Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures First View
Announced last month, Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures is a persistent state action RPG based on the brooding, brutal but lush fantasy universe created by author Robert E. Howard. The team at developer and publisher Funcom has come up with an unusual and thus highly intriguing concept wherein the initial portion of the game is basically a story-driven single-player experience that will open up into a massively multiplayer online world.
Commendations
Awareness of the Conan property is experiencing a strong resurgence, with two upcoming movies, new novels, a comic series, collectible toys et al. Led by Game Director Gaute Godager, the development team includes many experienced hands. The combat system will probably appeal to players who enjoy a fairly quick pace and more active involvement since it involves choosing where to aim your melee strikes. Adding further interest value, you’ll be able to lead NPCs within a squad-based component. The art direction appears to capture the essence of the franchise, the screenshots seen to date have been very striking, and at E3 last week, the game looked even better running live.
Reservations
The sexual undertones within and the overall violent nature of the Conan universe may put off some individuals and raise concerns about the title’s suitability for certain segments of the gaming audience. There is relatively limited information available as to how notable features like the server-based single-player, squad combat and PvP will work. How beneficial the film tie-ins will be is questionable, especially if they end up not doing well.
Considerations
It’s still rather early to offer more than a preliminary assessment of how well it may fare when it launches next year, but the current indications are definitely favorable. Age of Conan looks like a project with considerable potential, one that’s definitely worthy of close scrutiny over the coming months.
