Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures (U.S. Version)

Great game amazing graphics, a small amount of bugs in the game but that’s to be expected with a new release. Very mature game , not made for the kids that’s for sure, blood splatters on the screen for the fatality hits is always fun. A different combat system that relies on skill over having the best gear, and an Oceanic server for us NZ’ers allows us to have a low Ping, Gwahlur for those who want to join its seems there’s always people around.

Reviewed up to level twenty.

It's hard not to love an adventure role playing game like this. I love these kinds of games so much I can put up with a lot. But this game has just ground me down.

First off I should say I'm not familiar with MMOs. This is my very first one so I've nothing to compare it to. It may be that the things I like and dislike about it are common to MMOs, so take it with a pinch of salt.

When I first started playing I was really pleased. I have a fairly old computer but thanks to the highly customisable engine I managed to get it running fairly well with shadows and grass off and some affects toned down. Even then it's a nice game too look at (even if there's no difference between well lit and dark areas and the nights are nearly as bright as the days). Also, the HUD and user interface is very customisable so you can (thankfully) turn off all the target highlights and damage floaters and crap like that.

I started out on the beach, exploring, killing a few crocodiles and talking to the two characters there and generally being quite impressed by it all, and soon eagerly set off on the first quest. It's here my opinion of the game plummeted as it turned into a tedious grind. There are enemies every few feet. Literally. You just hack your way through one after the other after the other. They made no effort at all to try and space them out in such a way that keeps the action flowing but doesn't get boring and loses suspense. It's kill a few enemies, run a few feet, kill a few enemies, run a few feet, kill some more enemies ect.

I almost gave up here but I held out until I reached the first settlement, the city of Tortage, and things improved... somewhat. Here's one of the main things I like about the game; the quests. There're tons and tons of quests to do. A seemingly endless supply of them. I really can't get over just how many there are. I love quests no matter how basic, which is good because most are simple bring it/kill it jobs, but that's fine with me. Usually. Even I, a self proclaimed quest-a-holic eventually get a bit bored with the collect thirty crocodile skins, or twenty snake venom glands or whatever, but the characters are good and often have little back stories to tell which helps make the quest more interesting. The main story quests are better so I would be prepared to stick it out. But I'm just SO SICK of the endless grind of the combat. Not to mention the respawn. That's the other serious issue, how ludicrously quickly the monsters respawn. I know things have to respawn because other players are doing the same quests I am, but sheesh... it's literally seconds! You haven't even finished fighting them when they start to respawn. Let's say you take a quest to kill some pirates and pick up some gems from their corpses. You head to where they are, kill them and start to loot their corpses, but before you finish they respawn and you have to kill them all again. You can easily find yourself being stuck there... killing the stupid things over and over as they respawn again and again! And if you try to run away they chase you and somehow manage to continue to do damage to you even though they're literally meters away! I was running away from a pirate and turned the camera around so I could see how far back he was, and I could see him swinging his knife and hitting me... and he was about six meters away from me! WTF?! Plus the fact that as you flee you'll just run into more monsters and end up with them chasing you as well. You can quickly have a small army chasing you, all easily hitting you again and again no matter how fast you're running. So in short if you run you die.

I literally got sick of doing quests because of all this. As hard as that is for me to believe, I ended up ignoring people when I knew they had a new quest because I just couldn't face the complete and utter tedium of the combat that was sure to be involved. I also find myself actually not wanting to explore. Normally, give me a large open area to explore and I'll happily spend hours poking my nose into every corner and looking under ever rock. But the endless grind of the combat and the frequent respawn discourages me, and I find I just want to finish the quest and get out of there before I have to kill another hoard of damn crocodiles or gorillas or whatever.

The game looks and feels as good as you'd expect in a modern big budget game. I like the look and feel, which is so important to me. The animations are good for the most part (though my character runs as if she's suffering from some sort of affliction). Voice acting is good and the dialog is well written, and very importantly the language sounds appropriate to the setting, which I find makes a huge difference to immersion. I can't stand games with a medieval or fantasy setting and people are using modern language or speaking with broad American accents. I'm actually quite impressed with the dialog. Quest givers offer a bit of a back story and you even have options on the tone of your reply (helpful or snarky, sympathetic or indifferent). You feel you're having an actual conversation with the person.

The monsters are cool, some of the landscapes are gorgeous, the music's fine and all that. I love the design of some of the clothes and armour, but weapons, particularly bows, look oversized.

There is definitely a lot to like about this game. In fact, it's quite tragic because I can see how good it could be if not for the combat and respawn issues. And it's possible I'm not being fair because like I said, this just might be what MMOs are like. But it's such a shame because this kind of game would be sheer bliss to me. Bliss. And I really want to like it, but I just can't stand the utterly tedious grind that the combat becomes. Though I will probably stick it out to the end of my trial period, I won't be subscribing for another month.

Tip: If you don't know what server to choose, and you're into role playing and not PVP, I can recommend Gwahlur (Oceanic) as a role play friendly server with not too many other players.

How good is this game?? No good if you want an easy point-and-click RPG, but if you want something with some challenge and want to be blown away by outstanding graphics in the process, GET THIS GAME NOW. I promise the only thing you will regret is not having a 80-100 ping like the Americans. R18 so maturity isn't lacking.

The screenshots posted here don't do this game justice - absolutely epic environment and combat. Far more visceral and exciting than WoW for sure. I'm sold. If you buy this be sure to roll on Bloodspire with the rest of us New Zealanders!

Age of Conan was shocking at release. It suffered from bad ping and an unstable client, but I must say the game has come a hell of a long way. It's combat is satisfying and unique for an MMO, servers are extremely stable and i have a steady ping, around 300. While I haven't played too far into the game (it's my brother's so I don't play it too much) I've seen enough to recommend it to any MMO enthusiast. It's a refreshing change to the tired World of Warcraft formula. I'd also recommend Warhammer Online, that game is outrageously entertaining.