"Age of Conan: Epic Struggle", by Mark Thompson
After playing nearly every major MMO on the books, I have begun to question if perhaps I am too old for video games. I can remember when Everquest was released back in 1999, and being totally amazed by it. I got my copy for Christmas, right before Kunark came out. I remember wandering Norrath and being scared, yet adventurous when sneaking into Qeynos with my Iksar necromancer and being killed beneath the docks by the guards. The adventure hid behind every corner.
Something happened after that. It got old. The constant tedium of grinding levels became old hat. I logged in less and less until finally, I found myself in the world of Anarchy Online; something fresh and new, yet oddly familiar. Why was it familiar? While AO offered a sci-fi world and a fair amount of innovation (player housing anyone?), the tedium was still there, as well as the lack of immersion I had felt after too much time in Everquest.
I found myself trying every new MMO I could get my hands on. I played second generation games like EverQuest II, The Matrix Online, City of Heroes, Lord of the Rings Online, and Dungeons & Dragons Online. Eventually I began to be more interested in seeing what innovations developers came up with than with playing the games they made. I began to get into beta tests and post reviews in the forums of different game community websites. I found myself transforming from a hardcore gamer, to a game critic.
How could this happen? Have I become so cynical and jaded that I can't enjoy any game out there anymore? Am I doomed to being a “glass half empty” gamer? What am I missing? What magical piece of the puzzle have I lost that makes all MMOs seem like hum drum, cookie cutter clones of first generation MMOs? Then it struck me. Every MMO I have ever played lacked one thing...epic struggle.
Living in the real world, I am faced with tedium and monotony. I escape to virtual worlds to get away from that. When I log into an MMO, I want an epic struggle, something bigger than myself to strive for or against. I long to live in a virtual world where I can stand next to my brothers in battle and feel the tide of war rise up against me. I want to trudge through dank, dark caves and swim across rivers that fight against me. I want to feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my back. I want to drink in a tavern and listen to the muffled whispers of frightened villagers. I want to be in a living, breathing world where danger lurks in every corner and adventure is around every turn. Is this possible? Will I ever see anything like this?
Perhaps, there is a ray of hope. Funcom, the creators of Anarchy Online, may just be providing that in their upcoming MMO, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Billed as the first mature rated MMO, everything I have seen of it is nothing short of amazing. Funcom has long had a reputation of being an innovator and leader in the MMO world despite criticism that their breakout MMO, Anarchy Online is overly complex with a steep learning curve. Funcom seems to have learned from past experience, pushing back the release twice due to feedback from the beta test stating that their 'Real Combat' system was overly complex.
Their community website has several videos demonstrating the 'Real Combat' system as well as videos of city PvP, and trailers. Truly, the black sheep in an industry dominated by point and click combat, Age of Conan promises something that guarantees to please those of us hungry for, dare I say, immersion? Heads roll and swords clash in real time. Archers will be pleased at the level of detail in the ranged combat system, as they get to zoom in to make long range shots. Funcom has come up with a magic system called “spell weaving” that provides the ability for finger wigglers to create custom effects by chaining their spells together, often with tremendous effect. Gone are the days of grabbing a sandwich while your paladin tanks the raid level dragon.
Other highlights of the 'Real Combat' system include mounted combat, no auto-targeting, and a dynamic stealth system for you sneaky back-stabbers. This one particularly interested me because I lean towards the more roguish classes. The developers have stated that stealth will be based on sound, cone of view, armor weight, and skills. For those of you who have played games like TES IV: Oblivion, or stealth games like Splinter Cell, this will be familiar to you. Finally an MMO that attempts to do stealth in a realistic way!
The game world looks to be massive and vibrant, bursting with color and life. Rivers flow like they should, trees sway in the breeze, and mountains stand as ominous reminders of how small the human condition really is. One gets an idea of the grandiose scale of Hyboria by watching the multitude of flyby videos on the community website. Dungeons are horrifying while the landscape is majestic and beautiful. Using Microsoft's graphics api, DX10, gamers using the latest hardware will be able to explore a breath-taking, and beautiful world, full of both splendor and horror.
Also of note, are the player made cities. Resource dependent, players will have to gather materials like stone, lumber, gold and iron to build their strongholds. Players can trade and access services in these cities just as in NPC cities. What makes it different from other MMOs, more than anything else, is the fact that NPCs will build neighboring cities and attack the player cities. Players will have to come to its defense or watch it burn to the ground.
