This is a touchy subject for me to be talking about. but I guess you can say I got balls lately talking about the "best MMORPG", and when WoW will plateau. Its stirred alot of anger in WoW fans, but ill continue.

Ive been looking over Aion since it was announced and it looks to me like its going to be the Game Of The Year apon relese. May that be not true or not, I think Aion will pack a huge punch like it has in the east. Aion seems to me me like the correct formula in gameplay, because it adds the following:

Q-uality

U-niversal Gameplay

E-xciting Features

S-turdy Enviroment

T-op notch all around

P-retty Graphics

V-alued P2P (Its worth it)

P-VE & PVP is both hard core and intresting

Ive seen most gameplay footage and looking for its relese.

But will it have WoWs "it" factor? And will utilize the WoW effect as WoW did against EQ back a couple of years ago (The WoW effect was when WoW was relesed EQs population droped a ton)?

Thats for you to decide. I think it might knowing it took the east already. Have fun!

When you played WOW the first time, it felt new and fresh.  Quite different from DAOC or EQ.  When you play Aion the first time, it'll feel like a different version of what you've been doing since 2004, but at least it doesn't completely suck=)

To me it seems like Guild Wars mmo not bad not great.

So, you decided to make a topic for your stupid acronym?

Aion is a well put together MMO and thats about it.

If Aion does make an impact in Europe and the US then it will be on Warhammer and AoC. The people looking for a PvP focused MMO in a well rounded package will definitely check it out.

Also, before you call it "Game of the Year" you should probably play it first.

Your English isn't too bad....

Let's break your acronym down shall we:

Q-uality = Aion is a high quality product. It runs well and bugs are at a minimum. It seems to be very scalable for a game that looks as good as it does. No real complaints here.

U-niversal Gameplay = Not sure what you mean by universal. It has fighting and it has crafting. Both seems are very par for the course and are nothing really special.

E-xciting Features = Like what? Outside of other MMO's who have similar features, what does Aion bring to the table? Flying that lasts a short time frame (and will open a whole new realm of issues) and the PVPVE concept that is introduced later in the game.

S-turdy Enviroment = The environment is nice except the zones seem small and VERY linear. Much of the environment is there for show and cannot be reached due to invisible walls...ala AOC.

T-op notch all around = In your opinion but to me it seems like a new coating on the same ole thing. It does not have that exciting "WHOA, that is cool" factor.

P-retty Graphics = Totally subjective. I think the graphics are technically nice, but asthetically disgusting.

V-alued P2P (Its worth it) = Maybe. Like most NcSoft games, they have a great introduction and fun for a while but then grow very repetitive and boring. I expect most players to be bored with Aion in 6 months to a year.

P-VE & PVP is both hard core and intresting = LOL. Hardcore? That is just funny. Hardcore died a quick death with EQ and maybe DAOC. Today's average player who thinks Aion is hardcore never played EQ or DAOC.

I have played the beta...i was ultra pumped about the game...I am cancelling my pre-order.  Same WoW crap with less fluidity imo.

I'll be waiting for SWTOR and FFIX and maybe...Champions / DCU.

People are going to be dissapointed =)

It wont take many subs from Wow in the long term. Why?

Because it is the same game just slightly different graphics and gameplay. However all the fundamentals of Wow have been packaged into a different name 'Aion'

(Ive only played to level 20 however I will take it as far as I can in the beta and tell you if it gets better! but from what I have seen its just the same old same old.)

World of Animecraft

I have played Aion a lot and I really enjoy it, for me it is going to be the the best mmo released this year. I have also played damn near every mmo that has been released and have found things I love and things I hate, the fact is there will never be a game that will please everyone and for a game company to try such a thing would be asinine. I know that it will never stop, but comparing a game to WoW or any other mmo should not be done, people should just try the game and make a educated decision for themselves, besides the number of subscribers WoW has is an anomaly, before WoW 300,000 subs was an incredible feat, now if that is all you get people think you have failed. Now for everyone that thinks that these so called next gen mmos like swtor are going to revolutionize the genre I have a feeling you will be upset, an mmorpg needs to have four things a story, abilites, quests, and loot for poeple to obtain, that is the basis for every rpg game whether it is level or skill based, without these you have nothing. So I am reall not sure how the genre can be changed, but I digress.

Aion, is it for everyone? No. But I agree with the op, Aion is a beautifully crafted world and from the moment I stepped in to it I was in love.

Originally posted by acidworm

World of Animecraft

This

Add nauseum.  Your 12 year old will just love it.

Thanks everyone, I was just about to preorder it because I'm bored out of my mind.

But now I see that it isn't better than WoW so I'll just go back to playing TF2.

it is posts like this that hype the game above what it really is. As it was explained before your hearing from someone who has watched video's and read about it... He is hypeing the game saying it will beat WoW ( which in my opinion isn't needed for a good mmo) it was in 5 wishes post just a little bit ago! OVER HYPE will make people think the game is bad because they heard so much more from people who know just about as much as they did. So you can feel good inside knowing you may attract people to the game but they wont like it over all just because they expected so much more!

