to keep me interested. Progress is quest driven and still mostly of the "Kill x foozles" and fedex variety, but there are some neat new twists that I wouldn't classify as genre-defining, but still refreshing. The bottom line on gameplay is that it's ... fun. Inextricably, and with that same elusive quality that is hard to define, but you know-it-when-you-see-it, this one is fun. And then there's the flyying. Omg the flying. There are two types: flying from a standing start (which is, as others have pointed out, limited to certain areas or fly-zones, Boo!), and there is gliding (which can be done anywhere). Gliding is fun. Jump off any high point and float downward. Beautiful sensation and it will take you some time and finesse to master its subtleties. The game isn't going to dethrone WoW, but then who cares about WoW? This game is fun, I'm enjoying it, and the PvP is intelligently designed and integrated from the ground up (like DAOC's RvR).… Expand

Amazing game! Breath of fresh air after 4 years of WoW and a TON of lackluster MMO's released after!

MMO is always about grinding, but in AION usually you only gather 5 items and monster location is not far away from NPC quest giver. I play WoW and WoW grinding is lot harder than this one. I dont care if you want to play WoW for rest of your life. Me, I'm just looking for NEW fantastic experience, and that is AION.

Aion is by far the most polished and well-done MMORPGs to be released since WoW, and the launch went great with no bugs or game-breaking flaws. There are ridiculous queue times to get into servers, hovever which is why I didn't give this a 10. For a Korean produced game, it certainly doesn't feel that way and even feels more "western" than many American MMOs.

Right from the start Aion's colours and graphics are amazing, incredible environments much lighter than expected thanks to the cry engine. You can make a character that looks like you, or maybe a hoompa loompa or even the wicked witch! LvLing is extremely easy (maybe a bit too much) part of the fun is the sweat it takes to go to top lvls. You get to know your class in early lvls, and get later into the best part of the game. The abyss and the never ending pvp. Get equips, stigma stones, god stones, make a toon with strenght and defend your side in very fast paced pvp action. The classes are very balanced, but the game will evolve more for sure, and the true challenge for good gamers and hardcore gamers is the pvp.… Expand

Tried all other MMO's... AoC, WoW, WAR, but nothing comes close to Aion... The game is clearly based on skill and end-game will be skill-based, as well. The game does not gorge itself on 'best armor beats all', it is the skill that matters. The early specialization helps players hone their abilities to play their role early on, making for a better gaming experience for all. A must try! And it is NOT a 'Korean Grindfest'... This game is brought to you by the makers of GuildWars.… Expand

While some may feel that ypu are 'epic' and everyone else is 'epic' this game is therefore bad. Isn't that in ALL games? The storyline is the same for the same class, DUH, it's like that in WoW... Bubt this game is super-polished, almost sinfully so. And quite addictiing, to say the least. I'd like to inform you that this is not a grindfest as some say, but merely based upon the player's skill to control their classes, which I believe is why class specialization starts early on as others have pointed out.… Expand

This game is an excellent MMO that does not reinvent the genre but refines the "tried and true" formula with polish and varnish that really shines. Just don't expect it to revolutionalize your experience of MMOs. There have been some problems with queues, but here is a hint on how to avoid a queue: GO TO A WEST COAST SERVER. Problem solved. From the head start to now, I have not waited in a queue for 1 second. And I'm not sure if queues are affected by the race you play, but I would play Elyos if I were you. There are less people playing Elyos meaning it won't be as crowded. Those saying it's a grindfest are simply out of their minds. This game is no more of a grindfest than World of Warcraft or ANY mmo ever made. You can level purely by quests, meaning its not a grindfest. People are letting the graphics style and their knowledge that it is a Korean game bias their judgment. Make sure you level past 10 (which doesn't take long) to pass judgment on this game. Once you ascend at lvl 10 is when the game begins. I have played just about every major MMO release. This has been my favorite by far. Great story-telling, awesome graphics, great gameplay, great atmosphere, the promise of massive aerial PvP battles. What's not to like? Don't believe the naysayers, try it yourself (remember Elyos on a west coast server).… Expand

I'm giving this a 10 to balance out all the zeros because no matter what people say, this is NOT a grind! Being able to get to level 10 VERY easily by doing quests alone, would not fit the definition... Lag is hardly that bad either (games ALWAYS lag on the first day anyways). WoW is MUCH more of a grind compared to this, from experience. Don't let the "Korean MMO" bit change anything, they kind of tried to change that, and have!… Expand

I don't think the game is so griny, i just played 5 days, 45 hours and i'm already at lev 28, with a cap of 50. The abyss pvp is pretty fun. I love this game. The Bad? QUEUE! They really underestimated the number of the players, they really failed with the number of the servers!

Aion is a great game and well rounded. It seems that people think MMO's need to be fully finished when they first release. WoW has been around a long time and is entering yet another exp. but even then it has long since reached it limits. Aion has little to offer in the endgame, but only after you play it can you see that it has so much room to grown into something that will make it a monster of a MMO. I still have high hopes Aion will trun into something unstopable.… Expand

Aion is a beautiful game. Simply said the PvPvE is the main focus in this game and they got it right. The graphics are in todays-age and Aion is not a grind-fest, there is enough quests and extras to keep you busy. The endgame in the abyss is to die for.

