It was clearly a fail, when it came out totally unfinished. But a lot has changed, and at the moment this game is really worth, playing it. Best Graphics in the genre, different game play (fights) and a community, which, at least on PVE-Servers, will help any newcomers. Whoever´s still writing nonsense about bugs, crashes, no stories, etc. can certainly not have played this game for at least 7 months. There´s a bit to critisise because of the recent merge of PVP-/RP-Servers since there aren't many PVP-players anymore. But that´s not the problem of Funcom, thats a problem which has it´s origin in some stupid gankers. So if you´re PVP all the way, make it a 7, the PVE-Fans and even RP-Fans should definitely give it a (second) chance. And hey, I´m NOT from Funcom, and I´m certainly no "Fanboy" but I can see a good game, when I play it. And Age of Conan, at it´s actual state, is definitely one.… Expand

AoC has some very compelling features and to do it justice they must be addressed. My score of 4 may seem demoralizing but it's my personal belief and is not necessarily a view shared with all other players. I will explain my MMO background, what I like to see in MMO's and why, over-all the pro's couldn't outweigh the cons. First of all, AoC features amazing graphics and beautiful landscaping. These features make for great screenshots (definately useable as desktop backgrounds!) and an overall very immersive experience, for a while. I'm a fan of graphics, but I'd say there is a greater appeal to more casual-MMO gamers than to a self proclaimed veteran such as myself. The graphics are quite system intensive and to be honest, I really can't afford an extra $800 worth of system content to be able to pump the graphical settings higher for gameplay (though I can manage to turn them up for a screen shot if necessary). The combat system is very original. This is a pro to many, to me it's... okay. I don't mean to be negative towards unique ideas because I think they are very progressive in the evolution of games. I want people to know that the combat system is something that needs to be experienced, but generally speaking it wasn't for me. I felt like the defense stacking and directional combat/combo system made me react in different ways based on my opponents defenses, but otherwise speaking I generally was fighting the same way regardless of many other factors (this seems to be a problem in many MMOs recently. Each fight comes down to similar mechanics and not to call-and-response, think-on-your-feet ones. As a little background knowledge, Im a big fan of fast-twich, do-this-move-now-or-you-won't-have-a-chance-later type gameplay (think... spell interruption in WoW or war-spell dodging in Asheron's Call, or Missile Repelling in L2, etc etc.) I felt that I was focusing more on my melee offense in conan than I was on tactical defense (the defensive utilities available are not useful in my opinion. Double tapping to dodge still gets a hit landed on you.) I have not tried magic classes, so I will not comment or adjust my score positively or negatively based on that factor. Crafting is a big part of the game, I like the way crafting works, the instanced world and the extent of how immersive your creations can be. It's a positive for crafting happy people. As I recall SWG tried to make it so that the game didn't have to play combat oriented all the time. People could specialize in non-combat careers like dancing and could enjoy social aspects of the game. I feel the crafting here is... faster to lvl not entirely a gameplay experience all it's own but it definately fun while you do it (remember that you need to lvl a bit before you can jump into it though!) The story is captivating, but I must be honest that I never got into conan before and so none of the names and most of the world doesn't relate to any seeded memories. It's cool anyway but a story can be depleted and eventually will run out leaving me with gameplay to carry me. Overall if the game weren't an MMO it'd get a much higher score, but I feel I must grade it based on one of the most key factors of MMO gameplay. and that's it's Lasting Appeal. I can't see myself playing this game much more than a couple of months. AC, L2, SWG and WoW had me playing for over 6 months, AC and WoW for over 2 years each! The bar keeps getting raised higher and higher and AoC has definately raised the bar for elements of MMOs but sadly, not for lasting appeal in my opinion. If you have money to spare, go try it out. Plenty of people swear by it and needed a new MMO experience after WoW burn-out syndrome. The MMO market is becoming more competative and I'm glad I bought the game to support that market evolution, but I won't expect to be a part of this game when the release of other MMOs such as Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, The Chronicles of Spellbourne or Pheonix Dynasty Online are released. - Paul Forte. MMO Experience: AC, AC2, Lineage, Lineage2, EQ2, UO, SWG, AO, Eve, SWG, Auto Assault, PotBS, Dungeon Runners Beta, DAoC, WoW.… Expand

