Pop Culture Reviews

Aion vs. Warhammer – it’s WAR!

Well, sort of… you see I’ve been playing Warhammer Online consistently for about 11 months now but the game seems to have lost its… zing (for lack of a better word). And tomorrow I begin the beta testing for Aion, the new MMORPG released by NCsoft.

I knew nothing about the Warhammer universe before I started playing Warhammer. And apparently, as far as games go, it has a very vast and rich history for many gamers worldwide. Which is cool and all that but means little to me. As a gamer and a journalist that writes about games (and subsequently rips them apart, pixel by pixel if I’m in the mood), the history of a game doesn’t seem to have anywhere near as much impact on me as the presence (or absence) of a good storyline, non-stop action (whether that be campaign or multiplayer), strong characterisation, good dialogue, intuitive AI and graphics that won’t suddenly disappear on me, turn black or turn my screen into a behemoth of pixels!

The factors that make or break an MMORPG (especially when you’re paying for the game monthly) seem to always come down to server stability, lack of developer input and support (bug fixes that never get fixed or break even more things!) or the biggie – lack of content to keep players interested and immersed. I feel that Warhammer Online is coming close to exhausting all of these areas, especially in the content department. And I could go on and on about the intricacies of game play that I am now beginning to totally despise but I will spare you that awful experience.

What I will do is continue to write about these two games and compare them as much as possible (without breaking any NDA’s) so that you, the gamer won’t make the same mistakes I have made with some of the MMORPGs I’ve decided to play (and pour hours of gaming time into, not to mention money).

Of course, there is only so much comparison one can make from a fully realised (and released) game versus a beta, but I’ll do my best to remain fair and objective in my comparisons. Beta testing for Aion starts tomorrow so wish me luck!