Probably the most enticing feature that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures provides for this gamer, is the PvP system. You can find yourself brawling in a drunken stupor over a barmaid in a tavern, or lopping of heads on the battlefield. Stand on the parapets and rain hell down on your enemies from behind high walls, or ride into a sea of blood, slicing and hacking from the back of your horse. This is NOT your kid brother's PvP. This is bone crunching, head bashing, bloody, player versus player combat. This is catapults and archers. This is walls and horses. This is all out war! This....is epic struggle.
With all of that, this jaded adventurer hopes that it lives up to its apparent glamour. With so many developers on the scene, MMOs live or die by their release day. Funcom is one of the more experienced companies out there, so hopefully they can make a release that will have players coming back for more. For more information on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, go to www.ageofconan.com.
See you in Hyboria!
How could this happen? Have I become so cynical and jaded that I can't enjoy any game out there anymore? Am I doomed to being a “glass half empty” gamer? What am I missing? What magical piece of the puzzle have I lost that makes all MMOs seem like hum drum, cookie cutter clones of first generation MMOs? Then it struck me. Every MMO I have ever played lacked one thing...epic struggle.
Living in the real world, I am faced with tedium and monotony. I escape to virtual worlds to get away from that. When I log into an MMO, I want an epic struggle, something bigger than myself to strive for or against. I long to live in a virtual world where I can stand next to my brothers in battle and feel the tide of war rise up against me. I want to trudge through dank, dark caves and swim across rivers that fight against me. I want to feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my back. I want to drink in a tavern and listen to the muffled whispers of frightened villagers. I want to be in a living, breathing world where danger lurks in every corner and adventure is around every turn. Is this possible? Will I ever see anything like this?
Perhaps, there is a ray of hope. Funcom, the creators of Anarchy Online, may just be providing that in their upcoming MMO, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Billed as the first mature rated MMO, everything I have seen of it is nothing short of amazing. Funcom has long had a reputation of being an innovator and leader in the MMO world despite criticism that their breakout MMO, Anarchy Online is overly complex with a steep learning curve. Funcom seems to have learned from past experience, pushing back the release twice due to feedback from the beta test stating that their 'Real Combat' system was overly complex.
Their community website has several videos demonstrating the 'Real Combat' system as well as videos of city PvP, and trailers. Truly, the black sheep in an industry dominated by point and click combat, Age of Conan promises something that guarantees to please those of us hungry for, dare I say, immersion? Heads roll and swords clash in real time. Archers will be pleased at the level of detail in the ranged combat system, as they get to zoom in to make long range shots. Funcom has come up with a magic system called “spell weaving” that provides the ability for finger wigglers to create custom effects by chaining their spells together, often with tremendous effect. Gone are the days of grabbing a sandwich while your paladin tanks the raid level dragon.
Other highlights of the 'Real Combat' system include mounted combat, no auto-targeting, and a dynamic stealth system for you sneaky back-stabbers. This one particularly interested me because I lean towards the more roguish classes. The developers have stated that stealth will be based on sound, cone of view, armor weight, and skills. For those of you who have played games like TES IV: Oblivion, or stealth games like Splinter Cell, this will be familiar to you. Finally an MMO that attempts to do stealth in a realistic way!
The game world looks to be massive and vibrant, bursting with color and life. Rivers flow like they should, trees sway in the breeze, and mountains stand as ominous reminders of how small the human condition really is. One gets an idea of the grandiose scale of Hyboria by watching the multitude of flyby videos on the community website. Dungeons are horrifying while the landscape is majestic and beautiful. Using Microsoft's graphics api, DX10, gamers using the latest hardware will be able to explore a breath-taking, and beautiful world, full of both splendor and horror.
Also of note, are the player made cities. Resource dependent, players will have to gather materials like stone, lumber, gold and iron to build their strongholds. Players can trade and access services in these cities just as in NPC cities. What makes it different from other MMOs, more than anything else, is the fact that NPCs will build neighboring cities and attack the player cities. Players will have to come to its defense or watch it burn to the ground.
Probably the most enticing feature that Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures provides for this gamer, is the PvP system. You can find yourself brawling in a drunken stupor over a barmaid in a tavern, or lopping of heads on the battlefield. Stand on the parapets and rain hell down on your enemies from behind high walls, or ride into a sea of blood, slicing and hacking from the back of your horse. This is NOT your kid brother's PvP. This is bone crunching, head bashing, bloody, player versus player combat. This is catapults and archers. This is walls and horses. This is all out war! This....is epic struggle.
With all of that, this jaded adventurer hopes that it lives up to its apparent glamour. With so many developers on the scene, MMOs live or die by their release day. Funcom is one of the more experienced companies out there, so hopefully they can make a release that will have players coming back for more. For more information on Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, go to www.ageofconan.com.
See you in Hyboria!
Mark "Moneyshot" Thompson
Freelance Writer
Tags: AgeofConan, Editorial