Age of Conan: Unchained

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 831 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 536 out of 831
  2. Mixed: 103 out of 831
  3. Negative: 192 out of 831
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  1. JamesP.
    May 20, 2008
    4
    Beautifully rendered boredom. Once you arrive at the first city you're hit with huge lack of clear direction as to where to level or what to do. If their goal is to keep you guessing and wandering around, they succeeded. What i love about and while i'll be staying with WoW is that I always know what I'm suppose to be fighting next and why. This game just has too much Beautifully rendered boredom. Once you arrive at the first city you're hit with huge lack of clear direction as to where to level or what to do. If their goal is to keep you guessing and wandering around, they succeeded. What i love about and while i'll be staying with WoW is that I always know what I'm suppose to be fighting next and why. This game just has too much guesswork and the leveling tedium is going to be outrageous compared to WoW.… Expand
  2. EetuS.
    May 27, 2008
    4
    Horrible game, no balance and spawn camping ruins ffa PvP.
  3. AlanF
    May 25, 2008
    4
    Gorgeous graphics, great story and well thought out combat system. If this was an FPS it would be a 10 but as an MMO...it fails on many levels. Many aspects of this genre were seemingly given little or no thought, making it difficult and at times frustrating to play. Beginner levels are too long and difficult to complete...mostly due to to lack of a meaningful quest chain progression. Gorgeous graphics, great story and well thought out combat system. If this was an FPS it would be a 10 but as an MMO...it fails on many levels. Many aspects of this genre were seemingly given little or no thought, making it difficult and at times frustrating to play. Beginner levels are too long and difficult to complete...mostly due to to lack of a meaningful quest chain progression. Frustrating chat system...Rather than being ground breaking it is an semi-quasi FPS version of EQ, likely to have it's rabid followers but unlikely to gain the mass appeal of a WoW.… Expand
  4. BobD
    May 31, 2008
    4
    After 50 the game just isn't complete... lack of quests, forced grinding to level, small, instanced zones. Massive amounts of bugs, extremely unbalanced classes, no directx 10, crafting doesn't really work, can't get to tier two city, no pvp system, etc. I could go on for pages but this game doesn't deserve that much effort. When it launches for console it will be After 50 the game just isn't complete... lack of quests, forced grinding to level, small, instanced zones. Massive amounts of bugs, extremely unbalanced classes, no directx 10, crafting doesn't really work, can't get to tier two city, no pvp system, etc. I could go on for pages but this game doesn't deserve that much effort. When it launches for console it will be done... simple as that. PC gamers are paying to beta test. Do not but this game till it launches on console if at all.… Expand
  5. T.adrien
    May 24, 2008
    4
    Feeling of loneliness in a MMORPG what a strange paradox The interface is shamefull for a 2008 game quests haven't anything different from other MMORPG Nothing new except the graphism which are really good.
  6. LinoC
    May 26, 2008
    4
    Huge disappointment, Explore a World ? not... just a series of small hubs of quests totally instanced and with dozens of copies of the same zone making so that the sense of immersion of being in a "world" completely disappears, it can vary from a beautiful scenery to the worst junction of polygons with a lousy texture like the volcano area.... white sands isle on the other hand is very Huge disappointment, Explore a World ? not... just a series of small hubs of quests totally instanced and with dozens of copies of the same zone making so that the sense of immersion of being in a "world" completely disappears, it can vary from a beautiful scenery to the worst junction of polygons with a lousy texture like the volcano area.... white sands isle on the other hand is very nice. UI is so bad it can make an amateur programmer cry, bugs by the tons.... NEXT GEN MMO ? my god hope not... feels like a single player game with some intruders running around sometimes on your private world.… Expand
  7. privateprivate
    Jun 20, 2008
    4
    Very buggy and unfinished. Unoriginal content. Too many instances and loading screens for every zone.