You know, if you ever are interested to find out which game is the best for you, I recommand you try to find it and play it if you could, if you can't find the right one for ya, you could try and attempt to make it.

Aion is just a game.  Its not the last salvation of MMORPG's, nor will it revolutionize the genre or your personal life.

Many will enjoy it, others will not.  No reason to hype a game as the 2nd coming, just play it for what fun it offers and leave it at that.

hype can be mis-leading and can cause disappointment when the game does not have the stuff that you have the taste for. look what happen to spore... it was over-hyped and people probably still wish it was more like the beta then it is today.

Originally posted by acidworm

World of Animecraft

it's WoW 2.....Wings over Warcraft

Im not sure why World of warcraft and aion are being put into the same sentences.  Thats like hyping lineage 2 with everquest, does any one do it, no, did they ever, no...not that its wrong to do so, but iv seen it before , its not a idea that one person has, its a group of people.  Iv played aion for about 10 hours, china open beta, and from what iv experiences(read my review in the aion forums here at mmorpg) i had no trouble with the fact that iv played wow for countless days, there is no one or the other stepping in front of each other.  I never thought of wow once when i played aion, although it is just another point and click your skills mmorpg, there are things in it that make it unique and seperated from the rest of the mmorpg market.  ITs by far the best iv played since swg came out. 

Originally posted by Holymonk

It wont take many subs from Wow in the long term. Why?

Because it is the same game just slightly different graphics and gameplay. However all the fundamentals of Wow have been packaged into a different name 'Aion'

I figured that out after the first beta weekend...

It may surpass the 2 million WoW subscribers in North America.

WoW is destined to lose it's spot as the top western MMO but it will not lose it to Aion. At least not in the west.

Right now, Aion is in a very nice position in Asia, especially China. Besides the fact that game play-wise and graphic-wise it caters more to the Asian market, WoW is having problems switching hosts in China. Besides that, it would be interesting to see what happens when WoTLK finally comes out in China.

The graphics are new and fresh, the lore is new and fresh, the PvPvE is new and fresh (for me), the combat is refreshed, if not completely new.  The userbase is fresh and excited, which has more to do with the success of a game than many people realize.

Most importantly:  I've had a blast playing it so far, and I assume I will continue to do so.

Originally posted by templarga

Let's break your acronym down shall we:

Q-uality = Aion is a high quality product. It runs well and bugs are at a minimum. It seems to be very scalable for a game that looks as good as it does. No real complaints here.

U-niversal Gameplay = Not sure what you mean by universal. It has fighting and it has crafting. Both seems are very par for the course and are nothing really special.

E-xciting Features = Like what? Outside of other MMO's who have similar features, what does Aion bring to the table? Flying that lasts a short time frame (and will open a whole new realm of issues) and the PVPVE concept that is introduced later in the game.

S-turdy Enviroment = The environment is nice except the zones seem small and VERY linear. Much of the environment is there for show and cannot be reached due to invisible walls...ala AOC.

T-op notch all around = In your opinion but to me it seems like a new coating on the same ole thing. It does not have that exciting "WHOA, that is cool" factor.

P-retty Graphics = Totally subjective. I think the graphics are technically nice, but asthetically disgusting.

V-alued P2P (Its worth it) = Maybe. Like most NcSoft games, they have a great introduction and fun for a while but then grow very repetitive and boring. I expect most players to be bored with Aion in 6 months to a year.

P-VE & PVP is both hard core and intresting = LOL. Hardcore? That is just funny. Hardcore died a quick death with EQ and maybe DAOC. Today's average player who thinks Aion is hardcore never played EQ or DAOC.

/yawn

S-turdy Enviroment = The environment is nice except the zones seem small and VERY linear. Much of the environment is there for show and cannot be reached due to invisible walls...ala AOC.

There's my dealbreaker. So much for Aion. The one thing I hate more than anything in an MMO is zoning. Hate it with a passion. Give me a coast to coast open world. If developers are so keen to copy WoW, as many people here suggest, then why can't an open world be the one thing they take? 

Next game....

For all you saying im hypeing the game, im not. Im just saying what I saw in game play and what I hope will be on the table come relese. If its like a WoW 2 from what you all are saying, im not even going to test it till the 10 or 15 day trial comes out. Like most of you, im just looking at new MMORPGs and comparing them to newer releses. And Ive heard alot of people saying Aion is a WoW killer or Aion is the best, or Aion this, Aion that, and from what alot of people say its an advanced WoW. From what I saw, it sorta looks the same. But as some of you mentioned, im talking out of videos and developer reviews not game experience. Im probably not going to buy it. Ill try it, but I got my true eye on Mortal online just because it looks like a great game with alot of class.