I came, I saw, I did not really conquer.
It was the game that conquered me.
After drawing much interest and phenomenal response from MMO gamers all over the globe, AIKA Global’s Closed Beta Test has formally comes to a close. Due to its smash hit takeover last August 20 until August 23, Hanbistoft Inc. and T3 Entertainment in cooperation with Redbana Philippines are in high spirits for the great success of AIKA Global CBT. They are now out in the field laying the groundwork for the Open Beta Test that is to be launched on August 27, 2010 with amazing prizes awaiting global players.
Hanbistoft Inc. and T3 Entertainment, in cooperation with Redbana Philippines, genuinely acknowledge the warm response and will by all means take in consideration all the feedback and data gathered from the CBT to further advance and adjust the game, carrying through AIKA Global’s promise of creating a stunning piece of MMO history!
AIKA Global prides itself in its rich in-game visuals that lets its players feel the realism of the environments in the game. Combining that with the game’s specially designed engine that can support massive warfare, the result is definitely something to behold. Despite the state-of-the-art graphics, system requirements are easy to reach for the average gamer.
First Impressions
Upon entering Lakia, the world that Aika takes place in, the first thing that blew me away was how the game looks. You can say that the game looks as good as say, Lineage or Granado Espada (Swords of the New World for other countries). You are sent into a world where everyone looks good, even the monsters you have to kill.
Character Creation Screen
The game's backdrop seems like it was taken from high fantasy novels. Everything looks fresh and vibrant just like how things look in GE. I know with this first impression, you'd immediately jump at the similarities of GE and Aika Online. However, these "similarities" between Aika and GE are only based on its visuals and graphics.
After getting over my initial surprise, I finally understood why the game felt familiar. Aika had a lot of game systems taken from a certain mmo. It should come as no surprise though because the two games have the same developer. The mmo that I'm talking about is, With Your Destiny (WYD, or Supreme Destiny SD, to some countries).
Game System
Aika Online is the upgraded version of WYD. There are a lot of systems in Aika that are found in WYD. The thing is it seems that WYD was the first draft of the things you find in Aika. Let's just say for now that Aika is WYD, but Aika has a better graphics engine and a more refined game system compared to WYD.
Prans
Prans in Aika Online are your partners and friends. They're the white light or fairy that circles around your character in its lower levels and continues to evolve to become a child and teenager. The fairy Pran reminds me of the Naiads you find in WYD. They have the same visual characteristics and both the WYD Naiads and Aika's Prans assist the player.
The Pran is the Tiny Pink Fairy by the Warrior's Shoulder
Assisting however is the only thing similar between the two because Prans as I've said evolve and develop a character of their own. Also, Prans can attack or heal you. The Naiads on the other hand only serve as a charm to protect you from dying.
PvP
Aika prides itself as a PvP centric MMO. No one can argue with that since there are a lot of game systems in Aika, which support such claim. The PvP systems in Aika Online seem to be the refined version of the PvP systems found in WYD because both games are in fact PvP centered.
Aika Online has three ways players can get involved with PvP. Players can create their own PvP instance called Battlegrounds where they can go fight against other players in PvP battles. The Battlegrounds system is like Aika's version of PvP rooms where players can create specific instances solely for PvP-ing.
Aika also has a nation vs. nation PvP called Relic War. It's basically a PvP system that pits the five nations against each other in a race to acquire "relics" that provide nationwide buffs for its citizens. You can say that Relic War is similar to RF's chip war where the RF's three races battle to acquire the chip and provide their race buffs that will span till the next scheduled war.
Aika's PVP
The third biggest PvP system in Aika Online is the Castle Siege. This is more of a nation-wide guild battle where guilds can vie for power and control of their nation. The guild leader who takes control of the castle will be the one who controls the nation's political, military and economic policy.
Political as well as PvP Centered
The Castle Siege system puts politics in Aika gameplay. Having control over your nation really puts emphasis on guild politics. Adding politics into the mix makes Aika more interesting because the game becomes more than just eye candy. The level of depth the game has will immerse a lot of players.
However, I think it will be hard to attract new players in the late stages of the game. There will come a time when an established rule is placed in Aika. When that happens, new players who have no affiliation whatsoever will find it hard to adjust or even be part of the nation's politics. I think though this kind of problem will be easily remedied by participating in a few Relic Wars.
Speaking of Eye Candy
Aika has a lot of eye candy aside from the beautiful landscapes and graphics. As expected from eastern style MMORPGS, the developers have put a lot of emphasis on female characters and their chests. You can actually see the physics engine at work when you're creating your character. Believe me, I've had an eyeful.