  8. BjörnO
    May 24, 2008
    4
    A game with fantastic graphic and athmosphere. Sadly everything is destroyed by all loading time because they have divided the game world in different areas. Everytime you go to a new area you must talked to a npc and then travel. The feeling for a open world is lost.
  9. JohnL.
    May 26, 2008
    4
    Super boring quests in the beginning of the game. So boring in fact my party of 4 people all unsubscribed after a few hours of play!!! The quests are mostly "open" instances so if you need to get, let's say, 15 jewels from 15 alligators and another party that is in your "shared" instance has killed them all your party has to wait for them to respawn and unrealistically they will just Super boring quests in the beginning of the game. So boring in fact my party of 4 people all unsubscribed after a few hours of play!!! The quests are mostly "open" instances so if you need to get, let's say, 15 jewels from 15 alligators and another party that is in your "shared" instance has killed them all your party has to wait for them to respawn and unrealistically they will just pop up in thin air. The mini-map is terrible for tracking your party members and almost worse for finding locations of quests. The quest journal is not well laid out. The larger maps show NO party members at all and you would like to use the larger maps since the mini-map can't be resized and is as small as a quarter on larger wide screen monitors. Better scripted private instanced quests and a much better quest journal and mapping system and this game might be worth the cash for our group of players. Back to DDO Stormreach for now which still has the fastest and best battle system to date in my opinion.… Expand
  10. JohnD.
    May 26, 2008
    4
    This looks and feels very much like EQ2 which I hated. The graphics are not good. The sound effects are poor. It's also very buggy. Doesn't hold a candle to WoW even though I'm really tired of WoW.
  11. PaulF.
    Jun 2, 2008
    4
    AoC has some very compelling features and to do it justice they must be addressed. My score of 4 may seem demoralizing but it's my personal belief and is not necessarily a view shared with all other players. I will explain my MMO background, what I like to see in MMO's and why, over-all the pro's couldn't outweigh the cons. First of all, AoC features amazing graphics AoC has some very compelling features and to do it justice they must be addressed. My score of 4 may seem demoralizing but it's my personal belief and is not necessarily a view shared with all other players. I will explain my MMO background, what I like to see in MMO's and why, over-all the pro's couldn't outweigh the cons. First of all, AoC features amazing graphics and beautiful landscaping. These features make for great screenshots (definately useable as desktop backgrounds!) and an overall very immersive experience, for a while. I'm a fan of graphics, but I'd say there is a greater appeal to more casual-MMO gamers than to a self proclaimed veteran such as myself. The graphics are quite system intensive and to be honest, I really can't afford an extra $800 worth of system content to be able to pump the graphical settings higher for gameplay (though I can manage to turn them up for a screen shot if necessary). The combat system is very original. This is a pro to many, to me it's... okay. I don't mean to be negative towards unique ideas because I think they are very progressive in the evolution of games. I want people to know that the combat system is something that needs to be experienced, but generally speaking it wasn't for me. I felt like the defense stacking and directional combat/combo system made me react in different ways based on my opponents defenses, but otherwise speaking I generally was fighting the same way regardless of many other factors (this seems to be a problem in many MMOs recently. Each fight comes down to similar mechanics and not to call-and-response, think-on-your-feet ones. As a little background knowledge, Im a big fan of fast-twich, do-this-move-now-or-you-won't-have-a-chance-later type gameplay (think... spell interruption in WoW or war-spell dodging in Asheron's Call, or Missile Repelling in L2, etc etc.) I felt that I was focusing more