Age of Conan: The Hyborian Adventures

By Funky Zealot
May 27, 2005 21:14 PM PST
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Funcom's latest MMORPG may finally put the "action" in action-RPG.

MMOs typically crash and burn or make wads of cash--the burgeoning online realm still has much untapped territory that relative newcomers such as Funcom, NCsoft, and Webzen are attempting to tap into. Funcom's Age of Conan: The Hyborian Adventures is an ambitious take on the MMORPG genre that not only tries to lure the more offline gamer, but also the hardcore RPGer--both in PvP and PvE.

Set in the dark, draconian universe of Conan, Hyborian Adventures is divided into two segments. The first 20 levels of the game has you play through the single player portion, giving players time to understand the mechanics and familiarize themselves with the plot and events in the world. Once past that, those who want to continue can then enter the massively multiplayer portion, which then spans for another 60 levels. Every 20 levels are being treated as tiers, and eventually you'll be able to diversify your class with Hero class-like abilities.

True to Its Word
Action-RPG has been a word frequently butchered in past RPGs, but the phrase isn't just catchy market-speak for Age of Conan. There are six directions you can swing a weapon, and players will need to determine what swing sequences are most natural to connect combos. For example, when swinging from the upper-left toward center, players can then chain it with another swing that goes from lower right toward center. It's not going to be the simple click fest of past RPGs, having decidedly more twitch-based elements. Those swings can be done without any enemy targeted, so you can probably expect strafing and swinging to enter into the equation.

Groups have an added layer of complexity as well. Parties in Age of Conan will be far more sophisticated than the rag-tag following as seen in past MMOs--players will be able to set formations to protect more vulnerable classes, such as a wizard.

PvP is promising to be far more sophisticated than other MMOs as well. For large-scale PvP there will be massive sieges, where players defend their own cities and towns from other players (that's right, you can build and even own towns). Players will form alliances based on their land borders, and the game won't follow rigid faction divisions. Mobs will have RTS-like AI and will also be building their own towns, launching skirmishes against players.

On a more arena-sized scale, there will be mini-games akin to what will be in World of Warcraft's battlegrounds, featuring modes such as Capture the Flag.

Lastly, there's the conventional dueling and brawling, where players will be able to engage opponents of their own choosing (how strict or loose the PvP rules are, however, have yet to be seen).

Beautifully Savage
From what has been demoed, the game is shaping up to be one of the more visually enticing MMOs--even rivaling the lush visuals of Guild Wars. The sophisticated NPC AI has needs such as food, sleep, and socializing. The demo showed little children following the player for a couple minutes until getting bored--a small, subtle touch that gives sense that the world isn't following a simple AI routine. And similar to Guild Wars, players will be able to hire mercenaries, meaning you don't always have to waste time seeking out like-minded players for groups.

Given that looked like a very early build, it's hard to tell whether or not Funcom will deliver on all of its claims. But what we've seen has been very promising--every MMORPGer ought to keep a sharp eye for this one when it hits next year.