Well lets see what happens after this patch and how it deals witht the gold spammers first and if this issue clears up then they can start finding other ways to deal with the bots.

Originally posted by nate1980 

Your main point is that mmorpg.com should pay more attention to how they score the games in their reviews. Is this correct? If so, I agree with you.

Your second point is that AION doesn't deserve the best grade in town. Keep in mind that I quit the game out of dislike, but I'm trying to look at this from anothers point of view. We all assume people have played MMORPG's before if they're posting on this website. While this may be likely, it's an incorrect assumption. So let's throw that assumption out the window and assume rather than new people to the genre might be reading. In this case, referencing other games in the market would be a waste of time. So as a rule of thumb, I think referencing other games in a review should not be done. A game should be scored and left to stand on their own two feet.

Another assumption is that those who have played MMORPG's before, have played so many of them that they'd notice the similarities and differences. Not all gamers are like that, and some could argue successfully that most aren't like that. So let's throw that assumption out the window as well, and instead assume that a gamer will judge AION on what AION has to offer, not on what it doesn't offer or copies in relation to other MMORPG's.

Given this point of view, AION could very well be the best MMORPG they've ever played and these people may not really care what other MMORPG's have done in the past, nor should they. In this regard, we must ask ourselves, what does AION do well, and what is lacking in AION. This is why I believe in scoring a game based on tangible assets, and it doesn't hurt to throw in intangible assets at the end, with a large disclaimer that it's pure opinion after that.

If you list pros and cons of a game, you let the readers decide if the game is for them. I believe that the lack of pros and cons, meaning more objectivity, in the review is what people are complaining about.

See, normally I don't quote that much text, but in this discussion (28 pages, wtf...) this is one of the few comments that make a lot of sense and should be enough to conclude this otherwise rather inarticulate and thus pointless debate. 

Haven't played the game myself but even I can tell that the review fails at being objective and mixes information too much with very subjective opinions. Writing a 'real' review is hard, I totally get that - so that means not everybody can or should do it....

The reviewer need to grow some balls and either change the score or come out and say "This is the best mmorpg ever"

At least then we would know if it's the reviewers ability to give scores or to review that is in question.

I have to say that Eurogamer review on the day the game was launched was more informative than this one. This review reads, atleast to me, more as a confession of a fan than an actual critique of the game. As such, it fails to inform its reader from the pros and cons of the game, rendering the review utterly pointless for anyone but those who are already playing the game. Then again, if you are already playing the game you hardly need anyone to tell you how good or bad the game is -- you are entirely capable to make that subjective decision all by yourself.

As I did read through all those 200+ posts about the rating given, I guess I have to comment that as well. First, the caveat, I do think that MMOs should be reviewed as such, not as potential. The game is somewhat linear and almost a single-player experience for the better part of the first 20 levels. Its quest-content thins out at around level 30. There are problems with sieges that result players to crash. The game isn't balanced around 1vs1 PvP, true, it is balanced around the "who brings most goons wins" -PvP. There are countless bots running rampant on top of the gold selling spam. The game has a nice PvP with loads of people, but so does Darkfall.

In the end, the current game is thin of content which results on repetitive gameplay in order to progress. And, as levels matter on PvP--and leveling through PvP is not a viable option--you have to level through the repetitive gameplay in order to be competitive on PvP. A place for accolade or for criticism? I think that atleast these are the issues a decent review should tell to its audience. Frankly, as a reader of a review, I am not overly interested from the personal preferences of a reviewer regarding the art style of the game, I want to know what is the art style. This review leaves me ignorant on the latter whilst being abundant on the former.

Eurogamer review is spot on.

Yay, yet another asian-style grindfest mmo with the same graphics as L2 basicly but with wings...

wow, 282 posts and counting ! this game is hot.  anyway, my thought is :

1: At lv 26, i go no quest to do, I have to do those repeated quest ( 1/100 ). or farm AP in abyss.

2: the review never mentioned about the work-order in crafting, i love this feature. the npc will give you free materials for the crafting, and random reward once you completed it.

 The main complaints about the review seem to be two main contentions that I agree with.

1. Does Aion deserve the best rating of any MMO on this site?

2. Does the reviewer have a positive bias towards Aion that goes above and beyond the normal amount of bias for a reviewer?

As for number one, I would say that after playing many, many MMOs and Aion to level 36, that Aion certainly does not deserve the best rating out of any MMO. It is a ridiculous claim by even the biggest fans of this game. However, this reviewer has chosen to give the game the best rating an MMO has ever received on this site.

