Aion Beta Weekend – Round II
stargrace 
There’s no way my little screen shots do this game justice, and I realize it’s been said numerous times now but let me state it again – this game is so pretty. There are little nooks and crannies everywhere, and while I realize that how a game look does not mean it’s going to be amazing, it is certainly nice to have something that appeals to me on a very basic visual level.
As if the graphics were not enough there is also the music. The music in Aion is compelling and draws the player into the game. I realize that EQ2 has combat music, but it is nothing like the combat music of Aion. It’s breathtaking, and every time I fight something I want to be on the edge of my seat making sure I don’t miss anything. That doesn’t mean it’s for everyone, but I certainly had a blast. Now if my character would just duck out of her combat pose a little faster.
It was not quite as crowded as I would have thought, and this time around there was a choice of two servers. I created a mage instead of a priest, and felt as involved in the process of character selection as I did the first time. Again, the quests are nothing new and if you’re looking for an innovative game you’re not going to find it in Aion but it does offer polish. Lots, and lots of polish. The world looks beautiful, you can customize the bits you need. Again I’ve said this before but it’s taken the aspect of MMO’s I really dislike (lack of jumping, point and click) and given players options or removing them all together.
While learning about my heritage in game and talking to an old woman I decided to take a break and try to regain some mana. My character promptly pulled a magical carpet out of her bags, levitated it a few feet above the ground, and took a seat. No more sitting on the cold ground looking as though I must have some sort of stick shoved in an uncomfortable location (I’m talking about you, Vanguard).
Since I’m sure there are a large number of sites who will be covering the beta weekend I’m not going to go into much detail about the quests, the combat, and the specifics of the game. I’ve been reading the stories and they’re interesting and make me laugh. I can’t pre-order it here in Canada (that I’ve found at least) so I’m going to continue to follow along the beta weekends and see how it goes, I hope everyone else who has been playing has found it just as enjoyable!
