The Conan MMORPG has been in development since 2003, and it shows in the features available in game. The world of Conan is quite combat-focused, and this makes it so that there is a more innovative approach to combat in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Unlike in most MMORPGs where you pretty much just click on your opponent, select your skills and watch the two characters kill each other as you just chat to other players. No, here you have to apply a little more thought to your fighting, because it’s in real-time and you have to select your targets - this being targets on the opponent’s body to physically close with them sword-to-sword. Melee fighting in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is rather detailed - you choose what part of your opponent’s body to attack, how to attack, how much force to use (up to and including just decapitating them Highlander-style) And yes, that last is in the game, complete with flying head and showers of blood. It didn’t get its M rating from the ESRB for nothing. Not only can you use melee weapons, but ranged ones as well - you’ll aim bows and such with the mouse as the game goes into an over-the-shoulder view as you point your weapon at the enemy.
Combat isn’t all there is to Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures though. There’s plenty of opportunity for roleplaying and adventuring in the world of Hyboria. The world is richly detailed - after all, the developers had over 70 years of stories to work from when creating the world. From the mountains of Cimmeria (where Conan comes from, by the way) to the plains of Aquilonia or the deserts of Stygia, there are a lot of environments to explore in Conan: Hyborian Age. There are plenty of old castles, capital cities and fishing towns to explore as well, complete with taverns to meet and roleplay with other characters. A rather funny thing is that you can literally get into a bar fight with another character - this is one version of player vs. player combat in the Conan game. The role playing aspect is one that can be well rewarding - you can go on quests with other players, just like Conan did with his own companions to seek out treasure or to kill whatever wizard/warlord/cosmic horror happened to be out and about that day.
There are plenty of good features in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, but the ones that most appeal to players are the ones related to fighting. Face it - most people hop on World of Warcraft pretty much only for the PvP aspect of the game, regardless of the stories or quests that the developers create. For those who do want a good story, there’s no shortage simply because of the vast amount of Conan lore to draw from and improvise. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures is still in development - most MMORPGs are always in development though really, so there are certain to be new features to come along as the game progresses.
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