This brings up a serious question about how credible this reviewer is. There are really three options.

1. He was completely unaware about how MMORPG.COMs ratings were delivered in the past and gave his own personal rating. This would tell me that he is completely out of the loop when it comes to what this site offers in general when it comes to reviews. He is possibly very young. Or possibly very new. This is unacceptable for any site that wants to consider it's site credible.

2. He thinks this is the greatest MMO of all time. This is a real possibility. However, based on him saying that it is basically everything we have seen before, I do not believe this is true.

3. He is a shill for the developing company. (I would rarely ever even think this is a serious option, but after reviewing the various reviews he has done for the game for various sites, it's hard to deny there is nothing there). 

These are 3 very depressing options for me personally. I have basically been a lurker on this site up till this point. But I have to say that this review is embarrassing for this site and it has really given me perspective on how much responsibility this particular site would like to accept for it's reviews. Which is going to end up causing me to move on to others at this point.

 I hate double posting, but I have one more thing to say about the reviewer.

I believe that as a person that has reviewed this game, he should be willing to come into the discussion somewhat. This is his review. A poor review by most accounts. 

For instance, he should at the very least come in and tell us what level he got to. He should be honest with us about what he experienced specifically. The review was not specific about things that are very important to be specific about in an unbiased review.

Other reviewers have come in and commented in their review. Why should this person be any different?

Edit: I just made a Mojito.

It is hardly surprising he won’t answer here, to busy doing fanboy work elsewhere I guess. :)

The idea of a world of shards is very old in MMO’s there was a Dream MMO not sure of its name, launched over ten years ago which was set in a shard realm.

Originally posted by solareus

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by solareus

Missing the cohesiveness of an actual gaming world.  With floating rocks that resemble the way AoC does it's game design, excpet for the actual land part. Also Chronicles of Spellborn came up with the Abyss style game theme already with the floating shard, as well as Koad War coming up with the concept of  Aions core charactor features.

 

Age of Conan is nothing like Aion, I'm not sure why you brought that up. There is also nothing wrong with the cohessiveness of the world, it's a pretty standard mmorpg world.

It doesn't matter who did it first, nearly everything WoW and Lotro did has been done before, but these are still great games.

Find it funny you used the word "Standard" I agree with you on this point, but you just said your self "standard"  with LotrO, with Vangaurd , with Aoc, there are elements that are beyond standard, elements that makes them a unique game experience for the fans. I would love to understand the apsect of Aion that weighs the above qualities in visual aesthecic, content, mechnaics, that are disimilare to Lineage 2 and more innovative then the 3 other games I;ve listed. One of the only qualities ofAion is the character creator, which is more or less a refined CoH editor.

And what makes Lotro oh so unique that makes it stand out from the crowd more so than Aion?

There is a reason why people play Aion instead of other games. It takes many successful aspects of other games and puts them all in one. Take the combo system and flying combat for instance. Sure these things have been done before in Everquest 2, Lotro and City of Heroes but all of these games have a heavy focus on PVE play, not PVP play.

Or take the faction vs faction combat.In most Faction vs faction games nowadays, pvp in the normal world is discouraged and the games encourage you to go into instances to have fair battles with pre set objectives. Aion doesn't really have those and the game encourages pvp in the open world.

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by solareus

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by solareus

Missing the cohesiveness of an actual gaming world.  With floating rocks that resemble the way AoC does it's game design, excpet for the actual land part. Also Chronicles of Spellborn came up with the Abyss style game theme already with the floating shard, as well as Koad War coming up with the concept of  Aions core charactor features.

 

Age of Conan is nothing like Aion, I'm not sure why you brought that up. There is also nothing wrong with the cohessiveness of the world, it's a pretty standard mmorpg world.

It doesn't matter who did it first, nearly everything WoW and Lotro did has been done before, but these are still great games.

Find it funny you used the word "Standard" I agree with you on this point, but you just said your self "standard"  with LotrO, with Vangaurd , with Aoc, there are elements that are beyond standard, elements that makes them a unique game experience for the fans. I would love to understand the apsect of Aion that weighs the above qualities in visual aesthecic, content, mechnaics, that are disimilare to Lineage 2 and more innovative then the 3 other games I;ve listed. One of the only qualities ofAion is the character creator, which is more or less a refined CoH editor.

There is a reason why people play Aion instead of other games. It takes many successful aspects of other games and puts them all in one. Take the combo system and flying combat for instance. Sure these things have been done before in Everquest 2, Lotro and City of Heroes but all of these games have a heavy focus on PVE play, not PVP play.

