I must admit that I was first drawn into playing Chaos online because of the screen shots I had seen on MMOSite. Isometric games will always hold a special place in my heart, as I used to love playing Lineage the Blood Pledge and Ultima Online in my earlier gaming years. However, once I actually started playing Chaos Online, it left me with an odd set of mixed feelings.
Before I go too much farther I must say this: Chaos Online is still in an Alpha state of being. It is not near completion by any means and will more than likely change a vast amount before final release. Having said that, I will begin to share with you my trials and triumphs within Chaos Online.
On a visual note, Chaos online was able to develop an environment in which players feel part of the game. It seems that, in this day and age, it is becoming more and more rare to see in online games. Which is why, as a precursor to the statement I made about it's environment, I mentioned visually but more on that later. Another point of interest for graphics within the world is that it would appear there are several hand finished/drawn art objects in the game; which you may view in the picture located above this statement. Whether or not this is indeed a fact is left to be stated upon by the games designers. Additionally, the graphics in Chaos online are as appears in the screenshots without any need to manage or fuss with menu setting Simply because there are none! Now that isn't to say that you don't have a choice between windowed and full screen mode, because you don't. :)
As far as audio is concerned within the game world, it appears that music is reserved for towns alone. Though the town music did have a nice tune to it, especially after I got over the shock that they did it with an electric guitar complete with minor riffs and everything. As soon as I left the city walls and ventured into the play field, all music trailed off and I was left only with the sound on my own foot steps to comfort me. Okay, okay that was a bit harsh, the sounds are implemented for enemies and abilities but the ambience of hovering space ships constantly buzzing can be a bit draining after a while. Unless of course, the developers intended to launch a psychological assault upon it's players in addition to anything they could throw at you in-game. :P
Speaking of monsters, the variety in the types of enemies seemed about normal for a game just entering it's first stage of testing. The same enemy models had their sizes, names and color palettes changed but were other wise detailed. Difficulty progression between monsters did appear a bit "off" though.