Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (pc: 2008): Reviews

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xx Abbey, The
xx Aces of the Galaxy
80 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
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88 GRID
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72 Insecticide: Episode 1
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73 Political Machine 2008, The
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65 Turok
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xx Women's Murder Club

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures


7.7

based on 35 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 578 votes
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In 'Conan' the players encounter a dark, lush, violent and sinful universe, presented in fantastic graphics and stunning 7.1 surround audio. In a world filled with cruel gods, mythical creatures, lost civilizations and a struggling human race, the mighty barbarian has finally seized the throne as king of Aquilonia. But Conan's rule is on the brink of chaos, spiraling towards the doom of ancient evils. In this twisted fantasy world, dark magic and brutal combat lurks around every corner, and each man and woman must carve their own unique destiny under Conan's reign. In the true vision of Robert E. Howard's dark universe, it's now time for you to become a messenger of death. In addition to incredible graphics and sound, the game will be filled with unique features like the "Real Combat" engine; a revolutionary new multi-point melee system which allows the players to swing their weapons where they direct it, in real-time! This easy to learn and fun melee system lets the players truly feel they are on the battlefield, and goes head-on against the formulaic nature of online RPG combat. In 'Conan' you can also, for the first time in an online RPG, create player-made battle formations where you can command NPC's and other players in combat, making for epic multiplayer battles. The multiplayer game also allow the players to form guilds and lay siege to enemy castles, letting their catapults sing their merry song of death as the enemy is crushed to a pulp. [Funcom]

PUBLISHER:	Funcom / Eidos Interactive
DEVELOPER:	Funcom
GENRE(S):	Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game
PLAYERS:	Thousands
ESRB RATING:	M (Mature)
RELEASE DATE:	May 20, 2008

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

GameFocus

This game is massively superior to "World of Warcraft" and "Lord of the Rings Online" and other current high rated MMORPG’s in many ways and should be a game to pull players of all types to it if they are willing to give it a chance.

GameZone

This game marks the next generation of MMOs in many ways. It looks good, is very entertaining and plays very well. This is a journey well worth taking.

AtomicGamer

It won't put WoW out of business, but then again, nothing will for a long time, and that doesn't mean this isn't a great game with tons of appeal and a hopefully more mature audience

Gamer 2.0

It will be interesting to see how things develop after six months or so, but as it stands, Age of Conan is off to a great start and it can only get better from here.

Boomtown

This is loooooong term fun. This is rich in character and beauty. This is an ode to an author who started something huge.

Computer Games Online RO

The best thing about Age of Conan is its potential.

Gamers.at

Age of Conan might not (yet) be free of bugs but it brings fresh air into the genre. What remains is the question whether you want to try out a game with a new fighting system, a lot of violence and steep hardware requirements or rather stick to more classic MMORPGs. [Issue#14]

Games Master UK

Quests are staple MMO territory - but the unique, gory combat adds spice. [Aug 2008, p.72]

PTGamers

In the end, Age of Conan is a game filled with potential, but still requires quite some work.

GameSpot

Technical issues notwithstanding, the violently rewarding Age of Conan is one of the finest online RPGs available.

GameTrailers

With style, substance, and attitude under its +4 strength leather belt, Age of Conan may have a ways to go before entering an age of refinement, but when that time comes it’ll no doubt find its place as an online world power.

Gameplayer

At this point in time, we’re confident in recommending Age of Conan if you love MMOs and are looking for something completely different to what’s out there. It admirably manages to present a massively multiplayer experience while at the same time forging its own path with an added emphasis on single player story and real time combat.

Ferrago

It is great fun despite its quirks and flaws, just don't try rushing your way through the levels too quickly. Take your time, getting there is half the journey as they say, and don't expect a polished final product like World of Warcraft, it's still a work in progress but will hopefully develop into a great alternative to Blizzard's opus.

Jolt Online Gaming UK

It’s bold, brash, visceral in nature and for the first 20 levels it’s highly compelling. It’s also unfinished, somewhat unpolished and requires a fairly hefty PC to run.

