Age of Conan -- will anybody be trying it?

[jumptheshadow]

Dark Age of Camelot is winding down and we are looking for another game with good siege and PvP possibilities. Age of Conan is making its debut in October. While I didn't bother seeing the movies, the game is based on the original fantasy stories and seems like a possible worthy successor to DAOC's RvR. Has anybody followed the development of this game?

[YOY]

1. Yup...my first MMORPG will be this one I hope.

Not your standard MMORPG. That's why I'll be trying it. It's not cartoony, but bloody and action oriented. It looks slickly done and awful gritty (faithful to R.E. Howard's Conan). I daresay it will be a hit from the looks of it.

I've avoided all others because of the mechanics and looks of the games. This looks like fun though.

Never played DAOC, so I can't make a comparison.

[jumptheshadow]

2. The blood bothers me, but it looks like an intelligent game

I like the concept of your guild building its own city which can be invaded by other guilds. The avatars look less cartoonish and the melee damage innovation is interesting. (You can choose which part of your opponent's body to strike.) I love intelligent siege warfare but I also like PvE, and there is room for both PvEers and crafters to bolster a guild's defenses.

Dark Age of Camelot set the industry standard for intelligent realm vs. realm, player vs. player and siege warfare. It has been a great game, but it looks like its developers are focusing more on their next game, Warhammer. Fewer resources have been devoted to the game even as its population is declining. Hopefully, they will unveil a DAOC 2 someday, but it does seem like time to consider other games. This looks like a good one.

[YOY]

3. Howard himself offered no regrets for his creation

The world of Conan is cruel, bloody, misogynistic, and oppressive. That's the 'grim reality' of his 'fantasy'. I've never been big on PvP so the PvE looks awesome. Siege warfare looks fantastic as well as the overall environmental look of the game.

The Warhammer game has a built in market for it....ever meet a GW fanboy? Those folks are willing to fling over thousands of dollars on models! A MMORPG is just screaming for them. You can't blame the developer for focusing on this one.

[jumptheshadow]

4. It will be ranked "Mature"

Since I am female, and a sensitive one at that, I am joining a huge guild run by older (much older, lol) players and with a female co-GM. The "mature" rating will guarantee a free for all in trash-talking, and the guild vs. guild invasions will stoke the epeen fires. That's not exactly my cup of tea. I am thinking, however, that there will be a place for a healer, crafter, siege/PvE type like me in guild defense, especially if I'm in with a decent group of people. If not, then I can always return to the diminishing DAOC and hope that Warhammer is not as cartoonish and one dimensional as it looks now.

[Norwood]

5. Yup

I quit WOW not too long ago and this one looks pretty cool.

On Edit: DU guild anyone?

[jumptheshadow]

8. Guilds

I suspect that larger guilds will fare much better in this game because they will be able to build and defend towns from both the NPCs and the other guilds.

[Ioo]

6. Oh I will be there - to bad it was delayed...

http://ablegamers.com/content/view/50/623/

[jumptheshadow]

7. Yep, delayed until 3/08

Disappointing. That means it will go head-to-head with Warhammer and I suspect Warhammer will crush it. What concerns me are the rumors that Conan's developers have a long way to go in their production cycle. I haven't checked in the past few days, but I know that they had released only snippets of game footage.

Meanwhile, I have started reading the Robert Howard books. Yes, they are brutal and dark, but they also are eminently entertaining. The guy was quite a storyteller. I was surprised to see him referred to by one Internet writer as an "early feminist," but after reading him I can see why it's not such a stretch. Amidst the prostitutes and slaves there are some strong female characters. The "Queen of the Black Coast," for example, features to a female pirate who takes him as a lover. He is the brawn and she is the brains as they cut a bloody swath through coastal towns. LOL, whether the strong female prototypes translate to a video game will be quite another question. The material should make a compelling game, though.