Is it too much to expect the storyline to happen IN the actual game ? So far all I see is a book and a few video clips, but very little happening in the game itself.
Same old hamster wheel as far as I can see. Form a group, kill mobs, get levels, buy better stuff, form another group, kill more mobs... but if you want to hear interesting stuff about Radiman's execution or Dark Carnival's court appearance then you have to leave the game and look at a website or a bbs.
AO has always had superb potential, and I do enjoy playing. But this pretence of a storyline doesnt give the game any more actual content. If you wrote a book to accompany Tetris you could claim it had a storline too.