PC Format

Every bit as ambitious as it is visually stunning. A little more polish, and WoW could finally have serious competition on its hands. [Aug 2008, p.92]

Worth Playing

It is difficult to pass a final judgment on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, given that some areas, such as the combat and story, are exceptional while others, such as the non-combat gameplay and questing, fall somewhat flat. With that being said, the pros outweigh the cons, and though the game is mostly combat-driven, the combat system is one of the most enjoyable aspects.

GameStar

The most beautiful landscapes, the most captivating sword fights and the most believable online world to date. Age of Conan is still a work in progress, but already fascinating and managed to captivate eight of our editors over the last few weeks. There are some technical problems, but if Funcom keeps on improving the game it could be the other big MMO next to World of Warcraft.

Game Informer

Conan delivers the best action in the genre, presents an amazingly immersive world, and has a lot of room for emergent PvP gameplay at the level cap in the Borderlands. However, its heavily instanced design and lackluster PvE content offer little of note to more socially inclined players and PvP haters.

EuroGamer

Right now, though, the game as it stands is a rough diamond - very good, bordering on great thanks to a regular stream of comprehensive patches from Funcom.

Cheat Code Central

Its low-fantasy setting, tweaked combat system, attention to visual detail, excellent soundtrack, mature content, and promises of large-scale PvP are what set it apart from what is becoming a largely overcrowded genre.

games(TM)

Bloody, brutal, sexy, and immersive - eventually. [July 2008, p.106]

GameSpy

Age of Conan going forward should become a delightfully savage second home for plenty of howling on-line barbarians.

G4 TV

You'll find everyone from inspired role-players to hardcore number crunchers, transplants from both WoW and LOTRO, in this game. How long they'll stay is anyone's guess, but it seems like Age of Conan has plenty of room to grow.

Gamer.nl

Funcom has managed to put a good game on the market with Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. The game has many new aspects and therefore differs itself from other MMO games. The graphics are beautiful, as long as you have a good system to cope with it. The bad interface and some minor bugs are the reasons Age of Conan didn't get a higher result.

IGN

There's plenty of content at lower levels, but things thin out once you get higher up. Crafting system leaves a lot to be desired and we'll have to wait and see how PvP siege gameplay turns out.

PC Gamer

It's not quite there yet, but since it did launch with a substantial load of content, it will keep 95 percent of players busy for at least a few months. [Sept 2008, p.64]

PC Gamer UK

Age of Conan is beautiful, but it's not bold enough. [Aug 2008, p.80]

YouGamers

Age of Conan might turn out to be a fair game at some future date, but we can't score a game based on future promises. As it stands now, it's incomplete, rushed and buggy, with major game systems utterly broken. Recommended only for exploit hunters and MMO fanatics that enjoy waiting for that next patch - the one that will "fix everything" - even when it never does.

PC Zone UK

However, once you pass the infant stages of the game, play becomes all too familiar, all too repetitive and all too unpolished. I'm not saying avoid Age of Conan - feel free to give it a go and enjoy the early stages with your free 30 days of play.

Wired

In essence, if you're willing to suffer through some early balance issues, have a good guild to join and desire an MMO experience where you can kill other people to your heart's content, Age of Conan is the game for you.

GamePro

The further you get from the starting levels, the more you'll have to deal with smudged content. The voice acting will mysteriously disappear, along with the quests, the single-player story, and the engaging instances.

Edge Magazine

Lacks the genuine desire for change that the genre so desperately needs. [Aug 2008, p.95]

AceGamez

Funcom has done something quite dangerous by consciously releasing a less than feature complete offering into the market. Unfortunately, it's this incompleteness and the sheer number of deep-rooted problems that ultimately defines your Hyborian Adventure.

Game Revolution

The problem is that potential is not the same as value, and it's hard to recommend Age of Conan as it stands right now. In six months, however, it should be spectacular.

1UP

The genre isn't in its infancy anymore, and developer Funcom doesn't have the trailblazer status that would grant easy deflection of criticism about unimplemented features and crippling bugs... Right now, Age of Conan is fun game to play -- this summer, it might be ready for the MMO pantheon.