on my melee offense in conan than I was on tactical defense (the defensive utilities available are not useful in my opinion. Double tapping to dodge still gets a hit landed on you.) I have not tried magic classes, so I will not comment or adjust my score positively or negatively based on that factor. Crafting is a big part of the game, I like the way crafting works, the instanced world and the extent of how immersive your creations can be. It's a positive for crafting happy people. As I recall SWG tried to make it so that the game didn't have to play combat oriented all the time. People could specialize in non-combat careers like dancing and could enjoy social aspects of the game. I feel the crafting here is... faster to lvl not entirely a gameplay experience all it's own but it definately fun while you do it (remember that you need to lvl a bit before you can jump into it though!) The story is captivating, but I must be honest that I never got into conan before and so none of the names and most of the world doesn't relate to any seeded memories. It's cool anyway but a story can be depleted and eventually will run out leaving me with gameplay to carry me. Overall if the game weren't an MMO it'd get a much higher score, but I feel I must grade it based on one of the most key factors of MMO gameplay. and that's it's Lasting Appeal. I can't see myself playing this game much more than a couple of months. AC, L2, SWG and WoW had me playing for over 6 months, AC and WoW for over 2 years each! The bar keeps getting raised higher and higher and AoC has definately raised the bar for elements of MMOs but sadly, not for lasting appeal in my opinion. If you have money to spare, go try it out. Plenty of people swear by it and needed a new MMO experience after WoW burn-out syndrome. The MMO market is becoming more competative and I'm glad I bought the game to support that market evolution, but I won't expect to be a part of this game when the release of other MMOs such as Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, The Chronicles of Spellbourne or Pheonix Dynasty Online are released. - Paul Forte. MMO Experience: AC, AC2, Lineage, Lineage2, EQ2, UO, SWG, AO, Eve, SWG, Auto Assault, PotBS, Dungeon Runners Beta, DAoC, WoW.… Expand
  12. KevinR.
    Jun 28, 2008
    4
    The excellent opening, leading into 20 levels of fabulous solo gameplay was great.... then I found myself in the actual game world. I could write more on that, but feel that much has been covered already. I uninstalled, and will not be re-subscribing. Maybe next year I will check it out again. I went and bought (brace yourself) World of Warcraft. Now as a vet of Everquest, Ultima Online, The excellent opening, leading into 20 levels of fabulous solo gameplay was great.... then I found myself in the actual game world. I could write more on that, but feel that much has been covered already. I uninstalled, and will not be re-subscribing. Maybe next year I will check it out again. I went and bought (brace yourself) World of Warcraft. Now as a vet of Everquest, Ultima Online, and Vanguard, I was expecting what most people say about WOW.... a childish, kiddie, "noob" environment, and for the most part they are right, but the skilled expert players are there however, you just have to find them. I was fortunate enough to find an excellent guild (after many frustrating random groups with un-skilled players) and now I am having a BLAST!! More fun than I ever had in EQ or Vanguard. As far as people saying WOW is "too easy" well... I can say from experience that Conan is not any "harder" than WOW. World of Warcraft is indeed easy if you have a high-level character walk you through the instances, but if you don't "cheat" and actually run through the dungeons at their intended levels , for example: running the DEADMINES with a level 14-15 group (Yes... it's possible) You will find that there is plenty of challenge in it. Again, maybe I will try CONAN again sometime next year after they fix things, but for now, I will enjoy my new-found-friend... World Of Warcraft!!!!!!!… Expand
  13. Ecco
    Jun 7, 2008
    4
    IOnly the basics are implemented at the moment, very few quests after lvl 50, not so polished after lvl 20+, buggy laggy...a better beta at this point.
