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Aion has had a rocky release, to say the least – bots, RMT, crashing, slow XP leveling, lack of quests at certain levels. NCSoft today implemented a 2nd wave of bannings for bots and appears to be taking this issue seriously. Also, earlier this week, NCSoft release its latest patch. Included, although unpublished, was a fix or a great step to fix the constant crashing during fortress sieges. The future is uncertain but these latest steps may stabilize the subscriptions somewhat and this latest video now may stave off additional defections and regenerate some of the earlier excitement with the game, if the changes come sooner rather than later.

The video shows high-quality graphics that are simply amazing, mounts (with combat?), swimming, underwater leveling areas, housing, killer casting animations, more active weather, city sieges?

ebay says a flood of modified Xbox 360 video game consoles that have been banned from connecting to Xbox Live has hit the online auction site, and is warning users to be wary of what they buy.

“If you are looking to buy an Xbox 360 on eBay in the near future, ask the seller if it has been banned from Xbox Live and be sure to pay by PayPal in case they lie,” the company said on its website. “If you do get a banned console, start a PayPal claim.”

PayPal is eBay’s online payment system, which can reverse charges in the case of fraudulent sales.

The announcement comes after Microsoft this week banned up to one million consoles from accessing its Xbox Live service, where users can play online games with each other or purchase downloadable content such as movies and television shows.

The company enacted the ban on consoles that have been modified by users to play pirated copies of games.

A few weeks ago, NCSoft announced an important addition to their Aion staff – community manager for North America Andrew Beegle a.k.a. “Tamat”, whose main job will be to interface with what is perhaps the most vocal segment of any MMO community.

Prior to this, we had known Andrew as our esteemed colleague from ZAM Network, where he worked as a game journalist for four years. This week, we steal a few moments from his busy schedule to answer some questions on forum hot topics, yes including the grind, use of bots, and other fun stuff…

IGNPC: The other hot topic these days is the rampant botting that seems to be taking place in the game. You guys mentioned in your October community address that there is a special team dedicated to hunting down and eliminating these bots. I think the question in people’s minds is, why do we still see a great number of the same bots we’ve been seeing every day, and what can we do to help?

Andrew Beegle: The special division of our customer service team that is dedicated to hunting down bots has made some solid progress.

Aion is a visually stunning massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) where your character wields devastating powers and sweeping wings to explore a celestial world of breath-taking beauty and epic adventure. It features cutting-edge imagery, gorgeous environments, and a unique fantasy world. Your character plays a pivotal role in the fate of Atreia, where the enemy is not only the other player faction but a deadly ancient evil as well.

Aion is a PvPvE MMORPG. PvPvE stands for “Player vs. Player vs. Environment.” The story of Aion is rife with conflict between factions. Elyos and the Asmodians harbor centuries of hatred. They are now at war with each other, with nothing less than the fate of their entire people in their hands. Large fragments of the Tower of Eternity floating in the Abyss that separates the two halves of the shattered world serve as battlefields between these two factions. Players will venture into these areas through portals they discover as they attain enough experience.

Below is a sampling of PVP videos from the aforementioned game Aion, set to be released on the 22nd of this month, less than a week from today.

G4 - Last night, Infinity Ward and Activision invited members of the press out to a sound stage in Hollywood to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer for the first time. The developers are adding so much to the game that it’s initially staggering, but after a few rounds, you realize that this is a totally different theater of war than Call of Duty 4 and it’s time to figure out the differences.

There are some major game changers in effect for MW2 and Infinity Ward seems to have taken player feedback to heart. Secondary weapons now include pistols, machine pistols, shotguns, and launchers. No longer will players have to give up their precious primary weapon slot to field a shotgun or lose a perk to grab a rocket launcher. The change also gives a lot of versatility to snipers giving them the option of grabbing a fully-automatic pistol or shotgun for close range conflict.

Full Preview

Fresh on the heals of the press release concerning the Aion open beta dates, head-start date, and character pre-selection date is the Aion 1.5 patch, upgrading from the CBT (Closed Beta Test) as well as the full Aion version 1.5 installer.

Aion’s Open Beta Test featuring version 1.5 will take place September 6 – 13 and will include numerous Western enhancements, including improvements to Aion’s innovative character customization with a host of Western styles, as well as new zones, instances, skills, quests and continued game balancing and improvements. Open Beta will retain a level cap for both Elyos and Asmodians characters at 30 allowing players to focus on getting to the same level so they can explore the lands of Atreia together, as well as the Abyss.

Aion CBT to OBT Client Patch
Filename: Aion_CBT_OBT_installer.zip
Size: 3,075.1 MB

Aion Game Client
Filename: AionFullInstaller-FP.zip
Size: 9,325.1 MB

The above download links will take you to the corresponding Fileplanet download page.

Players are now one step closer to the release of the year’s biggest massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Aion.

Within the next four weeks, NCsoft will treat North American and European gamers to two opportunities to jump into the world of Aion and explore Atreia as Asmodian or Elyos characters ahead of its release in North America on September 22 and Europe September 25. Aion’s Open Beta Test featuring version 1.5 will take place September 6 – 13 and will include numerous Western enhancements, including improvements to Aion’s innovative character customization with a host of Western styles, as well as new zones, instances, skills, quests and continued game balancing and improvements. Open Beta will retain a level cap for both Elyos and Asmodians characters at 30 allowing players to focus on getting to the same level so they can explore the lands of Atreia together, as well as the Abyss.

Players who have preordered Aion will be treated to a Pre-Select and a two-day Headstart period giving them the opportunity to explore, organize and progress through the game prior to the official launch. Pre-Select will take place on September 18, while Aion’s Headstart will begin September 20.

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