IGN

The premise behind the game is an epic conflict between Demons and Angels, which are the two playable factions of the game. Although details are pending, both of the classes will have bonuses and attributes specific to each. Both will have wings, enabling fast travel throughout the vast world displayed at E3.

In an interesting twist, all player stats and actions will be recorded. This is significant as the information accumulates over time. How you interact with others and play the game will be tracked. As time progresses, these stats will begin to affect your player and those around you. In instance raids, your stats will either enhance or detract the characteristics of your party

AION will have dragons as a third (non-playable) faction. They will have a strong effect on the game, especially in terms of faction balance. At this time, it is unknown how dragons will affect PvE combat although it can be surmised that they will guard loot. In PvP combat, dragons will actually be used to balance out faction wars. Depending on which faction you choose (Demons or Angels), you might find yourself on the receiving end of a fireball. According to NCsoft, the dragons' primary function is to balance out the game world. If one faction is becoming too dominant, the dragons will step in and launch an attack. As to what extent is currently unknown, but it may result in bringing the stronger faction in line with the other.

There will be eight player classes total, including Warrior, Wizard, Ranger, and Healer. All player classes will be able to change their weapons, armor, and relics on the fly in combat. You will also have access to combo attacks, for devastating effect on your opponents. NCsoft is also including weather effects, which will impact combat abilities. If you are using a lightning attack in the middle of a rain storm, you will get bonuses to hit and damage. If you use a fire attack, however, there will be significant penalties levied against you.

From a technical standpoint, AION looks to bring some nice visuals to the table. Using the Crytek Sandbox 1.0 Engine (Far Cry) the game will include a heat shimmering effect near the ground (based upon the locale and climate). Weapons are nicely detailed, and there appear to be normal maps. For an MMO, there is a fair amount of groundcover and lush greenery (taking advantage of Sandbox's ability to handle large numbers of objects). Materials have been given their own characteristics, meaning that if you walk thru terrain like marshland or shallow water, your character will slow down accordingly. NCsoft has assured us that system specs will be low, so all users can enjoy the lush visuals and effects. Expect to see AION released worldwide in 2007.

Gamestat

An original, expansive MMORPG by NCsoft’s Seoul development studios. In Aion, players are divided between those that are "The Chosen" and those that are "The Fallen." The Tower of Eternity exists as a gateway into the Abyss, and acts as a portal between dimensions. When a great evil opens the gateways, it awakens the Dragons imprisoned within the Abyss, who seek revenge on both worlds. It is here that an epic conflict begins, as you take your first steps on a journey to bring salvation to the world.
Experience an exciting change in the way players can interact with their environment within a massively multiplayer world. With the power of the Crytec game engine, you will be able to climb sheer cliffs and fly through moving clouds. In this ethereal world, you will have the power to direct dynamic relationships between angels, demons and dragons to control the fate of the world. You will evolve Aion's storylines through social, economic and cultural experiences that are both interactive and cinematic.

Games Spot

words: Mike Griffin
Aion is one of NCsoft’s largest projects to date. It represents the accumulated experience the company has gained in its years as a top online RPG developer and publisher. Its characters and background have been researched for global appeal, balanced to accommodate players with different play styles, and its chosen engine technology (Crytek in an MMO? Yes please!) is beyond reproach. And in response to players’ wishes, each Aion game server will track its own history of player accomplishments, with major unlockables and one-time events triggered and saved on a per-server basis. No Aion server will have the same economy or alliances.

Aion introduces three main factions and a unique “PvPvE” scheme. The PvP slice involves two conflicting player factions: Angels (The Chosen) and Demons (The Fallen). The third faction, the Dragons, is a NPC-controlled element whose purpose is to keep the player sides in check. Should one player faction become too powerful, the Dragons will interfere and restore order. It seems as though the Angels and Demons played some part in imprisoning the Dragons in the Tower of Eternity, a massive structure at the center of the world acting as gateway to the Abyss. The Dragons are freed when an epic evil force opens the portal to the Abyss. How this over-arcing story unfolds will largely depend on the actions of the player community on each Aion server. Private quests for groups are being designed with plot and interaction in mind: NPCs to uncover, levers to pull, gates to unlock and more elements to maintain high player feedback. The game will also track dozens of invisible metrics on a per-character basis, gathering details from your deeds, gameplay style and character advancement choices. In turn, your character will begin to develop unique persistent traits over time.
To realize such grandiose concepts, the team chose the Crytek engine to render the Aion world—tweaking the base code to support MMO load balancing. Imagine Far Cry-quality graphics in a high fantasy MMO universe, including bump-mapped characters, vast plains, forests filled with trees and flora, effects like heat shimmer and flowing water, and a weather system that actually affects player-characters. For example, using a fire-based spell during heavy rainfall will cripple its effectiveness, while lightning magic will accrue extra damage. Ground cover will also affect player movement, so sloshing through a swamp will be slow going. Why walk when you can fly? Similar to the Gryphon transportation in WoW, Aion will allow winged Angel and Demon characters to fly between major hubs. It’s on rails for now, but the developers are actually toying with the notion of allowing free flight.

Games Spot

Only four of eight base character archetypes (warrior, wizard, healer, ranger) have been revealed thus far and it’s not clear how the flow of PvPvE will play out, on a day-to-day basis. Nonetheless, Aion is a very promising MMO with a great world design and the technology to back it up. Aion’s Beta should kick-in later this year, leading up to a Q1 2007 release