Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures gone Gold
It’s been four years in the making but finally the first MMORPG for mature (as in truly junevile and properly immature) audiences has gone gold. Quite appropriately the Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures pre-orders have already began too, as co-publishers Eidos and Funcom announced that the vaguely barbaric game will be very soon hitting stores worldwide. Oh, and did I say barbaric? Sorry for that. What I meant was to use the publishers’ official description of the game as the most savage, sexy and brutal MMO ever created, which does admittedly border on barbaric but subtly differs.Then again, who cares about such things, eh?
Nobody, that’s who. All that matters is that Conan is everyone’s favorite, fantasy, 80s, mass-slaughterer and it’s been ages since the last time we visited a digital version of Hyboria. That and the succesful beta, a couple hundred thousand or so preorders and a few rather prestigious awards, that -if nothing else- sort of guarantee the game’s quality.
Now, as to what to expect from the game, besides some fantastic graphics, the well documented setting and the huge world every MMO seems to be promising, I’d say its key features would be a crafting system that should allow players to go berserk and even create a city, an advanced melee focused combat system, many PvP options bordering on RvR and a deep character customization/creation system. Oh, and a chance to properly role-play a Herald of Xotli. Joy!
Posted on April 23rd, 2008 by konstantinos
I got into Conan by way of the comic Conan the Barbarian which released in 1970. My brother and I then read some of Howard’s books. The draw was, of course, Conan himself.
But this is a game in which Conan isn’t really the draw, or can’t be because as an MMO, no one can play as Conan. Needless to say, I’ve been skeptical of the game, as I am of the whole MMO genre which often requires a monthly fee for little in return.
But the game has had some intriguing previews and demos that make me think it has possibility. For one, having a lot of players finally has some point in the game because they can build cities.
I’m typically a melee style player, so their melee system seems like a great benefit to give the player a better ‘feel’ of that combat style, making it more strategic even. And mounted combat? About time.
I’m intrigued by the idea of an MMO that is story-driven. It’s something that I think MMOs badly need someone to try, at least. Make the quests meaningful in that world, make the story for the quest significant.
My issue is still the monthly fee which players have come to accept without seeing any real service for it. It’s no longer enough to say that the server farms have to be paid for somehow.
A part of me wishes that the game was single player with a peer-to-peer system in which players could create their own worlds.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:43 amI have to admit I’m not that knowledgeable in the Conan universe, as I haven’t read any of the books and only a pathetic few comics. Ages ago… To be honest, only the Schwarzenegger movie comes to mind, which I used to love as a kid and quite frankly still enjoy.
Oh, and a part of me wishes every MMO was turned into a single player offering… Not that playing with a few interesting people can’t be enjoyable.
As for story-heavy MMOs, you can’t really beat Lord of the Rings Online. Great writing quality too… The quests feel as if Tolkien actually wrote them and make so much sense it makes me wish I could spare the time…
April 24th, 2008 at 2:47 am