It's always interesting to see the reasons people will hang exceptions on.

So... that other MMOs had those things before (FFXI has had a combo system as well since launch.. the Skillchain/Magic Burst system) doesn't matter because Aion is a PvP MMO and those games weren't? That's a significantly distinguishing factor to you? A combo system isn't merely "another combo system" if it's in a PvP MMO instead of a PvE MMO? Is it somehow different? Really?  Do you not still chain one attack after another, etc? I remember doing that when I played Aion, and it seemed like a different approach to a familiar mechanic to me. It never occurred to me "wow... this is so different, because Aion's a PvP MMO".

The concept is the same, regardless of whether it's in a PvP MMO or a PvE MMO. You use certain skills which open up the potential for combos by selecting appropriate follow-up skills... You set up/execute the combo that would be optimum for the situation. It's the same concept. The setting of the game makes it no different.

I find you typically have good retorts to people, GL, even when I disagree with them (and I have plenty in the past). But that one bit in your post just reeks of spin to me.

I didn't say it was a distinguishing factor, I said it's a reason why people play a game like Aion instead of games like Final Fantasy XI or Lotro. It takes aspects of other mmorpgs and puts them in a different environment.

While the concept is the same, the execution is different because fighting players is very different from fighting mobs.

Originally posted by colddog

 The main complaints about the review seem to be two main contentions that I agree with.

 

1. Does Aion deserve the best rating of any MMO on this site?

 

2. Does the reviewer have a positive bias towards Aion that goes above and beyond the normal amount of bias for a reviewer?

 

As for number one, I would say that after playing many, many MMOs and Aion to level 36, that Aion certainly does not deserve the best rating out of any MMO. It is a ridiculous claim by even the biggest fans of this game. However, this reviewer has chosen to give the game the best rating an MMO has ever received on this site.

 

This brings up a serious question about how credible this reviewer is. There are really three options.

 

1. He was completely unaware about how MMORPG.COMs ratings were delivered in the past and gave his own personal rating. This would tell me that he is completely out of the loop when it comes to what this site offers in general when it comes to reviews. He is possibly very young. Or possibly very new. This is unacceptable for any site that wants to consider it's site credible.

 

2. He thinks this is the greatest MMO of all time. This is a real possibility. However, based on him saying that it is basically everything we have seen before, I do not believe this is true.

 

3. He is a shill for the developing company. (I would rarely ever even think this is a serious option, but after reviewing the various reviews he has done for the game for various sites, it's hard to deny there is nothing there). 

 

These are 3 very depressing options for me personally. I have basically been a lurker on this site up till this point. But I have to say that this review is embarrassing for this site and it has really given me perspective on how much responsibility this particular site would like to accept for it's reviews. Which is going to end up causing me to move on to others at this point.

agreed 100 % :

this "review" reads like a payed? fanboi advertisement rather than a real review.

the "reviewer" does not join the conversation and explains to us all why this game is the best mmorpg released up to the current point in time!

this guy needs to grow some balls, as some other poster already stated, if he thinks this is the highest development in mmorpg-development he should say so.

skimming through the large ammount of pro aion/ncsoft stuff this "reviewer" has mass produced, this "review" is not only close to meaningless its counter-productive to the game as a whole!

Originally posted by Gameloading

I didn't say it was a distinguishing factor, I said it's a reason why people play a game like Aion instead of games like Final Fantasy XI or Lotro. It takes aspects of other mmorpgs and puts them in a different environment.

While the concept is the same, the execution is different because fighting players is very different from fighting mobs.

One thing to remember, DAoC had combat combos long before any other MMO and was designed to be pvp.    A smart pvp player can easily disrupt such combo's which I agree makes the combat in pvp very different than pve. 

All Aion has done is basically copy from other MMO's.  Only problem with Aion is they forgot to include an end game which many of the people playing will soon find out, but at least it will provide them with a few months enjoyment.

Originally posted by Ozmodan

Originally posted by Gameloading

I didn't say it was a distinguishing factor, I said it's a reason why people play a game like Aion instead of games like Final Fantasy XI or Lotro. It takes aspects of other mmorpgs and puts them in a different environment.

While the concept is the same, the execution is different because fighting players is very different from fighting mobs.

One thing to remember, DAoC had combat combos long before any other MMO and was designed to be pvp.    A smart pvp player can easily disrupt such combo's which I agree makes the combat in pvp very different than pve. 

