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General information

Age of Conan : Hyborian adventures

Developer: Funcom
Publisher: Funcom, Eidos Interactive

Release date: March 25, 2008

Platform: Windows
Media: DVD-ROM, Download, CD
ESRB Rating: TBC

Official website: http://www.ageofconan.com/

Price: check prices on Amazon, Ebay, Direct2Drive
Monthly fee: TBC

Screenshots

Overview

Age of Conan will be split into two sections. The first will be a single-player experience that is played while connected to the game's servers, but without interacting with other players. It will see the player creating a character and then guiding that character through a traditional single-player, role-playing adventure. Funcom has predicted that some will purchase the game solely for the single-player experience. The second section takes the character created during the single-player portion online, where the player can interact with others. The online world promises to be dynamic, as players may form guilds (player organizations) and take over territories and erect cities, which are vulnerable to attacks by both humanoid NPCs and players.

Funcom is focusing on developing content for the "end game," the time at which characters have reached maximum advancement, rather than the grind and promises a fast leveling process.

Aside from the single-player campaign, one of primary attractions of Age of Conan is the "Real Combat" system which promises greater player interaction during combat than previously seen in online role-playing games. The player is able to direct the swings of their character's weapon during combat to attack six separate target zones. Funcom has stated that this system will be easy to learn even for veteran MMORPG players who are used to "click and wait" combat, but the specific workings of this system have yet to be unveiled. Other features will include battle formations, which will impart bonuses to the group using them, and mounted combat, which will also use the "Real Combat" engine.

When creating a character in Age of Conan, the player may choose from three different races, four archetypes and twenty-three different character classes. For the first five levels the player is a "commoner," without a class, but of Cimmerian, Aquilonian or Stygian origin. Then at level five, the player chooses from four archetypes: Mage, Priest, Rogue or Soldier. At level twenty, the player selects from four to seven class selections for each archetype.

More than any other feature, combat is the prime attraction of Age of Conan : Hyborian Adventures. Funcom is determined to obsolete the traditional Dungeons & Dragons-inspired "round-based" system of combat that is the current standard in MMOs. Instead Age of Conan will feature what Funcom has termed the "Real Combat" system. This system is basically a point-and-click melee approach in which every enemy is divided into six different areas that players can swing at. Players choose where they wish to swing along with which weapons, spells, or techniques they wish to use, and then watch as their avatar completes the action. As players become better at using the system, they will find combinations of abilities, swing styles and target points that string together to make more devastating attack combos. While player stats and items bonuses will play a role in this system, the idea of "Real Combat" is to bring more player skill into MMO fighting.

Compiled from Wikipedia

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