Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Posted By: James on Jun 15 2008

From the shadows I have veiled myself in I watch the unknown warrior with both curiosity and caution. What are his reasons for being in such a hellish place? That I cannot answer. I wait until he is nearly overwhelmed before I strike like a viper quickly dispatching one of the Black Ones that are trying to take the warrior's final breath. Together, we fight until the lot of them are destroyed. Then while taking only a moments rest we suddenly eye one another in fear, waiting...just waiting who will strike first? None do, finally the warrior speaks. He, too, is here for Horticia and we quickly agree on a partnership to see this quest through. Another five minutes in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures have passed.

Funcom has actually experienced a successful MMO launch, something rare in the shadow of World of Warcraft (only Turbine of Lord of the Rings Online can join in this accomplishment). What constitutes a successful launch? A steady flow of patches while disappointing (why can games just not work) shows that Funcom is working tirelessly to please the customer. For something that one hopes to invest a great deal of time in, you could not hope for more.

While the days of high adventure brought to us by Funcom may not have as many lamenting women as one would like, it does offer a brutal, deadly, world that begs to be seen. A world that, while full of variety, feels more constricting than its MMO brethren. While at first this is odd, once you knock out 7 quests in short order you realize the lay of the land is tightly packed simply to provide more meat per square inch. After much aimless running exhausting me in other MMOs, it is nice to just get where I am going a little quicker.

When I get to where I am going pray to whatever gods you choose that you are not my target for the blood will be loosed by my dance of blades. Not only does a Mature rating mean that my swords are more effective at drawing blood, but the combo system makes it more satisfying. Not to say that the combo system of melee combat actually makes this an action game, but it does hold the attention a bit more than some clickfests. As Chris pointed out, some work could be done to this combat to balance the conflicts between might and magic.

Age of Conan opens into one of the nicest beginnings to an MMO that I have seen. The first 20 levels of the game are spent on an island in which you get to become the hero for a major story hook. This was a cunning move that gets players quickly invested in the world. This entire area features full voice acting as well,which makes the later areas that lack voice acting seem disconnected. The option of Nighttime (solo) questing in this starting area is an interesting way to let players get familiar with character skills without feeling pressured to perform.

The PvP combat is wonderfully more frantic and somehow feels at place in such a world of thieves and brigands. Sometimes, killing another man because he breathes is what a Barbarian does and that, while frustrating, is okay. As the guilds begin utilizing the city building aspect of the late game we will have to see what parts of PvP combat develop.

Age of Conan does not reinvent MMO game play in any way, but it does offer something different enough for players that have wanted a massive multiplayer game to be part of their diet. Will this one hold me longer than WoW...I will think about that later. For now, I must return to a time when the oceans drank Atlantis and the rise of the sons of Aryas. An age undreamed of...