  14. JohnF.
    Jul 30, 2008
    4
    While the graphics are good the game is a complete letdown. I along with many bought into the hype and paid $80 for the collectors addition What a complete ripoff!!! The game is drab and boring with nothing to hook you into more hours. Trust me I tried many times to get into the game and just found nothing fun about it. In fact it made me want back in WOW more than I ever imaginged. This While the graphics are good the game is a complete letdown. I along with many bought into the hype and paid $80 for the collectors addition What a complete ripoff!!! The game is drab and boring with nothing to hook you into more hours. Trust me I tried many times to get into the game and just found nothing fun about it. In fact it made me want back in WOW more than I ever imaginged. This game claimed to be the WOW killer? Haaa! There is no and I mean no comparison to the type of game warcraft is. You can say what you want but if you have played both games you can not argue AOC against WOW because there is no comparison. I only gave a four rating because of good graphics but everything else is a sore dissapointment. I even quit Wow to get into this and was left wanting so bad I tucked tail back and learned how much AOC made me apreciate a good game. The hype was a lie!! The first thing I noticed was that you have to instance into the Inn?!? What a burn. everywhere you turn is a load page and the same boring brown atmosphere. just no damn fun no matter where you turn in this game. The combat? Please just play a console if you want to experience this great combat. You could hook up a hand held controler and it would feel more like god of War than an mmor Just another rip off guild wars that has no pizazz and no style with crappy boring features that will turn you off in a week. Go ahead and pay fifty bucks and take the one week challange. All in all aside from very nice graphics which are extremely underused in making this game atractive AOC is dump for your money. I can tell you as a long time gamer you will not like this game after a short time. Please dont think I am a blizz boy because I am not. I simply bought into the hype and left very ripped off beleive me I tried to go with it there is just nothing there. If you like the game and dont agree with me more power to you I just can not see anything that would keep you interested. Thanks for reading my opinion… Expand
  15. PMF
    Jul 3, 2008
    4
    It feels somewhat unfair to rate the game in its current state since I expect (assuming it survives) it will feel like a whole new game in a year or two - but by the same token : it is probably unfair to sell the game in its current state and charge a subscription fee to play it. Personally I just do not find it ambitious enough to excite me, but down the line I expect AoC will become a It feels somewhat unfair to rate the game in its current state since I expect (assuming it survives) it will feel like a whole new game in a year or two - but by the same token : it is probably unfair to sell the game in its current state and charge a subscription fee to play it. Personally I just do not find it ambitious enough to excite me, but down the line I expect AoC will become a thoroughly competent MMO. One word of warning though : the combat system is indeed more interactive than in other MMOs and akin to an old keyboard controlled beat-em-up - but this is still an MMO and it still has grind, so if playing a keyboard beat-em-up for hours of a time sounds more than you can bear you should consider your purchase carefully.… Expand
  16. sb
    Sep 9, 2008
    4
    4 of 10, because the character creation and starter island are good. Once you leave these initial areas the game goes downhill fast until, at level 80, there's nothing to do but stand around in stealth at zone entrances and wait for people to gank.
  17. Per
    Mar 30, 2009
    4
    I started playing this game in juli.I raided all content availebole and bin part of sieges,minigames all kind of pvp and pve.All i can say is the game lack content and the fun factor goes away fast.Classbalances is very bad in pvp and overall except the usual tank and spank in pve.Game is age of casters in that sense where casterdps and theyr amount off roots/stuns/crowdcontrols hits the I started playing this game in juli.I raided all content availebole and bin part of sieges,minigames all kind of pvp and pve.All i can say is the game lack content and the fun factor goes away fast.Classbalances is very bad in pvp and overall except the usual tank and spank in pve.Game is age of casters in that sense where casterdps and theyr amount off roots/stuns/crowdcontrols hits the roof.Same comes to raidcontent where the meleedpsclasses(ranger,barb,assasin) is a complete joke compare to the casters