I'm getting so fed up with these hyped mmo's. It is time for a new game website where we can get honest games reviews, because the reviews for this game are clearly not in line with reality. This game is still a beta. Combat system gets boring and you end up staring at which button to press. Crafting, really Funcom, what were you thinking??? Everything is instanced, it feels like a console game, with fake "walls" where you cannot go. Not a nice, open world. Start a new character and you get to go through exactly the same yawnfest again. Sorry, but I seriously hope this game fails and will have to close, because I am fed up with mmo developers getting away with this kind of crap.… Expand

For what its worth I've played the game all the way up to 80. Graphics: I'm guessing they'd be nice if they worked correctly. If you change your draw distance to max the game looks quite nice, the problems some in many of the smaller zones. Specifically there are repeatable mansion quests that are bland, have some dynamic lighting effect coupled with the engine rendering things behind 2 walls and the celling and suddenly the FPS takes a nose dive, mobs aren't rendered loot doesn't show when it drops. This happens far too often. especially when you try to complete the final quest to leave the newbie zone. The 'brutal' fatalities 80% of the time clip through each other so instead of hacking a guys limbs off with my 2handed axe I beat his limbs off with my elbows. Failed mechanics: The cutscene-esque view for talking to quest npcs is hysterical on a pvp server. You can easily get stuck in a conversation and slaughtered... by someone 50 levels below you. Combat: The mechanics are clunky and require real time micro managing of your timing. Combos trigger by pressing the skill button and playing simon says, the combo itself only activates if the final blow of the simon says time lands thus pvp combat revolves around closing to melee range for that final hit. Caster classes are gettign better but still a joke. Proper use of the active blocking system (consume stam for reduced melee damage) defense system (keycommands to redirect your 'defense' to specific regions of incoming attacks depend on system performance. Which is already substandard. Large class imbalances are in place with nothing being addressed at the current time to resolve that, specific abilities are getting brought to reasonable levels but fundamental flaws in gear, class design are ignored. Itemization: Worse than wow's at the end of beta. Until recently the only effect armor had was on health/stam/mana pools and damage immunities, naked was the same as full plate except for a 4% reduction in slashing damage. Even with the fixes introduced many stats have no effect (con which should be +stam +stam regen and +health only gives a randomly truncated additional hp ranging from 3.5 to 4.1 per point of con). Stats are also itemized to be worth roughly 1/20th of stam/health/mana. Raiding: Tier 1 raiding content has been completed by some guidls, tier 2 is 3-4 months away according to unconfirmed GM reports. Raid lockouts are 1 week + many bugs reported with them. Due to the nature of combat (melee heavy, heavy system requirements and a number of other issues) a raid focus of this game is bewildering. PVP: Several pvp minigames exist in theory, nobody plays them. PVP servers are basically gank fests, luckily stealth/stealth detection mechanic is HEAVILY biased to stealth. Player made battle formations are a joke, yes you cannot run through a player but there are no choke points to take advantage of a wall of well geared tanks blocking access to your squishy ranged dps (most of your dps will be melee and clustered around your tank). You cannot command NPCs as proudly stated in the synopsis. Crafting: Gathering does work and isn't too bad just waste a few hours and get all you need, some idiotic mechanics exist but they're for pretty much a one time thing and not too bad. Crafting: Jewel crafting sort of works now, very complex and obtuse system made harder by terrible crafting control panel. Weaponsmithing not too bad, material requirements for higher tier weapons are beyond stupid. Armorcrafting is terrible requiring vast amounts of resources and time. Architecture is UNBELIEVABLY expensive with plays for a single wall segment costing the same as your inner keep (1.25g) inner wall = 15+ segments, outer wall is MUCH larger. Alchemy is broken, pots are cheap enough up to level 70 that its more expensive making your own. But you can't level alchemy up to 70 the drops needed for it are non existent. PVP endgame: The press releases spoke about player made cities and massive battles between guilds over battlekeeps. Player cities exist and so do battle keeps. The npcs that spawn to attack your city aren't implemented nor is there any space on the map for them to exist (unless they build a city over resource nodes). Battlekeep mechanics are such you can't attack another battlekeep if you already have one. Additional PVP changes are including an outlaw status (repeated griefing ie killing lowbies or camping one person) will ultimately result in players looting money/equipment from your corpse. With the aforementioned lack of itemization this isn't a consequence but an annoyance. _________ TL;DR: Interesting premise and initial design concept could make for an interesting MMO. Execution of concept poor. Game engine a joke (check out your error files, you'll have several hundred pages of mesh errors and bone errors from model rendering). Graphics memory leaks, multiple clipping bugs, poor model design, bad model animation. Combat system is simply a new skin on what 90% of other mmos do 'press these 6 buttons unless I need to press these 9 buttons'. Content: bugged quests, confusing quest options, long clunky initial leveling process and scripted quest chains that adds 'atmosphere' which makes leveling from 1-20 longer than 20-50 that cannot be skipped. Instance quests that don't work (which is noticeable due to an amazing shortage of instances). Support: Petitions automatically time out after 4 hours of 'inactivity'. You have to use a whisper command to bring up a dialogue box, scroll to the bottom of the box and click a hyperlink to maintain activity. Inactive petitions are assumed to have been resolved! Petitions that are answered when you are offline are also considered resolved! Emails to support go unanswered.… Expand

