Aion’s launch is probably going to be the highest profile MMO launch this year, because that other game that came out erm, Moneymaking superheroes online. Sometimes refered to as Champions online, is just a shop with a game attached, and also, its shit.

Aion is a game I whave been waiting for a long time in principle a game thats challenging with a bit if grinding and am lot of questing. The problem for games like WoW is then when you DO have to grind it is a massive chore, and just does not feel right in the game at all, especially if you were grinding for experience, because it just felt wrong. As much as some people dislike hearing this, NCsoft are a company that was built up with the grind, with games like Lineage and Lineage2 but WoW has shifted the focus and instead of being like the usual clone patrols, they have shifted the focus comfortably, the game reminds me enough of lineage to feel nostalgic, but has moved enough towards WoW and western gaming to make me feel comfortable with the way it plays.

Moving forward, at (apparently) 8pm tonight UK time the game servers open, and people like me will promptly flood in, and crash the servers. We can then follow the trail of LOL on twitter as developers explain whats going on, while people get more and more impatient and wait for the first person to declare “I quit cuz AIon are making me wait too long and is lame fucking dev dickS” so that we can berate and make them the “Axis of Evil ™” In reality the servers are likely to have some issues, beta went quite well for the parts I played but im not naive enough to think that it means the launch will go well. Beta was staggered and people got into the game in stages which limited the rush into the game, tonight thousands are going to assault the servers relentlessly, the assault will begin probably before the servers even go live because some people are fucking insane.

Anyway, time to pull this one to a close. Anyone wishing to roll with us can hop onto ENG Spatalos and post that your are playing there on the forums and we can add you to the guild, friendslists or whatever you want. One thing is for certain this, this game really is a very high profile launch, and depending on how it goes, it could impact the industry in a bigger way then most expect, so make sure you follow the game!

Anyway, now that i’ve set up protection against the crying morons, the following are the details that have been released so far, with a bit of personal opinion and commentary, also be sure to check out the trailer as well before you head down to the details.

Two New Playable Races
Adventure as one of two new races–the cursed worgen with the Alliance or the resourceful goblins with the Horde. This is going to result in several million bloodelves switching back to alliance to join the newest “cool” race.

Level Cap Increased to 85
Earn new abilities, tap into new talents, and progress through the path system, a new way for players to improve characters. Looks like we are either looking at very long levels which have a true meaning rather than just tearing through more shorter levels. Either that or its 5 levels by current standards and then the alternate progression kicks in. Should be interesting.

Classic Zones Remade
Familiar zones across the original continents of Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms have been altered forever and updated with new content, from the devastated Badlands to the broken Barrens, which has been sundered in two. Fucking  awesome addition and a real change and progression in the storyline, so far its been kinda predicatable and linear, all of a sudden all the old shit is being wrecked and basically you get the nostalgia of old zones, with new content. One of the first instances of a real world being changed by a disaster in an MMORPG.

New High-Level Zones
Explore newly opened parts of the world, including Uldum, Grim Batol, and the great Sunken City of Vashj’ir beneath the sea. Sounds like it could be interesting, there are very few details about these, but I would assume Uldum and Grim Batol are going to be dungeons, with Grim Batol a likely candidate for a raid.

More Raid Content than Ever Before
Enjoy more high-level raid content than previous expansions, with optional more challenging versions of all encounters. Im left wondering wether this is a full implementation of Normal/Heroic and Easy/Hard modes into all dungeons.

New Race and Class Combinations
Explore Azeroth as a gnome priest, blood elf warrior, or one of the other never-before-available race and class combinations. Something that has a lore fags crying a bit, but I think it will add a fresh twist for people who want to reroll by giving them a few more aesthetic options.

Guild Advancement
Progress as a guild to earn guild levels and guild achievements. This I am interested in, just curious about the rewards and if there will be possible guild rankings for guilds as well.

New PvP Zone & Rated Battlegrounds
Take on PvP objectives and daily quests on Tol Barad Island, a new Wintergrasp-like zone, and wage war in all-new rated Battlegrounds. Rated battlegrounds is definately a plus, because although the arena is good as a PvP challenge, warcraft was always about War, and 5v5 hardly constitutes to a war.

Archaeology
Master a new secondary profession to unearth valuable artifacts and earn unique rewards.  An addition everyone can enjoy as it should be available to all as a secondary. Hopefully will be intresting and unique.

Flying Mounts in Azeroth
Explore Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms like never before. Something that was previously labelled as “unlikely and technically difficult.” At least it shows blizzard were happy to listen and happy to provide.

And much, much more…