interms of dmg/usefulness they bring to the raid.Another but similar problem goes to the tankclasses who hardly can dps at all(guardian,dark templar,conqueror) they are totally gimped in pvp compare to the casters.Not to mention how easy it is to play a caster vs the other classes.Fex the healerdps class Tempest of set who dmg like the highest dpsclass(demonologist) and still heals not to mention tempest of set is the most easiest class to play.One of the major sellingpoints in this game was pvp with battlekeeps who where promised to have massive sieges 150 vs 150.In reality its 48 vs 48 not to mention on some servers it laggs as hell when you siege.The raidcontent is very easy and the lootdrops are just to random not to mention all those drops that goes to waste.Crafting is borked and meaningless.All in all i cant advise you to try this game bc you will be bored fast(lack of content/things to do and the balances beetween classes is a joke atm. Secondly i never believe funcom will fix this game at all. cheers.… Expand
  18. ChadF
    May 21, 2008
    4
    This game was a huge let down. Sadly WoW has a more competitive combat system. The combo system was an amazing concept however they did NOT deliver on it. The combo system isn't as much a combo system, but a self pressed auto attack. For a combo system to be effective it needs to require some reaction time...sadly AoC's combat system requires none. Honestly though even a mess up This game was a huge let down. Sadly WoW has a more competitive combat system. The combo system was an amazing concept however they did NOT deliver on it. The combo system isn't as much a combo system, but a self pressed auto attack. For a combo system to be effective it needs to require some reaction time...sadly AoC's combat system requires none. Honestly though even a mess up on the combo system can be overlooked assuming the other aspects of PvP are good. This is just not the case with AoC. I can't begin to understand why the game developers decided that moving around in PvP was something to not focus on. Anyone who is serious when it comes to PvP can tell you that movement, and positioning requires more involvement from the player which in turn makes the PvP more in depth. Any PvP that requires you to stand still to be at all effective is sad. Yes you can move in AoC, but it is laughable at best. So if you're looking for no-skill click fest when it comes to PvP combat AoC is pretty promising. Now what about the other aspects of the game? Well for starters the graphics are absolutely amazing in some areas while terribly bland in others. For example the cities are amazing in design and in looks. but some of the outside areas are better suited for 2D Models. Now the world PvP is a gank fest on a PvP server which is something I've always found exciting. However whoever thought of the graveyard idea had to be an idiot. Take a PvP combat system that requires no skill and have everyone spawn at a few choice graveyards placed in an area and you have a nubfest. People like me can grief a person forcing them to exit the game and come back another time. When you die you can choose different graveyards assuming you've explored an area. Seeing as how I grief most people when they're stuck loading into the zone they really aren't given a choice as to which graveyard to choose. Upon resurrecting they have half life and can only resurrect in one place... Yeh that system cant be abused at all... Anyways thats my perspective on just the PvP aspect. Sadly this game did not deliver and I was desperately hoping for it be a great game. Sorry to those who enjoy this game but I cant go along with the hype.… Expand
  19. JessM.
    May 23, 2008
    4
    The game has potential but it still feels like in beta; too choppy and laggy. Also, I've been spending most of my time on game updates that takes up some major time.
  20. HarewV.
    Jun 15, 2008
    4
    It's buggy as hell (more than once the game has not left a cut scene and I got beaten to death off screen), and the graphics don't match the specs (LotRO looks nicer on lesser hardware), but more than anything what's so disappointing is that AoC does nothing new with the genre aside from adding some unresponsive 'real-time' combat, which amounts to little more It's buggy as hell (more than once the game has not left a cut scene and I got beaten to death off screen), and the graphics don't match the specs (LotRO looks nicer on lesser hardware), but more than anything what's so disappointing is that AoC does nothing new with the genre aside from adding some unresponsive 'real-time' combat, which amounts to little more than a basic Parappa the Rappa-style rhythm-based exercise in key bashing. The drab environments and po-faced dialogue doesn't help, either. Below average.… Expand