I was not able to play the game after purchasing it because I was never sent an SMS verification code and got no support from Funcom. The game looks good, but be careful as Funcom will have no qualms about taking your money and not giving you anything in return.

Pros: Looks nice, sounds nice, good music. Cons: Game is unfinished, probably needed another year of development. Bad UI. No class balance. Core features broken or not implemented. ZERO customer support, some people have had bugs that caused them to be unable to even log in to their characters for days at a time. Voice acting ends after the tutorial island. Quests are uninspired, not difficult, and never make you think... especially when the game holds your hand for the entire process. Every class has skills, abilities, and feats that are broken, buggy, or just don't work at all. Animations on npcs rarely work. Tradeskills are tedious and completely unrewarding. Enemies can evade, parry, or block your attacks even if their back is turned, or they are stunned, or they are knocked on their back. Fights are either incredibly easy or insanely hard, there is no middle ground. Loot is an absolute joke, every piece of armor of any given type generally looks exactly the same from levels 1 to 80. Rare equipment is often worse than common equipment of several levels lower. Stats do nothing at all. Female characters attack 20% slower than males and do less damage. Combo attacks are treated as a single attack, if your seven attack combo is interrupted on the 7th attack, all damage caused by the preceding attacks is negated and the target is healed as if it was never struck. PVP is so unbalanced that some classes are unable to kill other classes even if one of the people are AFK. Running is based on a percentage of your stamina, yet stamina potions restore a fixed amount of stamina the result is that classes with low stamina can actually out run any other class... fighting a mage class in pvp? they'll just run away until your stamina bar is empty, making you unable to execute a combo, and then nuke you with their full mana bar. This game is so unfinished that anyone who is actually paying a subscription fee after the first 30 days is going to be paying Funcom to beta test their game for them. Do yourself a favor, wait six months or a year or you'll be wasting your time and money.… Expand