All Aion has done is basically copy from other MMO's.  Only problem with Aion is they forgot to include an end game which many of the people playing will soon find out, but at least it will provide them with a few months enjoyment.

The game is both a PVP and a PVE dungeon endgame.  A lot of new content was added in patch 1.5, which went live at release.

Originally posted by Gameloading

I didn't say it was a distinguishing factor, I said it's a reason why people play a game like Aion instead of games like Final Fantasy XI or Lotro. It takes aspects of other mmorpgs and puts them in a different environment.

While the concept is the same, the execution is different because fighting players is very different from fighting mobs.

So you say it's not a distinguishing factor.... but hen say that the execution is different because fighting players is different from fighting mobs... You are pointing out a distinguishing factor here. You're saying one situation is different than the other. Being a PvP game distinguishes it from being a PvE game in that you fight players instead of, or in addition to mobs.

No bashing intended here, but it just sounds like you're reaching for the sake of saying it's different.

The circumstances are different, but the process/execution is the same or at least similar... Select an opening move, select a follow-up move to create or complete a combo, select a closer, etc... The process of what types of skills you choose might change based on the situation... but that's the case in PvE as well. You're likely to use different combos against different types of mobs based on their weaknesses, etc. 

In either case, the process is exactly the same in execution, only the circumstances change. It's still the same concept at its core.

I just think you're grasping here.

My opinion of this site has drastically reduced because of this review and the author's prior positions of NC Soft and Aion. Giving Aion the highest rating mmorpg.com has ever handed out is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen on this website...and makes you guys look like, well, fools.

The game is fine. It doesn't suck. But it's also CLEARLY not the best MMO ever made.

Not that anyone cares, but maybe someone who owns/operates this site will realize that there's no way to objectively review a product that gives you money to advertise their product without introducing some sort of bias in to the results. It's IMPOSSIBLE.

Why do certain people have such a difficult time accepting the fact that people are enjoying AION? I hate WoW, but I don't doubt that its a good game that is enjoyed by many. Typical AION discussion: 

AION player: "I like AION"

Hater: "Why? Its nothing different. Explain why you like it. Why is it better than X Y or Z? Did you know its Korean? I heard there was a grind"

AION player: "I still like AION"

Hater: "You must be a Noob/Retard/Carebear/Shill"

AION player: <Leaves thread, plays AION>

Hater: "I win! He left the thread, lol" 

Add in a favorable MMORPG.com review.. voila...30 page thread of this crap, and people complaining about the website. If you don't like the game, and you don't like the website.....uh...maybe find something else to do?

Originally posted by Stikato

Why do certain people have such a difficult time accepting the fact that people are enjoying AION? I hate WoW, but I don't doubt that its a good game that is enjoyed by many. Typical AION discussion: 

AION player: "I like AION"

Hater: "Why? Its nothing different. Explain why you like it. Why is it better than X Y or Z? Did you know its Korean? I heard there was a grind"

AION player: "I still like AION"

Hater: "You must be a Noob/Retard/Carebear/Shill"

AION player: <Leaves thread, plays AION>

Hater: "I win! He left the thread, lol" 

Add in a favorable MMORPG.com review.. voila...30 page thread of this crap, and people complaining about the website. If you don't like the game, and you don't like the website.....uh...maybe find something else to do?

 

.... What the hell are you going on about?

I think you're in the wrong thread.

Who's saying anything about others enjoying Aion?

This thread, in case you haven't noticed, is about a recent mmoprg.com review of Aion. People are questioning it based on various factors which do, indeed, raise an eyebrow. Even as someone who enjoys the game myself, I can see the point people are raising. It would be the same were it any other MMO in similar circumstances.

Why are you so bent out of shape over other people's opinion of the game?

Originally posted by WSIMike

Originally posted by Stikato

Why do certain people have such a difficult time accepting the fact that people are enjoying AION? I hate WoW, but I don't doubt that its a good game that is enjoyed by many. Typical AION discussion: 

AION player: "I like AION"

Hater: "Why? Its nothing different. Explain why you like it. Why is it better than X Y or Z? Did you know its Korean? I heard there was a grind"

AION player: "I still like AION"

Hater: "You must be a Noob/Retard/Carebear/Shill"

AION player: <Leaves thread, plays AION>

Hater: "I win! He left the thread, lol" 

Add in a favorable MMORPG.com review.. voila...30 page thread of this crap, and people complaining about the website. If you don't like the game, and you don't like the website.....uh...maybe find something else to do?

 

.... What the hell are you going on about?