  21. ChaseB.
    Jun 16, 2008
    4
    Terrible game. Stats weren't even enabled when the game was released, and we're still not sure if they're actually working or not. Quests basically stop around 45-50, depending on how hardcore you are about questing. Combat mechanics are terrible. They seem neat at first, but once you've used them for 40+ levels and start engaging in some PvP, you realize how awful Terrible game. Stats weren't even enabled when the game was released, and we're still not sure if they're actually working or not. Quests basically stop around 45-50, depending on how hardcore you are about questing. Combat mechanics are terrible. They seem neat at first, but once you've used them for 40+ levels and start engaging in some PvP, you realize how awful they are. They're clunky, slow and unpolished. In your first 40 levels or so, you'll run into a half dozen bugged quests. Oh, and the entire world is divided into a bunch of tiny zones, and each zone has numerous instances of itself...way to completely ruin the whole massive, immersive world thing about MMOs. The first 20 levels of this game will have you believing that it's the best MMO ever release. But once you've put in the time to get later into the game, you'll realize what a letdown this game really is. The best way to describe AoC is to say that it feels like a bug-riddled, incomplete single player game that had multiplayer thrown in at the last second. Save your money.… Expand
  22. FedS.
    Jun 24, 2008
    4
    The game is terrible past level 20. Poor class balance, weak pvp systems, no itemization in the end game, incredibly poorly designed tanking mechanics, technical issues...the list goes on and on. This game should not have been released, and Funcom manipulated the gaming community with its highly polished newbie area.
  23. MichaelZ
    Jun 26, 2008
    4
    If your a Pervt or Pedifile and like nudity, this is the game for you.
    Graphics are on par with EQ2 however Game play is tedious with its Attack/defense combo system. The nudity has gotten out of control in the game. The old addage, just because they can do it, doesnt mean they will, doesnt apply here...
    Putting a "MATURE" rating on the game has not stopped children in the    If your a Pervt or Pedifile and like nudity, this is the game for you.
    Graphics are on par with EQ2 however Game play is tedious with its Attack/defense combo system. The nudity has gotten out of control in the game. The old addage, just because they can do it, doesnt mean they will, doesnt apply here...
    Putting a "MATURE" rating on the game has not stopped children in the slightest. The game has drawn pervs and pedifiles from arround the world. It was fun during the beta, but once opened to the public at has turned rotten.    … Expand
  24. PolarisM
    Jun 26, 2008
    4
    Funcom had a few things done well in the first 20 levels, but unlike the vast majority of the "professional" reviewers, I actually played past that and into level 55+. I found the game to be far too buggy to play without recurring frustrations, and Funcom's customer support is very poor. Hopefully the game will improve in the next few months, but I am not terribly optimistic Funcom had a few things done well in the first 20 levels, but unlike the vast majority of the "professional" reviewers, I actually played past that and into level 55+. I found the game to be far too buggy to play without recurring frustrations, and Funcom's customer support is very poor. Hopefully the game will improve in the next few months, but I am not terribly optimistic considering Funcom's recent patches where they put in worse bugs than the ones they fix.… Expand
  25. GeorgioU.
    Jul 26, 2008
    4
    This game is pretty broken.
  26. KarlK.
    Jul 29, 2008
    4
    The Good: Very beutiful environment, realistic characters, unique classes, unique combat, lvl 1-20 some of the best designed content in any MMO The Bad: Released too early, only 6 styles of armor, buggy patches, poor QA, not enough testing, sieging broken, tradeskills are a joke, Out of memory, grey maps, 4k-10k lag spikes are too frequent, no class balance
  27. BillyW.
    Jul 30, 2008
    3
    This game has some major technical issues to overcome. The game engine is buggy, the graphics engine requires (REQUIRES, I say) the latest GPU to run smoothly, and the upper level content is lacking. This game is still undergoing beta testing and debugging: there are still screenshots of players-PLAYERS, mind you, getting debugging messages to their chat window.. Now, the plus. The first This game has some major technical issues to overcome. The game engine is buggy, the graphics engine requires (REQUIRES, I say) the latest GPU to run smoothly, and the upper level content is lacking. This game is still undergoing beta testing and debugging: there are still screenshots of players-PLAYERS, mind you, getting debugging messages to their chat window.. Now, the plus. The first 20 levels are very well done and polished. The graphics are nothing short of incredible at times (There are some spots where it is worth throwing all your graphics options on high, accepting the 2-3 fps rate just to play tourist), and the first time you get a "Fatality Move", you will be impressed. After the 50th or 60th, it loses its appeal-especially if you are fighting 4 to 5 other mobs at the same time, and are frantically hitting keys trying to keep said mobs from slaughtering you while you're twisting someones head off.. All in all, I'd wait. It has potential- in 6 months or so.… Expand
  28. markbennett
    Sep 6, 2008
    3
    I played from launch, and the game ran smoother then, than it did when i stopped playing, but if anyone is sariosly interested in the game, get it grind to lvl 80, and wait for funcom to fix the entire game , that is when every one will be back, lets just hope they can do that before the tank. GL Funcom.
