I have never been a big fan of the Far-Eastern MMO's. I've tried some over the years, like Thang Online (which was nice in a simple way) and Silkroad Online, but I've never gotten the hang of them. Maybe it's the graphics, or the emphasis on grind and pvp instead of a story or introducing the lore to the player. Or maybe it's just the player merchant system which clutters the starting zones of the game unplayable.
Never the less, I downloaded and tested gPotato's next big thing yesterday. Aika Online.
It's not bad, but it's just enough Far-East for me to enjoy. I wonder if the designers know that Aika means time in Finnish... (thus the title of this post, hint, hint!) Because this game needs more time in tweaking the controls and responsiveness. Really, when you compare the combat in Aika to even Allods, the difference is huge: you can't tell from the visuals if your attack has activated the same way as in Allods. Let alone in WoW, but then again, WoW has been around for 5 long years where as these two are 'newcomers'.
The same problem I mentioned earlier persists in this game, too, as in every far-eastern MMO: the player merchants sitting around the starting spot, selling mostly useless - or highly overpriced - items to anyone. At the same time the chat is full of gold sellers...
But there are some nice features in the game and it's controls. For example the gold sellers: when you click their name in the chat window with the right button (secondary mouse button, that is), you have the option to Block this name. It takes you directly to your ignore list and all you have to do is approve! Allods, hello! Here is an usefull feature to copy!
There is also a very highly controllable lfg system, which I didn't have time - nor level - to test, but it seemed very intuitive and concise. I doubt - however - that I will ever test that part, though, because I don't have any urge to play the game any further.
It requires a certain set of mind to enter and enjoy these westernized versions of the hugely successful Korean games. I seem to lack that, but I'm sure there are many over there who enjoy the game later on.
It. Just. Doesn't. Click.
