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. KurtS.
    May 24, 2008
    1
    Instances, worthless RP, boobs, 24/7 bugs and graphic issues, unskilled PvP, unbalanced PvP, very poor graphic style, very poor response on problems.
  2. MortenL.
    May 25, 2008
    10
    Very fun. I've always liked mmos, but this takes it to a new level.
  3. CS
    May 25, 2008
    9
    Great game! I love the battle system and the graphics are gorgeous, tons of fun to play....only downside is the system requirements, definately a keeper!
  4. 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
  5. JBerry
    May 26, 2008
    10
    Great fun. Much more action packed than WoW, and a lot more promise than WoW. It's got the PvP sieges and what-not. This will be THE mmo to play.
  6. JamesG.
    May 26, 2008
    10
    This game is absolutely amazing. Best graphics that this genre has seen (even tops many top quality FPS graphics). The sound is remarkable. The music itself is a massive feat. This game definitely redefines the MMO genre. No longer is combat "click on this guy and spam 1,2,1,2." You actually have to side step, attack the body, etc. WoW has some serious competition.
  7. BryanC.
    May 26, 2008
    8
    An above average game that has a lot of bugs that need to be fix.
  8. JeffJ.
    May 26, 2008
    5
    Over Hyped and not worth playing for any extend period. The game won't have any legs.
  9. BenA.
    May 26, 2008
    10
    Simply put an amazing experience, people will be playing in years to come. 400k subs to start is very encouraging.
  10. CJ
    May 26, 2008
    5
    Graphics are ok, but where is the mature content? Outside of a couple veiled adult references this varies little for any other fantasy mmorpg. The battle system is pretty lame. I'm canceling my account and going back to WOW and EQ2.
  11. J
    May 26, 2008
    5
    Looks pretty and cool for the first few days, but once you get to the "meat" of the game, it's clear Age of Conan is horribly buggy and unfinished. Another case of beta software being sold in stores.
  12. TankA.
    May 26, 2008
    10
    This game is way much better compared to wow. Bye bye blizzard
  13. DanC
    May 26, 2008
    5
    Like most software AoC seems as if it was rushed out the door. Many bugs and drops are inappropriate for the level (actually too high a lvl) . Interface graphics are 5 years or more behind the times but world graphics are OK. Game bluescreened after install but then played OK. Got caught in a quest loop cinematic that eventually worked itself out but I had to end task multiple times then Like most software AoC seems as if it was rushed out the door. Many bugs and drops are inappropriate for the level (actually too high a lvl) . Interface graphics are 5 years or more behind the times but world graphics are OK. Game bluescreened after install but then played OK. Got caught in a quest loop cinematic that eventually worked itself out but I had to end task multiple times then restart the game. I hope it gets better and I expect it will. The lack of being able to find vendors is frustrating in the early lvl island but I'm hoping this gets better when I finally get to a major city. The quest toons voice cinematics are nice. The game has potential but it's not there yet.… Expand
  14. ThomasF.
    May 26, 2008
    10
    Great to see an mmorpg that places a firm emphasis on the plot and character progression without mindless grind. The combat system is involving, though may take some players time to get used to it. Easily amongst the better if not the best mmorpg out there. Only downsides at the moment are graphics and server based issues, but hopefully they'll be patched out pronto!
  15. 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.
