GameSpy has released a preview of NCsoft's Aion based off a presentation at this year's GC. The preview also has a video clip attached to it. Below is something on character creation:
Based on this year's Games Convention, GameSpy has published a very interesting preview of the upcoming flagship MMO from NCsoft called Aion. After you've read the full preview, don't forget to head over to AionSource for all the information you most likely will want to read about. AionSource is the #1 English fansite with official NCsoft employees posting and answering your questions.
There's also a video, which you can view below.
While Aion has been in development for a number of years, it wasn't until this week's Leipzig Games Convention that we really got to sit down with the title to see the gameplay up close and personal. Aion is playable on the show floor, allowing gamers to roll up a character and run around within the lushly-rendered world. We took a stab at it ourselves, mashing enemies with a mighty hammer as we dashed across a charred landscape. We raved before about how great the game's art style looks (it uses the Crytek engine), and the combat certainly had a good fast-paced feel. But to really drill down and understand what makes Aion different we strolled to NCSoft's private meeting area for some one-on-one time with the team.
First up: The world of Aion is high fantasy at its finest. Aion takes place within a spherical world that's been shattered into two halves by an ancient conflict. The upper and lower sections of the sphere were once connected by a great pillar called the Tower of Eternity. The tower has since been decimated; in its place is a region of floating islands known as the Abyss.
Players play as one of two races locked in conflict with the architects of the tragedy, a group of dragon lords known as the Balaur. The fair-skinned and beautiful Elyos live in the lower half of the world, bathed in constant sunlight. On the other side of the sphere lurk the Asmodians, who live in constant darkness amidst a fiery landscape. The Elyos and Asmodians don't get along, and in between fighting off the Balaur they're competing with one another for resources in the Abyss.
Check out the full preview here!