The the Meta Critic readers, those who are intelligent enough to do research on a game prior to purchasing it, I'd like to issue a firm and heartfelt warning about this game. The early portions of this game are fairly polished, with plenty to do; and dungeons that work as they should, but as you progress; and as you advance your character it becomes clear that this game was clearly not what it was hyped up to be by the developers. Those looking for a cut above the average MMO will be sorely disappointed, as this title fails to do anything different from the regular mold; aside from the combat system. But I will give you more information on that later. Let us start with the graphics, which manages to be the most worthwhile, and most detrimental aspect of this title. To put it bluntly, the graphics themselves are amazing, Whether you're traveling through the breath taking conall's valley, or fighting the horrific aberrations of the Field of the Dead, you will be pleased with the visuals. Of course, with these visuals come a very steep system requirement, and even though you may find yourself meeting you exceeding the supposed "recommended" system specs, you may have performance issues with the game. What makes this an even larger problem is that lowering your graphics setting to increase performance has the OPPOSITE effect for no adequately explained reason. The gameplay, as far as Player Vs. Environment is concerned is passable. The combination system works reasonably well; and is a breath of fresh air from the usual MMO fare. But again, this has a huge downside: I of course speak about the PVP ramifications of such a convoluted combat system. Novices and "newbies" alike will have a difficult time managing the excess of hotkeys you must use to be successful in combat; should you choose one of the 5 melee classes. In addition to three manual directional attacks (FIVE at level 40), you must manage an excess of activated abilities, double tap abilities, and in the cases of some classes; both a mana and stamina pool as well as managing shields and the like. Diving deeper into the gameplay subject, those looking for a long lasting MMO experience should look elsewhere at this time, as once you get to around level 50-60; the content dies down almost fully. There are no instanced dungeons to be done, quests are few and far between, and the few quests that you may manage to find are uninspired at best. Those choosing to push into level 80 will find that nobody participates in Mini Game PVP, nobody participates in siege PVP and even the 'contested border kingdoms' lie a muddied ghost town. Facts are facts in the end, and while some may try to defend these current imperfections as typical for the genre, I will state that I have played quite a few of these games in my time; and I have never run out of things to do this quickly. When one combines the patches that seem to introduce more bugs than they fix, sieges that not only have no incentive, but are broken; and a lack of a PVP system this game is only good for about a month of semi casual play. Is 50$ worth a month of game time? That's question you will have to ask yourself; but as this game is now - I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone. Thank you for reading.… Expand

While the graphics are good the game is a complete letdown. I along with many bought into the hype and paid $80 for the collectors addition What a complete ripoff!!! The game is drab and boring with nothing to hook you into more hours. Trust me I tried many times to get into the game and just found nothing fun about it. In fact it made me want back in WOW more than I ever imaginged. This game claimed to be the WOW killer? Haaa! There is no and I mean no comparison to the type of game warcraft is. You can say what you want but if you have played both games you can not argue AOC against WOW because there is no comparison. I only gave a four rating because of good graphics but everything else is a sore dissapointment. I even quit Wow to get into this and was left wanting so bad I tucked tail back and learned how much AOC made me apreciate a good game. The hype was a lie!! The first thing I noticed was that you have to instance into the Inn?!? What a burn. everywhere you turn is a load page and the same boring brown atmosphere. just no damn fun no matter where you turn in this game. The combat? Please just play a console if you want to experience this great combat. You could hook up a hand held controler and it would feel more like god of War than an mmor Just another rip off guild wars that has no pizazz and no style with crappy boring features that will turn you off in a week. Go ahead and pay fifty bucks and take the one week challange. All in all aside from very nice graphics which are extremely underused in making this game atractive AOC is dump for your money. I can tell you as a long time gamer you will not like this game after a short time. Please dont think I am a blizz boy because I am not. I simply bought into the hype and left very ripped off beleive me I tried to go with it there is just nothing there. If you like the game and dont agree with me more power to you I just can not see anything that would keep you interested. Thanks for reading my opinion… Expand

Bugs, crashes, lacking content for the majority of the game, memory leaks, and is full of jerks due to the attraction that is blood, gore, and nudity. Don't let them fool you, they, and this game, are not mature. It is merely unfit for younger audiences.

If your looking to expand your character by combining different builds and talents - this game isn't for you. The talent trees and class balances are absolutely terrible. The skills are a real blast to use and the combos are fun but its seriously watered down by the fact you have a class specific tree then a general tree. I wouldn't really waste your time with this one.