  29. JosephL
    May 22, 2008
    3
    Pros: Amazing graphics. It's Conan. Combat mechanics are much, much more realistic than other MMOs. Cons: Tutorial levels just aren't fun (1-20). You end up dreading ever making a new character just because you don't want to ever go back to Tortage. The combat system isn't entirely knew, it just requires more time to master (auto attack is split onto direction attack Pros: Amazing graphics. It's Conan. Combat mechanics are much, much more realistic than other MMOs. Cons: Tutorial levels just aren't fun (1-20). You end up dreading ever making a new character just because you don't want to ever go back to Tortage. The combat system isn't entirely knew, it just requires more time to master (auto attack is split onto direction attack hotkeys). It's still just hitting hotbar buttons, but it is disguised well and requires your full attention at every moment. It's just like every other MMO in the fact that it's a major grindfest. Also, the quest system is the same as every other MMO (collect this, fetch this, kill this, deliver this, etc). Certain things completely kill the immersion: e.g. The Stygian Tempest of Set's heritage quests revolves around doing tasks for Mitra (rival God), helping Mitra's priests who constantly bash Stygians, and helping the weak and powerless (Set is merciless). It just makes no sense and would be an easy fix (replace a few quest mobs or change the dialog slightly). Conclusion: Funcom is a master of PR and capitalizes on/generates hype better than most companies, but the game itself isn't as great as everyone claims. However, if you're the type of person who only cares about being number 1 on the PvP scoreboard, then you'll probably love this game. I suggest you play something else and read the Conon stories if you want to be immersed in the world of Conan.… Expand
  30. BobD.
    Jun 18, 2008
    3
    For what its worth I've played the game all the way up to 80. Graphics: I'm guessing they'd be nice if they worked correctly. If you change your draw distance to max the game looks quite nice, the problems some in many of the smaller zones. Specifically there are repeatable mansion quests that are bland, have some dynamic lighting effect coupled with the engine rendering For what its worth I've played the game all the way up to 80. Graphics: I'm guessing they'd be nice if they worked correctly. If you change your draw distance to max the game looks quite nice, the problems some in many of the smaller zones. Specifically there are repeatable mansion quests that are bland, have some dynamic lighting effect coupled with the engine rendering things behind 2 walls and the celling and suddenly the FPS takes a nose dive, mobs aren't rendered loot doesn't show when it drops. This happens far too often. especially when you try to complete the final quest to leave the newbie zone. The 'brutal' fatalities 80% of the time clip through each other so instead of hacking a guys limbs off with my 2handed axe I beat his limbs off with my elbows. Failed mechanics: The cutscene-esque view for talking to quest npcs is hysterical on a pvp server. You can easily get stuck in a conversation and slaughtered... by someone 50 levels below you. Combat: The mechanics are clunky and require real time micro managing of your timing. Combos trigger by pressing the skill button and playing simon says, the combo itself only activates if the final blow of the simon says time lands thus pvp combat revolves around closing to melee range for that final hit. Caster classes are gettign better but still a joke. Proper use of the active blocking system (consume stam for reduced melee damage) defense system (keycommands to redirect your 'defense' to specific regions of incoming attacks depend on system performance. Which is already substandard. Large class imbalances are in place with nothing being addressed at the current time to resolve that, specific abilities are getting brought to reasonable levels but fundamental flaws in gear, class design are ignored. Itemization: Worse than wow's at the end of beta. Until recently the only effect armor had was on health/stam/mana pools and damage immunities, naked was the same as full plate except for a 4% reduction in slashing damage. Even with the fixes introduced many stats have no effect (con which should be +stam +stam regen and +health only gives