Age of Conan - a review

So I know MMORPG's are by some not considered to be an entertaining game. Some people actually regard them as work. (See Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw's Zero Punctuation, for instance)

But in all regards, Funcom did everything right. I can't believe how well made this game is. You've all heard of the World of Warcraft craze, I assume. This will blow WoW out of the water. It's an honest-to-goodness mmorpg for the adult crowd. No cartoonish style. No childish humor. No endless movie-referencing.

It's the world of Conan the Barbarian. And if you like the comics, you'll like the game, it's that simple. I've read Conan since childhood, my brother was a somewhat avid reader of the stuff. And... It's good. It's so much FUN.

And to quote Yahtzee: "Fun? Remember that? Fun? What we used to have before gaming felt like a second job?"

Which is true of World of Warcraft at least, I played it for two years, and the last few months I was so endlessly tired of the game, that I ripped myself from the trance I had fallen in and stepped back. I realized that mmorpg's are generally poor games that drone on and on (not unlike me) about boring content. The world is static, the gameplay is repetitive and the monsters are all the same, except for the colorscheme changing as you grow in levels. And perhaps slightly changing the name.

So what makes Age of Conan good? It has an interactive combat system. You need to acquire player-skills to become good in the game, not just mash random buttons and hope for the best. It's got blood. I realize that to some people, that might not be a good thing, but this is CONAN we're talking about. There *should* be blood. And the lopping of heads. And such.

Other things that makes this game worth mentioning is something I'd never have guessed would become an issue in any mmo. It's got simply stunningly beautiful music. Yes. Really. It sets the tone so well and creates an atmosphere I didn't know was possible in such a game.

And then finally we come to the bit that might interest you lot. The npc interaction system, or if you want to call it something else - the "Talking-to-the-characters" bit. It's not just run over to someone, click them, and receive quest anymore. It's also interactive. You get dialogue options! Yes, it's true! You get to choose your attitude as well as your playing style! You may get the same quest regardless of your options, but there's a clear difference between grudginly agreeing to do a job for money and accepting a task out of the goodness of your heart. It feels, dare I say it, adventure game-esque.

You can read a whole bunch of reviews on the web about it, but it's best if you try it for yourself, if you're into that sort of thing. If you like mmo's but have grown tired of Everquest, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, City of Heroes & Villains or any of the countless others - I highly recommend Age of Conan. It's fun. It's good. It's well made. It's different than the rest.

And it's not even a full week since launch. How smooth is that?

-Fred

PS: Also, the phrase "...then you can go gargle wolf piss." is included.

PPS: I'm playing on US server Cimmeria, a cimmerian ranger named Pharl. Come see me, we'll have a laugh and a brew!