Fantastic game after all the patches and additional content this game is worth a try! Great graphics and combat! Awesome sound and music also!

Decent MMO. I leveled a character up to the maximum level and played around with a raiding guild for a while, but ultimately I stopped playing because it was just too similar to World of Warcraft which had a lot more content at the time. It was still well made, and by now it probably has a lot more content. I'd recommend it for anyone who's interested in trying out an MMO.

Based on the beta, reviews, and released information, this game will be a perfect game for those MMO players looking for something new and fun. The melee system is great for those that like more skill based games. I would give it a 10 if the voice acting was better and if the class balancing was a bit better.

WOW!!! I played the closed beta for two weeks and i was REALLY impressed... even better than i expected. I thought the beta would suck ass... but i was amazed that most everything worked and i really loved the gameplay, though not everything felt fully smooth because it was a beta.. i expect great things from this game at release!

I've been in the closed beta, tech test and so on. Since the NDA and everything has been lifted. I would say this is the biggest letdown of this year. The game simply does not even live up to what they claimed to offer (no persistant world, no 64 bit support, no directx 10 support). This MMO is buggy at best and should not be released without at least 12 months of testing. The game as it is right now has constant load screens and so on.… Expand

The game is simply fun. In the end that is all that matters. The world is brilliant. It feels so realistic, that you are actually apart of something big. It's violent, rough, sexy. This game has everything going for it. The combat is something totally new and different you have the freedom to swing how fast, combos etc... Plus you have to use your head a bit more, because sometimes the enemy will block a certain area and you have to use combos to hit him where he isn't blocking. I recommend this game to any old and new MMOer alike. If your first game was WoW, and your looking for something totally new and refreshing. Age of Conan is probably that game. At the same time it gives the hardcore MMO players that have been around since the UO and EQ days something totally new and refreshing with the whole concept that it delivers a new style of game. Sure, you need a beefy system to run this game on high, but you can still get away on medium and low. I have a 8600gts and run this game nicely on med-high settings. This game is going to be here for awhile. It's fun, it's fast and it's the opening of the 3rd generation of MMOs. Finally… Expand

I got to say i have never heard of a launch this smooth and never NEVER have you seem a MMO so pretty. Max setting DX10 it is amazing. I think my view distance is set to 3km. Anyone tired of what they are playing i would advise to check this game out. (just make sure you computer can run it)

I have played beta and im not really impressed. There is really nothing that makes this game different from any other MMORPG. Other then the blood battles in witch case looks like someone just splattered catchup packets with every blow they do to nearby enemies. Wow they do have better graphics but thats only if your PC can run them.. hands down World of Warcraft Played it hate it still beats this game.… Expand

better game then WoW. No dumb quests like get oranges or stuff. All NPC talks and good PvP . Don't believe to all thoes haters or shit talkers its just because they are to poor to afford to upgrade their computer. They just blame the game and can stick to their gay WoW. Its a bad game. Trust me you will love this game. Don't listen to all those people who dont' even have this game yet.… Expand

Amazingly good! Stable client and server, good performance and great graphics; engaging gameplay, absorbing quest lines and npcs with real personalities. The way I feel about AoC is the way I hoped to feel about Vanguard early last year. My only complaints have to do with the need for better tools in the UI, such as better guild and friends interfaces.

I cant remember ever being so sucked into a game so quickly. My expectations were big, and after five days in Hyboria all i have to say is praise. The graphics are innovative to say the least, the universe funcom has created here really feels alive and breathing. The content doesn't suit me all that well because of my highly competitive nature, so it's all pvp for me. The combat system is what will probably keep me entertained for many months to come, there is such room for skill-development there. The funfactor of this game is simply the highest i've ever experienced. Ive reviewed quite a few games, and i always try to set the final score by evaluating "how good of a time i am having playing". Of course there are glitches in a fresh release, but Im having an absolute blast every time i sit down to play. Thats just priceless.… Expand

WELL DONE FUNCOM! The attention to graphic detail,unique play style,diversified quests,and so far a lack of immaturity on the PVE servers,has won over a LOT of adult gamers. If you meet the recommended requirements,you will be enthralled by the graphics! Leave WOW now before another "tired" old news expansion keeps you bored.

