Age of Conan Video Game Review

This movie to video game adaptation is done very well. It is a mmorpg (massively multiplayer online role playing game) that has a unique combat system where you attack directionally instead of click and lock on like most mmos. You perform combo by hitting the directional attack buttons in sequence. This can lead to cool fatalities and more damage.

It is set in the Robert E. Howard universe which has its own races and cultures besides that of Conan's Cimmeria. You can choose to start in Cimmeria; a barbaric cold world. Stygia; an Egyptian like world with Pyramids and snake worshipers. There is also Aquilonia which is like an advanced society like the Romans or Byzantium.

There are many guilds in the game some with over 300 people others with 50-60 people. They are going to add Guild Alliances and Alliance Battle Keeps. There are plenty of servers to choose from as well. They have PvE (player vs environment) or PVP servers or culture PvP where you fight different race classes.

The leveling system goes as such; from 1-20 you play in Tortage a pirate island so you can learn the game and system. Then from 20-80 you essentially play in the full world and can engage in PvP anywhere outside of cities. There are some solo instances(zones) where you can only fight by yourself against monsters. There are also raid instances where you need large groups to defeat epic monsters. Sometime you need from 6-12 players depending on the instance. These zones will yield better loot such as swords or armor with better stats.

The game's initial release had so much hype that it had trouble living up to it in the first few months. Now, they have PVP (player versus player) experience and have fixed a lot of the errors and bugs that occurred in the early months. They have ironed out almost all of the bug and game play problems. They have smoothed over some of the class differences as well. There may still be a gap between some classes, but each one is needed to fill out a good team.

You can siege other player made Battle Keeps or fight in other PVP skirmishes and mini games. There are catapults and War Mammoths that can take down the enemies walls. You can defend you keep with Archers and guards from inside and out. The graphics are very good so make sure you have the latest requirements before buying the game. I give it a 9/10.