The job classes in Aika are gender locked. Customization allows you to change the face, hairstyle and hair color of your character. You don't specifically have a real "customized" character in Aika Online. This is the games limit but then the game prefers to concentrate on the gameplay rather than the personal touch.
Conclusion
As far as I can tell, I like how Aika looks and feels. Everything set in place in Aika is well suited for a fun PvP centered gaming experience. There are still a lot of areas that are not accessible at the moment, (which I stumbled upon with my access) but it seems that the game will deliver an action-packed gaming experience for players.
However a lot of game systems rely on the game's population. I've seen a lot of MMOs die because they haven't been able to keep the population stable. Speaking of which, there will be balance issues especially in the nation vs. nation war. There are 5 nations that need to be filled. There will be a time when one nation won't even be able to compete because the players who belong to that nation are either migrating to another nation or are too low level to even stand up against stronger nations.
Of course everything right now is just pure speculation. There's a possibility that the game will get a population boom come OBT and commercial launch. The game has a lot of potential to be a hit; however the people running the game need to make sure they deliver the best possible gaming experience.
The Doctor's POV
I was only able to take part in the CBT for six hours but it was six hours of rocking good time infront of my laptop - despite the fact that I did not use a mouse the entire time.
Sniper
Cannae, the red server, was the one I picked and I chose a Sniper as my character. Character creation was pretty dandy since despite the gender limitations, you still get to customize your character's facial features.
After creating a character, you get the option to either start in the field or in the city. For a game noob, I selected the city.
I found myself in the center of what must have been the town square. It had a feel of Granado Espada, with graphics and music similar to it. Right then and there, you will receive a series of quests from the town NPCs. There is no quest alert system but you will see a green exclamation point on top of the head of the NPC you can get a quest from and a red exclamation point on your map.
Maneuvering in Aika (minus the mouse!) is actually easy compared to other online games. You can use the usual WASD controls or your arrow keys.
I only got as far as the forest outside the town but don't think I only walked a few feet. My Sniper spent most of the time running to and fro. Aika's world is vast, filled with a mixture of aggressive and non-aggressive monsters. One could get dizzy because of how large the place is.
The Sniper's attack was just as I expected. They are slow at attacking but hit the monsters hard. High damage is worth the expensive bullets. It is also handy for timed quests since you do not waste time trying to kill a monster.
I got my Pran at level 7. I thought I'll get it immediately. Heck no, one has to work hard to get the Pran. You need to collect a certain number of the three essences (Fire, Air, and Water), depending on the kind of Pran you like. I chose a Fire Pran, which specializes in boosting your attack. Mind you, the Essences are difficult to acquire. They drop from monsters and are very rare that I resorted to buying the essences from the Consignment Shop.
The Consignment Shop is similar to Cabal's Auction Shop wherein you can sell your items and just check back after 24 hours to see if they have been sold. My only complaint there is that non-citizens have a 15% tax, considering that the Citizen Quest is given at Level 10.
This is how my CBT Pran looks like
My Fire Pran had a cute personality. I don't really know what's cute about a Pran that kept refusing to buff me and kept butting in during NPC conversations. You don't get to voluntarily talk to your Pran, through. You have to wait for them to want to talk to you. A bubble will appear at the lower right part of your screen which indicates that your Pran is in the mood to have a short conversation with you. Always check for that because your Pran might run away if you keep ignoring it.
Joining a party in Aika is also advisable. There are certain quests that would require you to be in a party because the monsters you are supposed to kill are really strong for the character level at which it is given. Aside from this, questing in a party is helpful because aside from the EXP boost, your party member's kills get added to your quest kills.
In a nutshell, here's what I think of Aika after playing it up to Level 10:
1. It felt like playing a fine mix of Granado Espada and Rohan Online.
2. Easy to manuever.
3. Music is pretty boring but I guess that is part of the old European feel.
4. Maps are so huge, they need to work on an easy way of finding the NPCs.
5. Good job on putting a search option on the map in order to find certain quest monsters.
6. Prans spice things up.
MORE TO COME IN OBT
The thriving end of AIKA Global CBT is just the advent of a more sensational online gaming encounter. For those who couldn’t get enough of AIKA Global, hold your fire just for a little bit more; brace yourselves for AIKA Global’s OBT coming in few days. Apart from the breathtaking AIKA Global experience, exciting prizes including a high performance video card and an iPad await those who will lambaste the OBT challenges.
*AIKA Global's service will be available to countries around the world with the exception of The United States of America, Canada, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Russia.
Credits: Neocrisis, onRPG
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