PROS: Graphics are very nice; pretty and gritty-- like The Witcher, everything looks realistic; no space goats and crystal cities, no weapons or armor with laser beams shooting out out of them. 'Mature' quests; no silly stuff like WoW. Example: 'These guys raped my wife and crippled me, so go kill 50 of them and bring me their teeth so I can make a necklace out of them';. Generally engaging low-fantasy storyline. Tons of quests to do, especially in the starter area (I don't know what game the reviewer James P is playing). Combat with real-time skill selection and, of course, gory fatalities: decapitations, impalings, face-melting, etc. How the quest map functions should be the new RPG standard. Lots of cool classes to choose from. AoC has learned from other MMOs and may be the first to get healing and healing classes right-- they are not just gimpy healbots. CONS: Very steep hardware requirements; it's a shader-heavy cross platform game clearly not optimized for PC; 8800 series or better gpu and dual-core cpu required for a decent experience for anyone with visual standards. Graphical glitches; lots of serious clipping issues that result in flashing textures on player/armor models. A week after launch, major features and other components of the game are simply not functional-- tradeposts and some character skills, for instance, are not available. The 'social' element of AoC seems lacking-- is it single player or multiplayer? UI has highpoints (like the quest map), but is otherwise lacking functionality and isn't aesthetically pleasing. Vagueness: no numbers to crunch concerning your skills-- it's hard to tell exactly what they do. It is not a truly open-world MMORPG; it is completely instanced like Guild Wars, and it lacks the forced party creation pre-zone that helps the social element in GW. In the starter zone (1-20), everything has voice acting; once you leave, it stops and NPCs become mute with non-moving mouths (which is, ironically, very much like GW used to be.) YET TO BE SEEN: Raid dungeon difficulty and complexity-- is everything just a tank and spank? Will the guild cities and sieges be a satisfying experience? What can you do at lvl 80? Is the game basically over then? SUMMARY: It's a pretty good, fun game that feels more singleplayer than multiplayer. It is far from 'rock-solid'; it is wonky even after 5 years in development. It will fare better on consoles for two reasons: 1. It will simply run better with fewer problems on console hardware. 2. The combat system that requires multiple button-mashes will be easier for people with handheld controllers. Is it a WoW-killer? I doubt it. Is it a decent alternative for people tired of WoW cartoony-ness and endless grinds? Yep. I'm giving it a score of 9, but my guess is that most professional reviews will range from 7-9, and the game will eventually score in the mid-to-low 8 range here on Metacritic, depending on how generous the individual reviewers are feeling that day.… Expand

This game should not have been released. The majority of quests are botched and pure garbage. No interactions, rare animations from the worlds quest npcs. This is a joke to pc gaming. The only thing this game brings new to the table is its combat system which basically gets old after a few days of play. I have yet to enjoy what this game has to offer. For a 2008 MMO, it sure is behind in world interaction.… Expand

AoC is a very good game, it only gets a 9 due to the bugs which really don't even effect the game, I have played for around 5 hours now and the only problem I have is my computer only being able to run it on lowish settings. And it still looks better than WoW. I have played both and WoW was more of grinding where as when in AoC killing monsters doesn't feel like grinding because its so much fun to actually kill them. If you like MMO's then you will like this.… Expand

A fantastic mature MMO, with a new and exciting style and combat. Funcom has taken world of warcraft and mortal combat, smashed them toghter with the excellent conan lore and created a masterpiece. From the amazing visual effects to the amazing guild system, age of conan is now the daddy of mmos...its only a matter of time before age of conan takes the number 1 spot.

This game just keeps getting better. Any faults are being addressed very quickly and as for people complaining about framerate issues, upgrade your system. I have no difficulties with my computer and usually run 90 fps. There are still issues, but these are being looked at and we will see the updates soon.