a randomly truncated additional hp ranging from 3.5 to 4.1 per point of con). Stats are also itemized to be worth roughly 1/20th of stam/health/mana. Raiding: Tier 1 raiding content has been completed by some guidls, tier 2 is 3-4 months away according to unconfirmed GM reports. Raid lockouts are 1 week + many bugs reported with them. Due to the nature of combat (melee heavy, heavy system requirements and a number of other issues) a raid focus of this game is bewildering. PVP: Several pvp minigames exist in theory, nobody plays them. PVP servers are basically gank fests, luckily stealth/stealth detection mechanic is HEAVILY biased to stealth. Player made battle formations are a joke, yes you cannot run through a player but there are no choke points to take advantage of a wall of well geared tanks blocking access to your squishy ranged dps (most of your dps will be melee and clustered around your tank). You cannot command NPCs as proudly stated in the synopsis. Crafting: Gathering does work and isn't too bad just waste a few hours and get all you need, some idiotic mechanics exist but they're for pretty much a one time thing and not too bad. Crafting: Jewel crafting sort of works now, very complex and obtuse system made harder by terrible crafting control panel. Weaponsmithing not too bad, material requirements for higher tier weapons are beyond stupid. Armorcrafting is terrible requiring vast amounts of resources and time. Architecture is UNBELIEVABLY expensive with plays for a single wall segment costing the same as your inner keep (1.25g) inner wall = 15+ segments, outer wall is MUCH larger. Alchemy is broken, pots are cheap enough up to level 70 that its more expensive making your own. But you can't level alchemy up to 70 the drops needed for it are non existent. PVP endgame: The press releases spoke about player made cities and massive battles between guilds over battlekeeps. Player cities exist and so do battle keeps. The npcs that spawn to attack your city aren't implemented nor is there any space on the map for them to exist (unless they build a city over resource nodes). Battlekeep mechanics are such you can't attack another battlekeep if you already have one. Additional PVP changes are including an outlaw status (repeated griefing ie killing lowbies or camping one person) will ultimately result in players looting money/equipment from your corpse. With the aforementioned lack of itemization this isn't a consequence but an annoyance. _________ TL;DR: Interesting premise and initial design concept could make for an interesting MMO. Execution of concept poor. Game engine a joke (check out your error files, you'll have several hundred pages of mesh errors and bone errors from model rendering). Graphics memory leaks, multiple clipping bugs, poor model design, bad model animation. Combat system is simply a new skin on what 90% of other mmos do 'press these 6 buttons unless I need to press these 9 buttons'. Content: bugged quests, confusing quest options, long clunky initial leveling process and scripted quest chains that adds 'atmosphere' which makes leveling from 1-20 longer than 20-50 that cannot be skipped. Instance quests that don't work (which is noticeable due to an amazing shortage of instances). Support: Petitions automatically time out after 4 hours of 'inactivity'. You have to use a whisper command to bring up a dialogue box, scroll to the bottom of the box and click a hyperlink to maintain activity. Inactive petitions are assumed to have been resolved! Petitions that are answered when you are offline are also considered resolved! Emails to support go unanswered.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best PC Game of 2008
9
#9 Most Discussed PC Game of 2008
45
#45 Most Shared PC Game of 2008

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 44 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 44
  3. Negative: 0 out of 44
  1. GameZone
    94
    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.
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  2. AtomicGamer
    92
    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
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  3. GameSpy
    80
    Age of Conan going forward should become a delightfully savage second home for plenty of howling on-line barbarians.
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