Age of Conan Articles
Pre-Release Preview
19th May 2008 01:51 PM GMT | Rushster | 0 comments
With the most anticipated MMO of the year so far hitting shop shelves, I thought I’d give you a heads up on what to expect in the world of Hyboria. Having spent a few days on the ‘Age of Conan’ closed beta, I already have an understanding of what to expect in the land of mammoths and barbarians.
The first thing to say about ‘AoC’ is it’s a hungry beast, so if you can afford it, buy yourself a new graphics card in order to see the game at it’s best – I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. My PC was updated way back when for ‘City of Heroes’, so it’s at the lowest end of the recommended spec. However the game still looks rich and lush and I’m itching to get a look at the graphics in their full scale awesomeness. Yes, that is a word heh hem.Even before going in game, the music hits you with a surge of heroic orchestrations, putting me in mind of the opening scene of ‘Gladiator’. In fact, the music and sound effects are top notch throughout.
First stop is the character creation, which takes place below deck in a slave ship, featuring row upon row of slaves hunched over their oars and a female slave standing at the top end (I guess girls don’t get to row). Choose female for your character and the camera zooms to the woman or choose male and one of the slaves stands up from his oar ready to be moulded to your every whim.
The races are all taken from the original Robert E Howard stories (as is the whole premise of the game) and for those who haven’t done the background reading, Funcom has supplied a little information on each one. There are three races; Aquilonian, based on Romans, Cimmerian, Conan’s own race and based on the celts (think Mel Gibson in ‘Braveheart’) and lastly the Stygian, who seem to resemble Egyptians.
Expect to see the usual tank, healer, damage dealer classes, however only the Stygian can become Mages. I have to say I am disappointed with the character gen, which dishes up the standard fare of sliders which make minimal difference. Bizarrely you can’t change the size of eyes, just their slant and depth, so if you want the Matt Dillon deep set look, knock yourself out. As usual, there aren’t enough hair styles and the big brag of being able to recognise characters without their name tags is a lot of hot air. However, Funcom has still given us more flexibility in ‘Conan’ than ‘WoW’ ever did. Frankly, ‘Everquest II’ and the ‘City of’ games still reign supreme in terms of character creation, so roleplayers beware.The best thing about the character gen is the setting, which immediately throws you into the game. As you choose from the terrible beard selections, listen to the sea lap against the hull of the ship and the creak of the wood, while oil lamps flicker in the background. Once your character is complete the ship hits a storm and you’re washed up on the beach.
Next revelation occurs when your first NPC speaks to you. Yes, every NPC has a voice-over, so it’s more like playing ‘Oblivion’ than an MMO. Thankfully, the acting is above average, so it succeeds in fleshing out the world, rather than creating a cringe-fest.
The first stage of the game is all single-player, but don’t think this means you get to skip through the daisies enjoying the view. Less than 10 yards from the beach you have to rescue a beautiful warrior girl and slay a few pirates. Armed only with an oar, the fighting already begins in earnest, but fortunately entry level characters have a few moves under their belt, so it’s not just a case of slowly pummelling foes to death.
Before even reaching the first city, Tortage, and entering the MMO world proper, levels come pretty thick and fast. With a few new moves, it’s time to try out Funcom’s innovative combat system. Click on your special moves and choose an attack direction to see your character go in from the right, left or front. Foes have shield markers, which tell you which side they are protecting. Use your direction attacks to go for their unshielded side and take them down. The new style of combat didn’t seem to make that much difference, but it will be interesting to see it worker in later levels.The real fun begins when you near the gates of Tortage. All of a sudden there are other players zipping around doing missions, as you’re seamlessly drawn into the MMO world, making it an easier transition for first timers. Once inside Tortage you’re presented with a bustling city that really feels like it has grown organically. Houses are piled up against each other with washing hanging between buildings and narrow alleyways winding through the city. Turn the wrong corner and you’ll take a pummelling from pirates, while Red Hand Guards just walk on by.
Although I haven’t yet had to run through the countryside gathering 10 rat pelts, the missions don’t seem to be vastly different to the standard, go there, get this, kill them type stuff. However, solo missions cleverly weave the overall Conan story into your adventure, making you feel part of the world. I have to say, I’m intrigued by the story of my Stygian Mage and at the moment, the solo game has more to offer me. Below level 10 there is no need to group, but I suspect this will change pretty quickly, as I’ve already battled a giant bat demon, which filled my screen with the flap of leathery wings – yeesh!
A nice touch is the fact that you don’t just get piles of gold for every kill. Money is in units of gold, silver and tin. I’m yet to gain any gold and have just jumped up to some silver, which really puts a value on money, rather than yomping around, with pockets groaning under the weight of gold and gems. It seems to me that the team have crafted this world with a feather light touch, so I’m expecting to discover tiny details, as well as the big mo fo battles, which will enrich the whole experience.‘Conan’ is looking great and I’m looking forward to wading in once the world is fully populated with players, rather than just beta testers. I’m looking forward to bar brawls and visiting that maiden I rescued to see just what sort of reward she’s going to give me and I’m also looking forward to getting a feel for the community. ‘Conan’ offers something for everyone, whether it’s roleplayer or PvPer and hopefully the latter won’t become the main focus for Funcom’s updates.
I think ‘Conan’s’ true genius lies in providing the gaming equivalent of stabilisers for those uninitiated into the world of MMOs. Anyone taking their first steps into MMOGs would be wise to jump in with ‘Age of Conan’ and will find comfort in the single player missions until they get into the swing of the online side of things. Once you’ve sampled the bustling streets of Tortage, it’s going to be hard to stay away. Of course we’ll be back soon with a full review to give you a proper appraisal of life in an axe-wielding beserker rage. Now, where did I put that woad?
Article by Chella Ramanan for IncGamers.com
