A World Under Siege
The aliens come down in waves, and if the players defeat them, a boss mob shows up to set them straight. It's definitely a spectacle, with swarms of alien ships flying overhead in formation and flanks of aliens storming the city, culminating in an alien mothership arriving on the scene and literally filling the sky with its enormity; an awesome sight to say the least. Words really can't describe how cool and different all of this is for a MMORPG. Should the players prove victorious against the boss mob, a group of them can beam up to the alien space craft for a still more epic encounter. As well as loot, players receive alien experience points, which grant access to special perks and abilities.
Although AO's graphics engine is beginning to show its age, the aliens look terrific and the new interiors are impressive. In fact, older content, particularly character models, are beginning to look a rather crude by comparison. Perhaps it's just as well, since large alien onslaughts already tend to tax the average computer significantly.
Along with the player cities and aliens, there are several smaller features included in the AI expansion. They've added more social clothing, which serves only to give your character a unique appearance, but is suprisingly popular in this game, where players are almost as likely to be lounging at a nightclub as killing monsters. There are new pet leets (a monster in AO meant to parody the infamous "elite" gamer), and a new tradeskill interface which greatly clarifies the crafting process.
Lingering Issues
As you would expect, there are a few lingering issues with Alien Invasion, foremost of which was that the promised player shops were absent at the launch of the expansion, to be implemented in a future patch.
Another problem is that the selection of mothership boarding parties is done automatically, with seemingly random and often frustrating results. Some characters appear to get a lot more opportunities than others, and there is no way to pass an invite to another player. Players should really have the ability to create their own boarding parties consisting of any of the characters that helped defend the city.
Unlike an expansion such as Shadowlands, battling aliens does tend to get a little repetitive after a while. The layout of the mothership does change from one encounter to another, but for the most part you're fighting your way through the same hierarchy of creatures each time. There have also been some complaints about the rate at which aliens drop certain items, although it's difficult to say whether this is a legitimate problem or simply bad luck.
Bottom Line
For those with high-level AO characters Alien Invasion is a good value, and the facilities that can be constructed in player cities make this expansion a must for large organizations. On the other hand, if you're low on the food chain or prefer a lone wolf style of play, you can wait on this one. The mechanics and storyline aren't perfect, but it certainly adds a compelling new dimension to this venerable MMORPG. Funcom deserves credit for breaking the mold on MMORPG expansions and pulling off something really unique.
