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PC | RPG | Age of Conan: The Hyborian Adventures

Boxart for Age of Conan: The Hyborian Adventures
Age of Conan: The Hyborian Adventures 102 screen shots
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Feature: This Persistent Life/ Age of ConanThe Hyborian Adventures- Hooray for the Delay!

Feature by Miguel Lopez | 08/17/2007 | 12:26:21 PM PST

Age of Conan may be delayed, but there are plenty of reasons not to loose sight of this MMO.

Next to Warhammer: Age of Reckoning, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is the game that many WoW-weary MMO players are envisioning as the next big thing. The combination of developer/ publisher Funcom's successful track record and the unique and gritty setting of the game are the makings for a hot title. Personally, I'm quite excited about it, and while I'm not 100 percent sure that it will wean me off of WoW, I can say with relative certainty that I'm going to play the crap out of it.

Earlier this week Funcom set off a bomb by announcing that Age of Conan won't hit its long-promised October release date, and instead will be released in March of next year. The reasons they cited were legit: the game's combat system wasn't quite where they wanted it to be. So they've given themselves enough time to iterate upon it, and if necessary, yet again scrap it, and build it up from scratch.

To the great many people who were excited about the game (not the least of which were the lucky saps that've been playing the closed beta), this comes as a harsh pill.

When it comes to MMOs more time usually results in a better product. Hard as it may have been to swallow initially, I've begun to realize that this is actually a positive move. It reflects well on Funcom as lots of other publishers would have simply shipped the game in its compromised state in order to kick start the monetization apparatus as quickly as possible. The fact that the game is being delayed says to me that Funcom is concerned primarily with quality. More than anything else, this makes me want to play their games.

I understand if you're not convinced. After all, waiting to open a box with a giant red bow is nail biting. Here are three reasons why I believe it's worth the wait and we should all be clad ACHA is going back in the oven, other than Trichinosis leads to worms and that's never a fun adventure.

Reason #1: The combat system still needs work

In an open letter to the Age of Conan community Funcom game director Gaute Godager stated that the company's primary motivation for delaying the game was to have an opportunity to revamp the combat system. Frankly, this is great news. So much of the game's appeal depends on its combat system being top notch. Based on what I've played of the game I don't think it's there yet. As of E3 combat lacked a feeling of impact. When my character's sword connects with an opponent's body, I want to feel it. Maybe this means that the collision models need to be implemented differently, or maybe it's something else entirely, either way, Age of Conan needs some more heft. Combat already looks harsh and brutal, now it just needs to feel like it.

Funcom has stated on numerous occasions that they have a "strike team" dedicated to nailing down the combat system's feel. This delay can give these people the time they need to nail it.

Next Page: The final reasons to celebrate the delay...


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