New management, game changing patches, and a swift kick in the groin get this game back on its feet!
To start off I will give you a bit of background on my involvement in the game. I started playing the game during the early beta testing phase and enjoyed the atmosphere of the world of Hyboria. I am a big fan of the lore and even the movies from the 1980's. The world of Hyboria makes a perfect setting for a mature epic MMORPG. My interest and fondness of Hyboria could not balance the game breaking bugs and nuances of the early iteration of Age of Conan. Class imbalances, useless items, unfinished quest lines, and an absence of content left a sour taste in my mouth much like the other early adopters. I played through beta and into launch because Funcom promised a huge content patch at launch. This patch was not nearly what it needed to be and after a month of playing I decided to hang up my bear skin and quit at least for awhile until they could get the game's direction figured out.
A month ago I started hearing great things about Conan again and decided to give it another shot, I am glad I did… Let's jump right into the action.
Story
The player starts off washed up on the shores of an island. An old crone greets the half-dead player and points the player in the direction of the nearest town. This sets the framework for the first quest to get to Tartage. After getting to the town you learn of a vast conspiracy and must follow the quest line until you are able to leave and head for the main land (around level 20.) The story is interesting and the quests are varied depending on the class picked at the beginning. The beginning quests are played out by a combination of multiplayer and single player experiences. Destiny quests that advance the storyline are played at night time and are single player only. This introduces the player to various game play techniques and prepares the player for the game. Think of it as an interesting tutorial. After getting to the main land the game turns into the MMO style experience that most players are used to.
Character Customization
There are three races in the game each which are similar to real ancient races. The Stygians are like Egyptians or Persians. The Cimmerians are like the Norse and the Aquilonians are much like the Greeks. The races only vary between each other by looks, starting location (once off of Tartage), and class selection. The classes in the game are broken down into 4 groups: Soldier, Rogue, Mage, and Priest. Each archetype has 3 classes under that. The classes are varied and interesting.
Game Play
Age of Conan plays much like other modern MMOs. The preferred view is behind the character and the avatar is controlled by the "wasd" keys. Where it gets interesting is the interactive battle system. The enemy has shields in which are displayed around its person. The thicker the shields the weaker the damage will be on that side of the enemy. The strategy is to try to hit the weakest portion of the body since the character can swing left, right, or over head. Along with the three directional attacks the character has many combo moves that must be activated and then the required sequence of keystrokes input to complete the combo and deal major damage. The combos are also directional, so a bit of brain power is needed to know when to use what attack. The enemy constantly changes his shield depending on what attacks are being inflicted. This makes the battle very dynamic and not just an auto attack bore-fest.
Other than the innovative battle system the game plays much like other MMOs on the market. Take on quests and kill mobs to gain experience which level the character up. Each level gives the player skill points to add to categories such as run speed, sprint duration, climbing ability, and other attributes that are somewhat useful. This gives the player the constant ability to tweak their character to their play style. New combos are awarded each few levels as well as upgrades to previous combos. Once past level 10 feat points are awarded each level. These are much like Wow's talent points which can be distributed throughout feat trees to dial in a player's abilities. Feats give bonuses to specific combos or give general boosts.
User Interface
Since more MMO players have played World of Warcraft, or most that are interested in picking this game up at least, I will start by making some simple comparisons. Overall the UI and keyboard commands mirror that of Wow's which is a good thing. The UI is mostly standard. Health/mana/stamina is displayed at the top left. In the middle there are the various commands that open up character inventory, options, etc. The character commands are located along the bottom of the screen and the mini map is located at the upper right hand corner. The interface is sleek and streamlined.
Graphics
Age of Conan by far has the best graphics on any MMORPG on the market today (5/4/2009.) It is the only MMORPG to support DX10 at this moment. To sum it up, the graphics are stunning. Turned up to near max on a somewhat powerful system and the experience is amazing. Rolling fields of grass, sun rays coming through the clouds, water gently rolling down a stream, cloth moving in the wind, and much more immerses the player in the fine world of Hyboria.
When the game first launched the graphics chugged. It was hard to run the game on even top of the line computers. After a few patches the game engine was well tuned and runs great. My rig uses a HD4870 512mb and a 3.2 GHz C2D with ~4gig ram. This system could be classified as an enthusiast build but isn't high end by any means. I can run the game with high sets on everything other than shadows with 12x AF and 2x AA at 1920x1200. The game looks amazing. The graphics do not disappoint.
Sound
I only use stereo sound, so I can't give a good opinion on the 5.1 capabilities or how it sounds in practice. What I have heard sounds just fine. Nothing outstanding, but the sounds go great with the game and add to the experience. The voice acting is decent and is used quite often during the first 30 levels, but slowly tapers off after getting out of the newbie town. The first 20 levels are pretty much all voice acted but after that it gets thin.
Conclusion
Age of Conan has come a long way since its release. Whether you are a new player or a returning player you will not be disappointed with the experience. Be sure to pick a populated server and take your time picking the perfect class for you. Most of the major problems have been fixed but there still remain some hiccups such as thin quests above level 72. However, if you are tired of the same MMORPG clone you might want to give this one a try. Its innovative battle system, great graphics, and colorful ambiance make this a must play game for any MMO enthusiast.
I give it a 8.0.