I think you're in the wrong thread.

Who's saying anything about others enjoying Aion?

This thread, in case you haven't noticed, is about a recent mmoprg.com review of Aion. People are questioning it based on various factors which do, indeed, raise an eyebrow. Even as someone who enjoys the game myself, I can see the point people are raising. It would be the same were it any other MMO in similar circumstances.

Why are you so bent out of shape over other people's opinion of the game?

Stikato does have a point though

/goes back to Aion 

Well I did give a fair try to Aion, tried different classes, crafting, gathering, pve, pvp and got to 34, I know end game is 50 and the big dungeons, but the review from a leveling point to the end game point is equally important. Now this is all from the point of view of a ex-DAoC'er.

The Good

-Beautiful graphics and animations.

-Very few "loading" areas, in fact each zone is pretty big.

-Flying system is something new.

-Good storyline with campaign quests.

-Fort battles are good, not as good as DAoC, but better than other mmo's out there.

-Crafting system actually means something in the game and in the market.

-Some of the regular quests actually have some very good story if you take the time to read them.

The Bad

-Gold spammers, they can be blocked but that's not the answer, never in my life of mmo's (since UO) have I seen something so bad.

-Bots, they are every where, they are more than easy to spot (most have a name created by punching the keyboard), they will kill every thing in their macro program, even what ever you are killing. They die (by getting them trained, heh I'm guilty of that, or by pvp) and they automatically run back to their macro spot with rez sickness and all and continue their grind.

-NCSoft not caring, customer service is practically non excistant, you try to appeal a bot or a spammer and all you get is a command to report, which doesn't fully work, the reported player needs to be reported x amount of times before they even take a look at it, and you get 10 reports per session, so if you find more than 10 while you're playing you can't report them or you have to log off and on again. Oh and their help system needs some help.

-Slow respawn, from 1-10 you have 10 channels to switch around if the area is too populated, the 10-20 area is just 5, after that there are no more channels (one more zone has only 2), this makes it tough to quest or grind. It's logic that failed to happen in NCSoft, you got 3-4 channels full in 1-10, means you'll have 3-4 channels full in 10-20, and now you get all those players stuck in one zone without channels. I had several quests that I couldn't complete because the mobs were always camped with long respawn, by the time I finished them I was 10+ levels higher and the rewards were usless.

-Lack of quest or rewards, I'm not a WoWer, in fact I hate that game, but Aion needs more quests or at least make the quests matter, you can spend a good amount of time trying to finish a quest (for the reason why read the previous point) and you end up with a reward that gives you less exp in contrast with what you obtained killing what was needed for the quest, and a sellable item. I don't mind the grind, heck it was the only way to level in most mmo's, but as mentioned, too much ppl in the same areas killing the same mobs.

-Grouping, ok this can't be forced on anyone, but it's a mmo, group up, players that want to solo, play a solo game. Doesn't help that you get a good amount of [Group] quests, a legion helps but they are not always on the times you are on, or different levels, etc.

-Money sink, I think this is the first game I've played where I have to pay to bind in a town, really? If you don't craft you're fine, but if you like to craft, either to brag on goods, to help your legion, to be self supplied, you will have a big money sink, then you gotta pay to bind, to fly, to teleport, to cure rez sickness (that is understandable but it increases too much too fast), then you need skill books every 3 levels, oh yeah and to teleport inside the capital, I bet if those slow flying elevators were usefull you probably had to pay to ride them too!

-Lack of usefulness of some classes, while in my experience, and my server, the rangers reigned supreme, the gladiators were at the bottom of the feeder. The Sin could outDPS them in melee, nukers at range, Temp tanks better, the only good thing the Glad has, or should I say unique ability is the PBAoEs, which is fine if you solo and you keep an eye around to not hit multiples, but in a good, smart group, Glad's are usless because they mez, root, morph, the last thing they want is a Glad PBAoEing and breaking everything and wiping the group. Think the only ones that use the Glads extensively are the botters.

-All mighty healers, I know I know, but I for one don't mind healer archtypes having survivability, even the capability to solo, but when it comes to PvP and they can solo tanks, melee dps and some ranged dps, then there's something wrong, well besides crappy players, but healers being able to do decent dmg, heal any dmg sent to them and then rooting if the target tries to run away and finishing them off, a little too much IMHO.

-Legion Vault, most games have a guild vault where every member of the guild (some required assigned permissions) can go and place items to help guild members, in Aion it's made only for the Legion GM and it's officers with no way to change it.

