HyborianAdventures
Latest
Age of Conan's retail, monthly subscription prices revealed
Norwegian publisher and developer Funcom has announced the amount of money armchair barbarians can expect to shell out from beneath their loincloths to play Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, with the MMO's retail box costing $59.99 and €49.99 in North America and Europe respectively. Beyond that initial outlay of coins, swinging an axe in Hyborea will carry a monthly subscription price of $14.99 in North America and €12.99 for players on the other side of the Atlantic. However, while the oft-delayed MMO has seen a healthy influx of interest during the game's beta test, this hasn't clouded Funcom's gift for the obvious, with the company stating in an investor update that "the success of the game will depend first and foremost on the response it receives from players after several hours of playtime of the finished product." [Via Massively]
A chat with AoC's Shannon Drake
Age of Conan's launch date is fast approaching, so it's always nice to read news from the developers to get us psyched up for it! In a recent Q&A, Shannon "Pharamond" Drake, Funcom's Community Manager, answered 15 questions submitted by the community members themselves.In this Q&A, we find out some interesting information regarding what Funcom has planned for launch versus what they plan to implement further along in the game. For instance, player housing will not be out at launch, but it is a possibility in the future, much as was done with LotRO. There is also word that the game will pull its lore from not only the original Robert E. Howard books, but also from the movies, the Dark Horse comics and everything else associated with the Conan name.%Gallery-9836%
Dragon*Con impressions: Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
Funcom was at this year's Dragon*Con in force with demos of their upcoming MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. While the game isn't slated for release until March 2008 (we hope), the game Funcom showed us looked pretty slick -- though they're still tight-lipped on the feat system (that would be "talent trees" for you World of Warcraft-ers) and the "spell weaving" system the magic users will have access to. We did, however, get a good look at the gameplay as well as a look at the game's female models. For those of you who have to see these things for yourself, Funcom is accepting applications for beta-testers, but for full details on what we saw at Funcom's demo, keep reading! %Gallery-6912%
Age of Conan's last delay wasn't so 'final'
Remember when Funcom promised in January that their delay of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures to October was guaranteed as the "final launch date" for the MMO? Well, they totally lied. Age of Conan has been delayed again until next March. This time around they aren't silly enough to say it's the "final" time. Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas said, "We believe that the new release date is in the best interest of the gamers, our company and our owners."Our time with the game has been fine, but a ten minute demo doesn't give enough of an answer to how this game will avoid the MMO trap of making players not realize they are "waging a war against the mind-numbing effects of repetition." Obviously the developers think they need more time and publisher Eidos seems to be on board with that idea. Funcom now has until next March to announce another delay.
Joystiq impressions: Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
When playing an MMORPG, you're essentially waging a war against the mind-numbing effects of repetition. There's no way to avoid it in a genre that's less concerned with immediate interaction than it is with protracted character building and management. The crucial trick in creating a good MMORPG then, is to bury this almost mechanical repetition in enough layers of entertainment and atmosphere to convince you that you're plundering loot from a defeated swamp creature, and not a polygonal mass of lesser statistics. World of Warcraft is demonstrably such a game and judging by our brief time spent with it, Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures may be as well. Don't misunderstand -- it's not going to radically change your feelings towards MMORPGs, but it may prompt you to consider getting your hands dirty.Indeed, getting your hands dirty is arguably one of Age of Conan's most prominent features. Being based on Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian novels (sorry, Arnie fans!) naturally gives the combat a barbaric edge, with the ability to string together attack combos resulting in a greater sense of immediacy and involvement compared to other titles in the genre. It's not quite an action RPG -- statistics still play a predominant role -- but you are given a variety of physical attack options through a set of on-screen buttons. A smartly executed combo will finish off weakened foes with a fatality animation and a satisfying splatter of blood across the screen.
Choppin' heads with Age of Conan
Eurogamer has posted a rather lengthy preview of Age of Conan from Funcom. AOC looks to be shaping up nicely, adding some new spice to the MMOG genre. First and foremost, is the combat system. Rather than opting for the single click system used in most MMOG games, AOC utilizes a real time combat system. Players have access to several different kinds of sword strokes, each with different arcs and effectiveness. These strokes can be chained into different combos, adding a level of skill to combat. Of course, damage is still determined by dice rolls, so it's not entirely real time, but still a welcome change of pace. The game is host to many other great concepts, like in-game cities actually built by player guilds. These cities, of course, can be sieged by other guilds, too, so you'll want to beef up defenses. The game also adds many story-driven single player elements to the MMOG genre. All in all, it's looking like Age of Conan will bring some interesting new ideas to the MMOG genre without straying too far from the path set by those before it. Hit the "read" link for the full preview.
New Age of Conan video barbarizes the net
A new video of Age of Conan has appeared at GamersInfo, taken from a recent Funcom press event in San Francisco. The video -- at least for us -- appears to have no sound, so the action is missing a little flavor. Still, we do get a glimpse at some of the game's detailed environments and the combat system. We've mentioned the combo-driven combat system before, but this is the first time we've seen it in use. Honestly, it looks like it could use some work. Either that, or the person playing had no idea what he was doing (a likely possibility at a press event). We can't complain about the environments though (especially the cities). They look great. Hit the "read" link for the video.[Via Evil Avatar]
Age of Conan MMO delayed for the "final" time
Developer Funcom dropped in on the official Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures forums to bring news of further delay. Bad news first: the PC version has been pushed back to October 30, 2007. And now the good news: Funcom promises this is the "final launch date." Specific details regarding this latest delay were not disclosed.Age of Conan is currently in closed beta. Funcom is expected to announce details about open beta in the near future. An Xbox 360 version will be released sometime following Age of Conan's debut on PC.
Age of Conan MMO extended to Xbox 360
Development of an Xbox 360 version of the Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures MMORPG will soon be underway. The PC version was lauded by numerous media outlets as the 'Best MMO of E3' this year, certainly fueling the decision to extend the game's reach to Microsoft's console. Age of Conan has not yet been confirmed for cross-platform or Live Anywhere support.Age of Conan begins as a single-player adventure, and once complete, morphs into a persistent world, online-multiplayer game; highlighted by activities like city building and PvP siege warfare. Brutal gameplay is defined by a "Real Combat" engine, which relies on active combo-inputs.
