Black Wings

I've only played a couple MMORPGs (6 total), and 4 of which I've played since beta and the early access program. Amongst those 4 games, Aion is by far the biggest with 400,000 people participating in the head start program alone. That means, all the servers were already overpopulated even before it went live officially.

So, ever since Sunday (start of the early access), I've been queuing up for as long as 3 hours before I could play the game. Yesterday (Tuesday, the day the game went live) was even worse because I waited for, what seems like, 6 hours before I could get in the servers. I didn't really mind waiting, however, because I can always load up Arkham Asylum or read a book/comics. But I can understand why others are frustrated. I mean, their subscription -their time and money- is wasted every day. I hope NCsoft fixes this problem as soon as possible if they want their customers to stay.

Anyways, as for me, I've probably spent more time queuing for the game rather than playing it. I've been on it since Sunday but my character is only a level 11 Cleric (see here). But I've finally earned my wings today, and also joined the Gaiscioch legion (which is also my guild in Warhammer Online). Hopefully, since I'm off from work for two more days, I'd be able to put in some time on the game and reach a level 20 by Friday.

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Elyos for Breakfast!

Early access for Aion starts tomorrow, and a lot of my guildmates are already excited. I am excited too. But probably not as much as they are because I have yet to see the PvP content of the game, to see if it's better than Warhammer Online.

Arkathos, he's a cranky priest.

I've already pre-selected my two characters, Arkathos (Priest -> Cleric) and Arkathor (Warrior -> Templar), just this morning. I tried yesterday but it was a no go since NCsoft blocked character creation -in order to balance population and races- on my guild's selected server. Anyways, me and my guild, Gaiscioch, will be Asmodians on Zikel. Look us up if you want to roll with a casual and mature guild on Aion.

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The MMO Schedule

It's September 1st and Champions Online just came out. 21 days from now, Aion will also go live. By that time, I'll be juggling 3 MMOs, other hobbies and some minor aspects of my life. So, in order to make my life much more easier and sane, I made a two-week period schedule (see above, click image to enlarge) that I will follow to the letter.

P.S. Until I've decided which two of three MMO's I'll keep (Aion, Champions, Warhammer), updates on this blog from here on will be scarce, really scarce.

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Games of Fall 2009

Fall is almost here, and that heralds the start of the Holiday Games Rush. So, in order to prepare my budget early on, I started checking out the release schedule for the next four months, and all I can say it's jam packed with tons of good releases. I actually got dizzy looking at the schedule. Unfortunately, I have to limit my games this year due to time and financial constraints. But here are the four games that I'll definitely save my money for:

September

Champions Online
This game melded two of the things that I really love: gaming and comics. That's why, even though I'm not that much into MMORPG, Champions has gotten me excited since the day it was announced. In truth, however, I was going to skip this game in favor of Aion. But I got sold after I participated in the open beta testing. The contemporary setting, the freedom of character creation, and the wicked travel powers in this game are just so much fun.

Aion
The first time I learned about this game, I was awed by its flight feature. Flying just changes many things in game like traveling and combat. But, other than that, this game didn't interest me at all. But since most of my guildmates (whom I love to play with) are moving to Aion, I gave this game a shot and played the closed beta. Surprisingly, I did enjoy the game. The chain attacks, especially, were a lot of fun. Plus, it's also the most graphically pleasing game I've seen in a while.

October

Alpha Protocol
This game is an upcoming action-RPG developed by Obsidian Entertainment. Most of my favorite games were developed by these guys, way before they were in Obsidian. So that alone is enough reason for me to play this game. But, beyond that, I'm also looking forward to its world and atmosphere, which an espionage setting ala The Bourne Trilogy. It will be a nice change to use contemporary arsenal in a role-playing game other than a sword and board.

November

Dragon Age: Origins
Finally, after waiting for 5 long years, this game is going to be out this coming November. Like Alpha Protocol, the developer alone is enough reason for me to play the game. I've stuck with BioWare all these years since the Infinity Engine era and not one of their role-playing games have disappointed me (not even Neverwinter Nights). So I don't think they'll start dissappoint me with Dragon Age. The game, based on the videos I've seen, is just epic.

So, there, all of my upcoming games for this Fall. I'll try to save money for all of these games, and that is doable. My biggest problem now is time. Where am I going to get all the hours to play all these games. Skip sleep, maybe? Sleeping's overrated anyways.

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First Impressions: Aion

Due to the declining number of players in Warhammer Online (on both Order and Destruction side), my guild started to look for other upcoming games to play. Being the comic-book geek that I am, I suggested Champions Online. Sadly, most of them decided to try out Aion. So, since I love my guild more than the games that we play, I also pre-ordered Aion, even though it didn't interest me at all. But, after jumping in the closed beta event last weekend, I had a change of heart and mind. This game is awesome.

Flight in Aion.

Aion is probably the most prettiest game I've played. The atmosphere, the ambiance, the music. Everything here is just so magical. Character customization here is amazing too. There's just so much options to add more personality to your character. I swear I've been stuck at the creation screen for almost an hour, trying to beautify my character. Class selection in this game, however, is limited. You can only choose from 4 archetypes (Warrior, Priest, Scout, Mage) and you'll be able to select a specialized class at level 10.

I chose a Scout on my initial run and later specialized him into an Assassin. For the most part, nothing's really different about the class if compared to other rogue archetypes in other games. But he's a lot of fun to play with, and I have been winning duels because of his high evasion and critical hits. I think he's going to be a great character in player vs. player. Unfortunately, unlike Warhammer Online, PvP doesn't start here until you reach level 25.

But what makes Aion unique from other MMO is its flight feature. At level 10, your character will become a Daeva and, with it, a set of wings that allows you to fly. Flying is really fun and makes travel a little bit faster. But your ability to fly isn't just limited to travel. There are tons of quest, as well as materials to gather, in the game that requires you to fly. Then there's also aerial combat. I haven't been up to that level yet, and the only flying things I've killed were static funguses, but it's safe to assume it'll be tons of fun.

Overall, I think Aion will be a fun game once it goes live. The game is just so pretty and, not to mention, polished. It's only in beta but the game is running smooth already. I still prefer WAR, however. The realm vs. realm feature and the early PvP access is way more action-packed and exciting compared to flying. But I'll have tons of fun with Aion too.

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