These kinds of choices are typical

When we first saw Eligium at gamescom last year we were told it boasted 'every feature an action MMORPG fan could want' and it wasn't until we got access to a European build of the distinctly Chinese Buy Eligium Gold that we realised what exactly that meant - namely multi-levelled menus, an advanced yet bulky UI and quests which are light on story but heavy on combat.

Eligium has none of the grace of other efforts from the East, for instance TERA's visuals or Aion's commitment to plot, but what it does have is usability and copious amounts of player choice.

For starters, players have a choice to select from five different starter classes: Warrior, Hunter, Druid, Mage and Fighter. These archetypes are as you'd expect, with the Warrior best described as a damage-dealing melee class, whereas the Mage is great at casting out spells which deal damage over wide areas.

The more 'alternative' choices are the Druid and the Fighter, the first of which is a shape-shifting human and the former is a rather plump Panda, who despite his appearance, functions as a great tank. These kinds of choices are typical of the genre Eligium Gold belongs, but they're modified by a virtue system which adds modifiers onto your class's core abilities, such as an additional healing abilities, sturdy armour buffers etc. This extra way to differentiate your creation is welcome, as aside from also choosing a faction and a gender, there isn't any way to modify any other characteristics of your adventurer, visual or otherwise, until you get into the game.

Unfortunately the nifty character select screen cannot mask the abruptness of your first impression with Eligium, as rather than witnessing a glossy cut-scene or even some slowly scrolling text, players are dropped unceremoniously into the world of Galgaron.