If you are looking for quality of gameplay then I doubt you will ever find an online game with better game play than single player games.

The enjoyment of playing an online game is largely found in the people playing them: you, your friends, the people you group with and the broader server community.

If you are happy with your life then you won't have the need to put so much dependency in a game to fill any void you may have. This enhances your gameplay as you can take the game for what it is - recreation, rather than making it an extension of your life.

My advice is to respect your girlfriend (after all I am sure you, like everyone else, has some faults) and appreciate that she wants to share her time with you. If you really don't believe you are compatible then talk to her about why you feel then need to escape into cyberspace rather than deal with a living person right next to you.

Also.. never EVER take advice from a GAMES FORUM cos we all live in our mother's basement and haven't seen sunlight  or a member of the opposite sex in like NEVER.

Mmm Twinkies...

Aion IS very linear.

What contributes to it being very linear?

1. There are only three post-level 20 zones per race, excluding the three shared levels of the Abyss.
2. These zones are roughly the size of a large WoW zone.
3. The zones are only connected via teleport.
4. With in each zone, things are very compartmentalized, with content following a set, some times very narrow, path.
5. 75%+ of the quests you can get are segments of longer quest chains, that have to be completed in order, most of which you can't even grab until the previous step is completed.
6. Even with quest additions in the latest patch, there is not enough quest material to level with out also grinding. This means that even if you have a small amount of freedom as to what order you do some of the content for your level, there is no redundancy. 

What are some major factors that will be found to be negatives by many players?

• Linearity. (Spelled out above).
• Forced PvP (post level 20), Ganking and Griefiing. (Only a negative for some, others will love the PvP atmosphere).
• Very small, closed game world. (Touched upon above).
• Limited customization of your character with in it's class. (No full skill trees. Limited number of viable builds, with little major differentiation. You can check out this stigma calculator to get an idea of what I'm talking about: http://terhix.com/stigma/assassin.html ).

Originally posted by Evolon

If you are looking for quality of gameplay then I doubt you will ever find an online game with better game play than single player games.

The enjoyment of playing an online game is largely found in the people playing them: you, your friends, the people you group with and the broader server community.

If you are happy with your life then you won't have the need to put so much dependency in a game to fill any void you may have. This enhances your gameplay as you can take the game for what it is - recreation, rather than making it an extension of your life.

My advice is to respect your girlfriend (after all I am sure you, like everyone else, has some faults) and appreciate that she wants to share her time with you. If you really don't believe you are compatible then talk to her about why you feel then need to escape into cyberspace rather than deal with a living person right next to you.

Also.. never EVER take advice from a GAMES FORUM cos we all live in our mother's basement and haven't seen sunlight  or a member of the opposite sex in like NEVER.

Mmm Twinkies...

Hey thanks for the Good Housekeeping tip of the day. :/

Stopping flames saves lives.

Now keep it on topic.

Originally posted by Boardwalker

You are looking for a game that doesn't exist. No MMO is ever balanced unless only 1 person plays it.

Coming to Aion with such high expectations will only lead you down the road of disappointment. Will it be a good game? I think so. Will it be fun? I hope. Will it resolve me of all the MMO baggage that I carry with me from other games? Not a chance. Alot of gamers are like boats that have collected barnacles on their undersides from all the MMOs that they have floated through. As hard as they try, those barnacles of discontent cannot be scraped away, and are carried into their next game.

My best advice is to stop thinking about the MMOs that you've played before and just play Aion on its own merits. Enjoy what the game provides and don't get hung up on why it doesn't fulfill all of your gaming needs, because it won't.

I couldnt agree more from November 05 through till Jan of this year I had a giant barnacle of discontent centering around Pre-cu SWG and everything I ever played always got compared to that through my pre-cu tinted glasses.

I then off the cuff dived into SWG with a complete fresh approach and enjoyed the current incantation of it for a few month and found myself not once thinking of Pre-Cu and then I joined the Aion chinese retail and everything felt so fresh so new that giant shackle of the pre-cu around my leg had been removed and suddenly I was viewing everything in a new light.

System's wern't compared with every game out there, a quest didnt feel like I had done it 1000 times before,  I wasnt shouting at the screen for how linear the early levels are whilst thinking back to the freedom of pre-cu  everything felt so new so alive I was enjoying MMO's again not going into a game ready just to tear it apart for how much it was different to my beloved pre-cu.

Scrape those barnacles and release the shackles of your previous MMO only then will you enjoy the new MMO of your choice.

MMO's are not unlike relationship's you can't move onto the next until you have truly got over your ex :)

Originally posted by Boardwalker

You are looking for a game that doesn't exist. No MMO is ever balanced unless only 1 person plays it.

Coming to Aion with such high expectations will only lead you down the road of disappointment. Will it be a good game? I think so. Will it be fun? I hope. Will it resolve me of all the MMO baggage that I carry with me from other games? Not a chance. Alot of gamers are like boats that have collected barnacles on their undersides from all the MMOs that they have floated through. As hard as they try, those barnacles of discontent cannot be scraped away, and are carried into their next game.

My best advice is to stop thinking about the MMOs that you've played before and just play Aion on its own merits. Enjoy what the game provides and don't get hung up on why it doesn't fulfill all of your gaming needs, because it won't.

Truer words have not been spoken.

Hmmm, interesting post-Aion will be a fun game to play, but from the OP's post, I'm not sure any MMO will fit quite what is being looked for by the OP.  You may find Aion, as well as other MMO's, will continue to not fulfill you vision of what you are seeking in an MMO.

Have you thought about reading a good book instead?