Age of Conan Hyborian Adventures A Game Review by Nathan Palmer Basic Info Based on the world created by author Robert E Howard Game created by Funcom co published by Funcom and Eidos Game Type MMORPG Price Initial Release 49 99 USD Current 19 99 USD 14 99 per month for online play after first month System Specs Minimal Stated System Specs Recommended Resolution 1024 x 768 Intel Pentium 4 3 0 GHz or equivalent 1 GB RAM ATI Radeon 9800 nVidia GeForce 6600 32 GB free hard disk space Actual System Specs from Experience Resolution Used 1440 x 900 Intel Core 2 Duo 2 0 GHz or equivalent At least 2 GB RAM Dedicated video card with at least 512 MB memory 32 GB free hard disk space Installation Game can be run off of a purchased disk or downloaded from authorized sites Once installed the game is run from then on using a patcher that will update game files as necessary and launch the game Note the game takes a considerable amount of hard disk space compared to the average computer game Overview MMORPG focused heavily on Player vs Player combat Combat designed to be more action packed Game can be played beginning to end solo Best experience comes from playing in groups generally consisting of 6 people Game play activities include Player vs Environment PVE leveling collecting items crafting Player vs Player PVP combating enemy guilds bragging rights gaining PVP levels Story Line Your Character You begin as a nameless slave with a strange mark tattooed on your chest The ship transporting you is attacked and you are one of very few to survive thanks to the assistance of some unknown deity You awaken on an island and encounter a strange old man who tells you that you have been marked by destiny to accomplish a very important task The World Conan the Barbarian created by Robert E Howard is now the king of the most powerful empire in the world but his empire is starting to fall apart Enemies from all over are rising to challenge him and the king s soldiers are not enough to stop them Even worse is the rumor that some dark power might be behind everything that has been occurring The call has been put out for all brave men and women to help stop this dark power Player s Role Sandbox Style Player free to roam and progress as he or she wishes for the most part A player s level is the only limit to what they can do The point of the game is to progress through the levels completing quests and in the process fulfill the destiny described in the storyline Once at maximum level there are several activities to perform including crafting raiding and PVP Game Play Player vs Environment PVE player vs environment game play is mostly story driven early on with more side quests later on Quests between levels 20 and 80 not as based on the overall storyline Endgame level 80 PVE consists of 24man raid zones and some 6 man zones Game Play cont Player vs Player Game focuses on this aspect more than most previous MMO s Sieges guilds can defend and attack battle keeps 48 man teams Mini games 6 man team games with different objectives World PVP Crafting Different resource types gathered from around the game world Using recipes found or learned from NPC s the player can craft items to use trade or sell User Interface Button Slots used to hold and spells abilities or macros the player wishes to put there Personal and Target s Indicators show the health mana and stamina of yourself and your target Chat Windows Mini Map Group Window shows group members and their stats Tool Shortcuts opens windows for inventory player attributes feats etc FPS and Latency Bar hovering over the bar shows player s latency and frames per second the bar changes color as latency increases Scoring No formal scoring system Players PVE score could be determined by their level and gear Players PVP score could be determined by their mini game points and PVP level Guilds can be scored by their numbers success in sieges and world PVP Bragging rights Artwork The games graphics are quite good some of the best in the genre Made to use dx10 Settings and characters in the world are detailed and unique to the game There is some reuse of NPC models Character creation isn t quite as extensive as it could be so some players will look very similar Sound and Music Sound Game sound is high quality and there is not too much repetition of sounds for different purposes Game supports multiple sound settings and speaker configurations No built in voice chat Music Music has an epic feel Different music for different zones music matches the surroundings Music changes to alert player of something going on in the game Example Music changes to alert player that something is attacking Special Features Game is detailed and has many features considered normal for a game of this genre Special features could include Game Forums to discuss different aspects of the game with other people and the creators Extra Purchase Options players can buy additional character slots server transfers and character name changes Specialty Items For example if a player preordered the game they receive special items Manual Instruction Manual installing and running the game changing game settings How to read and use the UI Much information received by asking for assistance from experienced players GM s and through trial and error Bugs Server Instability Memory Leaks Were quite a few now only a few remaining that I have seen or heard of recently Player Exploits Most noticeable when crossing multiple zones Very bad at launch much improved now but still some present Cause graphical issues and game crashes Quests Bugs Glitches Lag Spikes Better than at launch but still the games biggest issue Causes lag and disconnects Players exploiting game mechanics to achieve some advantage they wouldn t normally have Third Party Hack Programs External programs that give players different abilities they are not supposed to have Most functions of these programs have been blocked but some still present The Good Very good graphics Game earns the M for mature rating Game is fast paced and can be quite intense Fairly easy to learn hard to master Good amount of PVP activities Easy but profitable crafting system Arguably the best combat system in any MMORPG New content still being created Full expansion announced likely within the next year The Bad Server instability Graphics can be a downfall for players with low end computers Game earns the M for mature rating Game bugs can add up to sometimes aggravate players Could be
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