Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Article Round-up
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We start out with a Q&A at VideoGamer with game director Craig Morrison:
VideoGamer.com: For those who have never played Age of Conan before and might be tempted now the game is having this re-promotion, how would you describe it?
CM: The beauty of Age of Conan is twofold. It's different than a lot of other games that are on the market at the moment in that it's a very mature and brutal setting. The world of Conan that Robert E. Howard described in his original writings is a very visceral and brutal environment. It's not a high fantasy setting; it's a low fantasy setting. It's a very dark and foreboding world, and the game world captures that. It does instantly feel very different to the other types of MMO games that are available at the moment. It's obviously one of the best-looking games in the genre, by far. The visuals bring it out and allow players to see and experience that great world. Secondly, the game's combat system offers something very unique and different in the genre. It's much more interactive and dynamic. The players have to think about their positioning, how they use their attack it just makes for a more involved experience. The player is in the middle of the fight, as it were. It's not very standoffish as you get in some of the other games in the genre, where it's very much just waiting to press a button. It's a very immediate, involved combat system, which gets the player into the thick of the action. It's more exciting than what they're used to in the genre.
Then we move to GamesIndustry.biz for an interview with Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas:
But while some developers and publishers are prepared to drop an unsuccessful MMO if it doesn't perform quickly in the market, that was never an option for Funcom, said Arne Aas, who's confident the quality of the game now speaks for itself.
"We're in the process of proving it as we speak. The game has turned around quite significantly in terms of quality and content, and the opinions among the players and the public in general is turning more and more to the positive because of the efforts we have put into the game since launch.
"I can say that we have seen very positive trends in subscription longevity and server activity, and I think this is proof that we are turning around the fortune of Age of Conan.
Continuing on, GameSpot brings us a "revisited" article:
In addition to new content areas already added, the team is now simultaneously working towards full implementation of DirectX 10 support, towards the game's next update House of Crom, and on a full retail expansion pack, which will be revealed in August. DirectX 10 support is currently in a beta state and a portion of the game's active players are already using and testing the game, but Funcom is continuing to test the game and accept player feedback--according to Morrison, the inability to have broader testing among a range of systems to make sure DX 10 works OK is what has delayed the full implementation. However, Morrison suggests that the team is "getting close" and hopes to have full DX 10 support in the game in the next month or two. In the meantime, the studio is working on the next content update, which is targeted for high-level players (the majority of the active population) and will offer a two-part dungeon that starts with a public area and various linked boss encounters, sort of as a primer to raiding that will hopefully encourage different groups of players to sequentially trigger the bosses to appear in sequence as they complete various requirements and finish off earlier bosses. House of Crom will also feature "tier 3" raid content--the highest-level of raid content in the game, in the form of Thoth-Amon's stronghold, the home turf of the fabled evil sorcerer.
And Eurogamer does a re-review for a score of 7/10:
In other words, Age of Conan is living up to much of the promise which led to my initial, over-optimistic 8/10 score. Even now, it's a flawed gem. It doesn't have the breadth, scope, polish or charm of WOW, Warhammer Online or Lord of the Rings Online, and it's hard not to see it as a second-string MMO - but unlike last time I returned to Age of Conan, it now feels like a game with direction, and a team that's capable of delivering on its promises. I was wrong 12 months ago - too forgiving of faults that ran deeper than I imagined. Today, Age of Conan is growing into the game I'd hoped it would back then. If only it hadn't taken so long to do so.