-Server downtime, ok all games have them, all games give you a 5-10min warning in game, haha, Aion gives you 10sec  warning, ok not an overly bad thing, but it does mess up groups doing instances or during a boss fight.

-PvPvE, this might just be me, originally coming from UO it wouldn't be a problem as I was used to that, but spending so many years in DAoC and then WAR I got "spoiled" to being able to PvE at my rythm, when I wanted without having to worry, and PvP when I felt like it by going to a separate, closed area (yet pretty darn big) away from the PvE. Aion's system like UO's is made for gankers and griefers, it's a tad tuned down since they need to find and use a rift to get to your lands, but it still happens pretty regularly.

-Range love, I had my good share of PvP both via rifts and in the Abyss, in both small scale and large scale PvP the ranged classes ruled supreme, at least the good kiters, melee classes are pretty much at the mercy of their healer keeping them alive, the Templar gets a nifty pulling Stigma, assassins can hide and stun/aerial lockdown opponents, Glad have to rely on their charge to reach the enemy and use their aerial lockdown (hard to find their root stigmas) and the Aion's Charge is the only one I know that doesn't ignore CC, what's the point to charge if you'll get rooted, snared, morphed even templar pulled, useless ability most of the time. Also flying while being ranged gives a good advantage as well.

Honestly it's a shame, this game has so much potential, it's just being developed and managed by the wrong company, and with all it's flaws it's still better than other mmo's out there *cough* AoC *cough*, if you are really bored from your current mmo and want something to keep you busy until a mmo you have in your sights releases, Aion is a good option, but from my point of view it's not a game worth playing for years.

As a former lineage 2 player i can say this is lineage 3. Same system, classes are the same. Whats different, faction pvp and wings.

I am disappointed in the review that this wasn't consider at all at the moment of giving a 8.7 score.

Originally posted by grenademaste

Originally posted by WSIMike

Originally posted by Stikato

Why do certain people have such a difficult time accepting the fact that people are enjoying AION? I hate WoW, but I don't doubt that its a good game that is enjoyed by many. Typical AION discussion: 

AION player: "I like AION"

Hater: "Why? Its nothing different. Explain why you like it. Why is it better than X Y or Z? Did you know its Korean? I heard there was a grind"

AION player: "I still like AION"

Hater: "You must be a Noob/Retard/Carebear/Shill"

AION player: <Leaves thread, plays AION>

Hater: "I win! He left the thread, lol" 

Add in a favorable MMORPG.com review.. voila...30 page thread of this crap, and people complaining about the website. If you don't like the game, and you don't like the website.....uh...maybe find something else to do?

 

.... What the hell are you going on about?

I think you're in the wrong thread.

Who's saying anything about others enjoying Aion?

This thread, in case you haven't noticed, is about a recent mmoprg.com review of Aion. People are questioning it based on various factors which do, indeed, raise an eyebrow. Even as someone who enjoys the game myself, I can see the point people are raising. It would be the same were it any other MMO in similar circumstances.

Why are you so bent out of shape over other people's opinion of the game?

 

Stikato does have a point though

/goes back to Aion 

He very well may.  It's irrelevant to this thread regardless.

Thanks for chiming in, I guess?

I must say, I check this site all the time for early reviews of MMOs, I have been trying to replace SWG since way back when they butchered it.  I have played everything and leveled to end game, some grinds, well most grinds since none of them had any purpose mid game.  Only Conan I think as of late gave you armor that didn't look terrible until end game, till now.

I waited for 6 weeks to install my Collectors edition of AION.  I waited because I was scared of playing another epic peice of crap or a mainstream copycat.

Aion deserved the 8.7, I noticed right away, a friendly targeting system, UI, Map, and lack of bugs.  Conan was horrid the first few months, as was wow, and a few others.  Actually Wow still cannot fix its bugs, it's to busy copying anything someone else comes up with, I am surprised they are not giving wings out yet tbh.

Aside from that, people that buy a game to get it finished need to quit playing, leveling is a big part of the game, adn the fact you are involved at 25 in the war, its great, its not like your showing your lvl to anyone, so its always a geuss of how the fight will go.  I think this game has a good shelf life compared to the others as of late.  I mean Monster companies like EA, Sony, etc have released garbage and people still played it, these guys pushed out a good clean product, yes with some issues at release, but overall a good game, and people still need to troll on it.

People are too worried about comparing it to previous games or current games and not just trying the game itself, try it, its worth the money ... i mean I blow 90 bux on ps3 games only to quit playing them in a month.