  16. JJ
    May 27, 2008
    7
    Theres a whole lot to like about AoC, and some things to not like. Pros: immersive world, very nice graphics, combat is fun and has great nuances, good voice acting, great animations of players and creatures, cool magic, lots of levels to advance through, PVE and PVP, a myriad of quests, lots and lots of variety in the world including towns and different themes, great artwork, fantastic Theres a whole lot to like about AoC, and some things to not like. Pros: immersive world, very nice graphics, combat is fun and has great nuances, good voice acting, great animations of players and creatures, cool magic, lots of levels to advance through, PVE and PVP, a myriad of quests, lots and lots of variety in the world including towns and different themes, great artwork, fantastic architecture. What I more want to talk about are the cons: the game is a MMO, yet a big part of playing the game is doing quests with NPCs so its a hybrid single player / multiplayer game. Yes others can join you in your quests but only if they have the prerequisite quests completed. Most other players are on different quests, too, so they don't want to join you usually. For PVE gameplay, this is a single player game with other people running around in it. In my opinion, it's not a truely focused multiplayer game for PVE (player vs environment). The game user interface needs improving. Also my character targets group members and not the hostiles, which is stubborn to get him to target back onto the foes. Also you'll see really great looking equipment being worn by NPCs that you can't get or use. Maybe that will change with new patches and updates by Funcom. Right now the servers are experiencing hacks that affect everyone connected. I think this is their top priority. Another con to this game is that the quests send you back and forth in the same area so much that seeing the same scenery over and over gets old. There are no dynamically or randomly created areas like dungeons so the scenery in this game gets stale. If you like MMORPGs then you certainly need to check out AoC, yes! But it has problems and I'm currently questioning its longevity. The first few days I played this I was in awe but that is now wearing off because I don't like seeing the same place over and over and over again. Just to advance out of the starting town (Tortage), you must complete one specific quest (Destiny) but there are many quests to do. Its not clear which quest you must do to escape Tortage. I think you must do the Destiny Quest in single player but I'm not sure. After 35 hours of gameplay in Tortage just trying to escape it, the town felt like a prison. I used a hidden quick-escape quest to get out of Tortage and I don't want to go back. Potentially AoC is a legendary game, but I don't think its there yet. Time will tell. Its a rather linear game for being a MMO. Is this linear and quest based gemplay a decision by funcom so that they can bring it to the masses on the x360? I don't know for sure.… Expand
  17. TormodS.
    May 27, 2008
    9
    Did not play WOW so I am new to this genre. I love this game so far. Best PC game I have played for a long time!
  18. JasonJ
    May 27, 2008
    9
    PROS: Graphics are very nice; pretty and gritty-- like The Witcher, everything looks realistic; no space goats and crystal cities, no weapons or armor with laser beams shooting out out of them. 'Mature' quests; no silly stuff like WoW. Example: 'These guys raped my wife and crippled me, so go kill 50 of them and bring me their teeth so I can make a necklace out ofPROS: Graphics are very nice; pretty and gritty-- like The Witcher, everything looks realistic; no space goats and crystal cities, no weapons or armor with laser beams shooting out out of them. 'Mature' quests; no silly stuff like WoW. Example: 'These guys raped my wife and crippled me, so go kill 50 of them and bring me their teeth so I can make a necklace out of them'. Generally engaging low-fantasy storyline. Tons of quests to do, especially in the starter area (I don't know what game the reviewer James P is playing). Combat with real-time skill selection and, of course, gory fatalities: decapitations, impalings, face-melting, etc. How the quest map functions should be the new RPG standard. Lots of cool classes to choose from. AoC has learned from other MMOs and may be the first to get healing and healing classes right-- they are not just gimpy healbots. CONS: Very steep hardware requirements; it's a shader-heavy cross platform game clearly not optimized for PC; 8800 series or better gpu and dual-core cpu required for a decent experience for anyone with visual standards. Graphical glitches; lots of serious clipping issues that result in flashing textures on player/armor models. A week after launch, major features and other components of the game are simply not functional-- tradeposts and some character skills, for instance, are not available. The 'social' element of AoC seems lacking-- is it single player or multiplayer? UI has highpoints (like the quest map), but is otherwise lacking functionality and isn't aesthetically pleasing. Vagueness: no numbers to crunch concerning your skills-- it's hard to tell exactly what they do. It is not a truly open-world MMORPG; it is completely instanced like Guild Wars, and it lacks the forced party creation pre-zone that helps the social element in GW. In the starter zone (1-20), everything has voice acting; once you leave, it stops and NPCs become mute with non-moving mouths (which is, ironically, very much like GW used to be.) YET TO BE SEEN: Raid dungeon difficulty and complexity-- is everything just a tank and spank? Will the guild cities and sieges be a satisfying experience? What can you do at lvl 80? Is the game basically over then? SUMMARY: It's a pretty good, fun game that feels more singleplayer than multiplayer. It is far from 'rock-solid'; it is wonky even after 5 years in development. It will fare better on consoles for two reasons: 1. It will simply run better with fewer problems on console hardware. 2. The combat system that requires multiple button-mashes will be easier for people with handheld controllers. Is it a WoW-killer? I doubt it. Is it a decent alternative for people tired of WoW cartoony-ness and endless grinds? Yep.
