No game, in my honest opinion has done so many things right, that will go down in history as such a catastrophic failure as Age of Conan. Now, not everyone has played AoC, those who didn't buy it right away will probably never pick it up. It only sold 15 k copies in its second month on shelves. And that being the case, I would like note the parts of AoC that are truly lamentable in their absence from the genre.
- The graphics have to be mentioned first. For any kind of game, on any system, AoC would still be a stunning game to behold. Unfortunately for Failcom, those graphics were a double edged sword. They set AoC apart from the other cartoony/late Xbox-quality graphics that are commonplace in the genre. But due to this, it erected a Computer-Peen-barricade in front of most newly-bored technically deficient WoW players.
- The character creation in AoC was simply fantabulous. If you spent enough time working with it, you could make almost anything you wanted. I literally spent an hour making one character, deleting and then remaking him.
- AoC's music really can't be overstated in it's quality or epic'ness. The composer though obviously overqualified to be working in the game industry, will probably never be rewarded for his work, since AoC's production is now nothing more than a ghost story for MMO developers. From the perfectly suited pirate music of Tortage, the sweeping middle-eastern inspired music of Stygia, the grand echoing anthems of Aquilonia, to the haunting angelic ballads that coarse through the valleys of Cimmeria. AoC's music bleeds authenticity and surrounds the player in the loving embrace of World of Conan. The music of the different lands in the game are meshed seamlessly with random battle music, that really catches the feeling of an epic battle scene in a movie.
- Though these pleasures would have all been easily passed by if the combat wasn't engaging. But, engaging the player in combat, is exactly what AoC's combat mechanics were designed to do. Every move requires a string of button commands, that make fighting feel like the player is performing a dance of death at the expense of their usually headless opponents. Headless, not because of the horrendous AI like in MGS 4, but because each player (no matter the class) has fatalities that though available from level one, increase in their variety as the player levels.
- The landscapes of AoC were functionally disconnected by, irritatingly frequent and extremely awkward loading screens guised as wagon trips. But, once the loading screen dissipated the zones were just amazing.
A. After leaving the Jerusalem inspired Stygian capital of Khemi, I hopped on a boat to the nearest starting zone. I stepped off the row-boat lightly banked on the close side of what was unmistakeably designed to be the Nile River. The water looked amazing, I really couldn't resist my urge to go get a glass of cold water. When, I returned to the keyboard I did a quick turnabout to see what this new zone looked like. But, immediately I was left aghast by what seemed a unpossibly huge black pyramid towering in the distance. Forsaking all near by quest givers, I cut a swath through lion packs, caravan robbers, and massive black rhinos, but the closer I felt I was to the pyramid the more it began to dawn on me that the pyramid far bigger than I had first believed. Approximately half the zone away on a map that was 3/4's the size of the Barrens. The gates of the pyramid immediately sent me into flashbacks of the Mummy movies. Two impressive golden statues of Stygian gods guard a shadowy hallway descending into the bowels of the burial chambers built around the entrance of the pyramid.
B. In the Aquilonian starting zone, a gigantic mountain range is topped by a menacing gray castle which is visible from almost anywhere in the zone.
C. A jungle near Stygia is covered in a luscious emerald-green foliage, teaming with flocks of enemies looking more like the bird-predators found in the post-mammal-rising BC age.
- The Animations in AoC were really the best in any game in my opinion. They were fluid, satisfying, and visceral all without being overly floaty over the game terrain.
- The mounts in AoC were beautiful and perfectly animated. They had weight, mass and a very well tuned sense of momentum that almost made it feel more like I was playing Oblivion or Assassin's Creed and less like a MMO.
- AoC's dungeons/instances sit behind intimidating doors at the base of structures that have lorded over your view for large segment of your leveling. This serves as an exciting reminder of the adventures that await you just around the next level.
- The loot you get from these dungeons are surprisingly accurate in their portrayal of real world armor derived from 3 distinct ancient cultures. Roman/Greek legionary gear, Celtic/Germanic tribal fur with horns, and exotic light armors inspired by the Egyptians and the late Muslim forces of the Crusades.
In the end AoC is a sweet nexus, that feels extremely authentic and amazingly grand. A feeling that makes imagining yourself as a fantasy epic almost unavoidable. The above reasons make AoC an adventure that though never ultimately rewarding or well polished, hard not to be intoxicated by.
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