The average user rating for this game is 7.7 (out of 10) based on 578 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it a2:
The game has it's advantages, but also many weaknesses. One of the bigger problems is that the game is still in development..yes thats right you are paying for a game that is not finished yet. Wait about 6 months or so with buying it, then they might have fixed all the bugs from the beta that should have been fixed before they released it..also the game does NOT support directx10 as they state on the box.

Susan gave it a3:
Don't waste your money. I've been playing since the game opened to all players. The beginning island is finished and is fun to play, but the rest of the game is not. PVP, Siege, quests and crafting, something you expect from an MMO, is virtually non-existent. Even though Siege is listed as being in the game - it's not. Funcom's idea of class balancing is to nerf classes and then conveniently forget to put it in their patch notes. After level 35, the game becomes extremely boring and repetitive. There is a complete lack of content, direction and story line after level 35 and to level beyond that, you will spend the majority of your time doing the same 3 level scaling quests. With every patch, performance gets worse along with game play. Simply put, Funcom, even though it has experience with MMO's, (Anarchy Online), has no idea what it's doing with this game. I was a huge fan at first, but after you begin to level, along with the bugs and nerfs, you realize just how much is missing from the game. Funcom released a buggy, machine hog lacking content, direction and story line. The mature themes disappear after level 20 or so, so again - Funcom falls short on their promises. If you spend your $50.00 on this game, you'll get something that's fun to play for about a week. After that, you'll be as angry and frustrated as 90% of the players are. The game forums are no longer an indicator of player satisfaction as each unhappy post or suggestion is merrily deleted by Funcom's "new" moderators. That's the game in a nutshell and from someone who played it to 80. With no end game content, no siege, there is nothing to do after reaching 80.

Carrigan K gave it a2:
Wow another great game from funcom... rather go and play a dead game like diablo 1 wasted 90$ on collectors edition not worth it plain and simple huge let down...was looking forward to time game since it was announced.... Don't buy it don't play it.

Kree B. gave it a5:
Great potential and an amazing first 20 levels on the Island of Tortage are not enough to overcome the lack of interesting, engaging, and challenging content past level 50. This game is broken and should be avoided. If it survives for a year it might be worth another look.

Marissa D. gave it a5:
The graphics are great, the music is great, the combat is OK. They have no customer support, in game or out. Missing content, and bugs over shadow the things that are good about this game. AOC had great potential, and so far it has not shown me any of it. Funcom should be embarrassed it took them 5 years to come out with this game in it's current state. The release should have been put off a while longer. It does have potential, when will it happen, is the burning question.

Marcus gave it a9:
Having been someone whose computer suffered really badly from the bugs and crashes (they have now been fixed), I am still going to give this game a 9. The graphics are incredible (more realistic than oblivion and it runs smoother too), the combat actually feels like combat unlike other MMOs. For me the atmosphere of the game is amazing. A lot of people are complaining about poor pvp "imbalance". I think this is actually a good thing and greatly enhances the atmosphere and realism of the game. It would be a great shame if they changed it. More skill is required this way, hiding in thickets of trees while a group of level 80s rides past etc - I really love the brutality of the pvp in this game - it just makes it feel so much more real and exciting than in other MMOs. As for the instancing, people are already complaining about fps - if it wasn't so heavily instanced, for a lot of people it would be unplayable. Maybe in a few years when people have better computers, they'll change this.... One of my favourite things about this game is the extent to which you can customize your character's appearance and I also love the classes (I have 5 characters all with different classes and I haven't found any big problem with class imbalance ( actually I love all the classes I have played -they all have clear advantages and disadvantages) I do agree that the game is just the skeleton of what it will become - but even in its current form, it is still by far the most fun MMO I have played which is why I won't be canceling my account. It seems people either love or hate this game but for me, it definitely gets a big thumbs up!

Max O gave it a1:
Graphics are nice, but should be better for the type of system it requires. Buildings don't look that great. Gameplay new at first for non-spellcasters but gets boring. To much lack of content and bugs, even for a new mmorpg.