    I'm giving it a score of 9, but my guess is that most professional reviews will range from 7-9, and the game will eventually score in the mid-to-low 8 range here on Metacritic, depending on how generous the individual reviewers are feeling that day.    … Expand
  19. MaxC.
    May 27, 2008
    9
    This is a pretty impressive game. It has its share of faults and glitches, but those are being addressed very quickly with patches every two or three days. Age of Conan is a refreshing breeze in the MMO market with enough of a difference to still feel new despite doing similiar quests (collect wolf pelts, kill this many enemies, etc.). It has a unique way of continuing the story line with This is a pretty impressive game. It has its share of faults and glitches, but those are being addressed very quickly with patches every two or three days. Age of Conan is a refreshing breeze in the MMO market with enough of a difference to still feel new despite doing similiar quests (collect wolf pelts, kill this many enemies, etc.). It has a unique way of continuing the story line with a Single Player aspect that uses your MMO character. I've put several hours into the game and I'm still enjoying setting up new characters to try out new classes, but I can't wait for the mid to end game PvP Guild Battles that feature Guilds trying to destroy or take over other Guild's Keeps. So far, so good, with minor problems that are being addressed as you read this.… Expand
  20. ErikT
    May 27, 2008
    9
    Two thumbs up for Age of Conan!! Some minor UI issues, but apart from that a superb game!
  21. CarstenS.
    May 27, 2008
    10
    This is a very fun game. The quests are intriguing, and the combat is a bar raiser. The setting is true to the Conan universe. Sound is fantastic and graphics stunning.
  22. JasonL
    May 27, 2008
    10
    WOW beater!! played wow for 18 months, Conan kicks A**!! what a great game-long overdue but well worth the wait.awsome!!!
  23. Ole-JosteinJohansen
    May 27, 2008
    10
    Fantastic game. so far I have played alot and it seems it just gets more and more interesting.
  24. RonmelPolarbears
    May 27, 2008
    10
    This game will grow as hell. It rocks big time.
  25. GJ
    May 27, 2008
    10
    Great game. Those who played WoW will feel right at home but with allot more tools at their fingertips.
  26. JamesW
    May 27, 2008
    10
    Brilliant Game, not very clear when and where you need to go but still a gripping experience.
  27. MR
    May 28, 2008
    9
    The gameplay in this game is its main attribute, as well as the graphics,music and game lore. The only thing that I'm not pleased about it so far is the few bugs and that not all content is unlocked so far. Nevertheless is awesome! Very addictive
  28. Tony
    May 28, 2008
    9
    Beautiful graphics and compelling plot. Game feels a little linear for first 20 lvls (as far as I've got) but hoping it will open up.
  29. AlexD
    May 28, 2008
    9
    Only reason I can't give it a 10 is the buggy client at launch, but honestly this game is very solid; lots of depth into classes and how they perform, graphics and audio track are astounding on good hardware (yes the hardware requirements are stiff, this is not WoW), quests and dynamics are pretty involving, so is the combat system.
  30. SteveM.
    May 28, 2008
    9
    Great game, awesome graphics, zones were frustrating at first, but its great now. there are a few things that i would like to see added. but right now its on the right path to a legendary status.
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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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