Aion is a new interesting MMO that appeals to a different kind of MMO player, it is a Korean based game, so before you pick it up you should've already looked into it as being a grind in certain parts, thats what Koreans enjoy, and thats what we get. If you don't like that style of a game, perhaps you should've read into it more before buying it. However with that said, it still is relatively a new game in NA, there are still a few kinks they have to beat out, and who knows, maybe they will appeal more to what some westerners want, an easy way to level, but it won't happen anytime soon. All MMOs have gold farmers spamming it at first, until they figure out an indefinite way to fix the problem, they are going to be there, but that is the current trend in MMOs, they bring it out and fix things later. A game based on a computer system will never be "perfect" per say, but I consider this very close.… Expand

Now this is what an MMORPG should be right out of the box. I left Champions Online for this game and haven't regretted a second. The difference between the two is night and day. You want to feel like a superhero? Then pick up Aion now.

A goos solid, steady MMO with good PvE and PvP. Can only comment on the first 20 levels but am excited to see what comes in the next 30 levels! Good, exciting alternative to other popular MMOs.

Fantastic game, super smooth launch. Past lvl 30 already and loving it, though the levels are slowing down very very quickly. The pvp in this game is awesome, and VERY well balanced. Recommend to everyone w/o a second thought.

Ive played WoW, LOTRO, Warhammer online, AoC.... This is the best, period. Make sure ur comp is up to par with its graphics, cpu, ram, etc. tho.

It has the feel of Final Fantasy 11 with the ability to solo and enjoy the game without waiting hours for a group. GREAT class defenition each class has it's own feel and play style. The graphics are amaising and the art style is just beautiful. It's a world that is easy to move around in while still providing a good challenge. I can't wait until end game to see how the dungens run.… Expand

Superb game with a ridiculously evocative world and engaging content. The PvE and PvP is just plain fun. The only criticisms I have are: the world isn't quite open enough, you're unable to use wings in many of the pre-level 25 zones, and the experience earned from quests needs to be increased.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is a grinder. It is freaking beautiful! I have played 4 MMOs (IMO major oones), and am happy with it quite allot. The only thing I miss is addons. The quest sysem is great, but finding the objectives can be a little confusing for some of the quests. After you get used to the UI (learning curb is a standard thing in MMOs), you get addicted. I have yet to be flatlined on my enthusiasm, and I have logged over 40 hours so far in it! Love it may be a too strong phrase, but I am on the virge of loving it!, just need to get higher lvl and start using more of the flight aspect in the grind… Expand

I simply love it. :)

Aion is a visually stunning world with captivating story and combat. The grind at launch has since long been fixed and is now a stand MMO with flight, PvPvE content, content patches every few months and one of the best customer support around. I've played World of Warcraft and Rift and I cannot say how much better Aion is in customization, story telling, combat and visuals. The world of Aion is something that you must not miss and there is no reason to with the free trial. Breathing a breath of fresh air into the genre, Aion revolutionizes everything we think is possible in an mmo. Crafting, Combat, Flight, Graphics, all rich in detail and webs intricate patterns into the game that will not be looked over.
This game is definitely a game that you must play if you are waiting for a game or wanting a game to call home.… Expand

#1 game in Korea. Why ? because it's awesome. with the 3.0 update there are so many features. Unlike the grindy diablo 3 this game actually feels fun. And guess what it's free and NOT pay to win loool.

Honestly, this is much much better than Diablo 3. At least it is not pay 2 win. You get housing too. It feels like sims online! Sims online + WoW ish game play you have something that is got to be 10/10.

WoW! This is the best MMO-RPG! In everything: the characters , leveling, combat, the world , everything! This is compared with 4story by Gameforce. There's the best MMO-RPG ever. Thurst me and play it!

i've played this game since it released, and it always keeps me coming back for more. It isn't prefect, and it's low drop rates and very gear orriented style of play may keep others from long term play, but i love this game and can't help but come back.

Based on the free-to-play update, I figured this game deserved a new review that doesn't judge it as it was before. If you like mmo's I would recommend looking into Aion. You know all of those invisible walls that most mmo's slap on you? Yeah, most of those are gone here. In Aion, every character is a race of angel-type people called "Daeva." Upon receiving your class, you're given a fancy set of new wings. You're capable of entering two forms of flying modes. The first one is full on flying. You can do this in certain areas and you start off with a minute maximum time before your wings give out and you fall to your death. The second is just gliding. You can do this in any area. The whole flying aspect adds an interesting aspect on to the game, mostly because you know you aren't quite so limited on where you can go. The graphics in this game are quite fancy, but I won't spend much time on that because graphics do about as much to a game as a pretty dish akes your food taste better. Straight running through as an mmo, you won't find much to call it revolutionary, but you come to expect that from gaming now anywho. An interesting part of combat is the chain skill system. You get certain skills, depending on your set class, that you can activate further skills instantly directly after. This makes the combat more interesting later on because you have various skill opportunities popping up left and right. There's also another form of skill customization call "stigma" skills. Starting at level 20, you get slots to put in two stigma skills (two additional slots every 10 levels after) and you have a choice of what skills you want to put in there, so most characters won't have the same set of skills. The playing, however, is still basic quest, quest, quest, repeat. It has its entertaining properties if you enjoy mmo's and even more if you can find someone to talk to or do your quests with (because we're all lonely, lonely people with no friends in real life). One of the biggest downsides to this game, which I can't really blame on the game itself, is the community. Not to say that this game contains the same sort of butthurt dwellers and novice gamers alike that WoW contains, but to my experience, the community in Aion seems to be quite apathetic. I've found myself having an amazingly difficult time trying to find friends and a guild (legion)of people to actually talk to. None of the people I've actually met, though, are mean at all. Players you'll come across are actually kind and helpful (once again, in my experience). All together, this game is fun. I haven't even gotten into the immense customization (let us say it rivals the Sims for choosing how your character looks). I found myself making one of every class because they all seemed amusing to me, they all had their individual strengths and weaknesses. I find myself losing motivation to keep going forward, but for the price you are required to pay (a whopping $0), it is definitely worth the try.… Expand