If your a Pervt or Pedifile and like nudity, this is the game for you. Graphics are on par with EQ2 however Game play is tedious with its Attack/defense combo system. The nudity has gotten out of control in the game. The old addage, just because they can do it, doesnt mean they will, doesnt apply here... Putting a "MATURE" rating on the game has not stopped children in the slightest. The game has drawn pervs and pedifiles from arround the world. It was fun during the beta, but once opened to the public at has turned rotten.… Expand

I was very pleasantly surprised by this game, which I've read a lot of varied views on after launch. A friend recommended I try it, and now I'm joining the Conan fan club! I've now reached lvl 34 and Ive been enjoying the ride all along. My guild is a bit too casual for building cities and such, but just the combat, immersion and general feel of the world is enough for me to stay hooked. Yes, there are a few rough edges, but the makers of the game have been fairly diligent in getting out patches and updates, and the improvements in the game are noticable. I won't cancel my WoW account just yet, but I'll definitely spend more time playing AoC in the weeks and months to come. For my two cents this is the best alternative experience to WoW currently on the market.… Expand

The game has it's advantages, but also many weaknesses. One of the bigger problems is that the game is still in development..yes thats right you are paying for a game that is not finished yet. Wait about 6 months or so with buying it, then they might have fixed all the bugs from the beta that should have been fixed before they released it..also the game does NOT support directx10 as they state on the box....… Expand

been playing since beta and to me its a very good game.i agree with Aron R ppl got to used to wow cause wow is to easy to me aoc has a good story line, grapics and its fun to play sure it has bugs and the content thens out past lvl 50 a bit but Funcom is listening and fixing the just give it a chance

I played from launch, and the game ran smoother then, than it did when i stopped playing, but if anyone is sariosly interested in the game, get it grind to lvl 80, and wait for funcom to fix the entire game , that is when every one will be back, lets just hope they can do that before the tank. GL Funcom.

Although the low level experience in this game is awesome, the rest of the game is unpolished and clunky. The emphasis on PvP that was promised by Failcom was completely unrealized, and imho PvP in AoC was frustrating at best. The crafting system is, to be frank, garbage. Questing is extremely tedious. If you make it to the daily quests in Tarantia Noble District, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about, and it might make you want to kill yourself. Oh, and griefing is a huge problem as well. Just don't play it.… Expand

Sorry for the length, but I feel like doing a full review on this game because i feel that AoC deserves far more recognition than it already has because of the massive amount of bugs upon release, 99% of which are now fixed and the game is far superior to any other MMO i have played so far (Incl WoW) This game, after playing WoW for 2 years (and 2 years on private servers prior to that), offers a far better experience than WoW. There is far more blood and gore and the fatalities are just an incredible aspect of the game, even when someone lands a fatality on me i sit there and go WHOA and both my arms get lopped off, followed by my head, while my friends have a good laugh at my scenic and brutal death ^^ The game is hugely PvP oriented (if you dont like ganking, go on a PvE server, it can get very annoying for some people), however i am in love with the whole PvP idea and huge battles can spring up in the space of a few minutes, 20-a-side wars that are only too fun :) The classes are rather balanced, however Rangers and Necromancers especially can deal massive damage at a long range, making them very OP in ganking situations :( The PvP takes A LOT of skill (coming from someone with a WoW rogue with 27k HKs of experience) and is certainly not for anyone not up to learning game mechanics and persisting through a lot of failed pvp battles, hence the fact that 90% of AoC players are very mature and adult, offering a far friendlier and happier community than WoW's large community of helpless 12 year olds because you just simply have to be mature to play it, else fail :D (I'm not saying that there arent some great people in WoW and plenty of skill required, but after playing AoC, you'll see what i mean ;) ) The graphics are uncomparable to any other MMO, especially now that DX10 is released, my 8800 handles everything cranked to the MAX and the graphics are just stunning, the water is interactable with people and objects, and so does the grass, plus ambient occlusion/godrays/water caustics just make this game very very satisfying to look at, on par with crysis in certain locations. Raids are very easy and bosses are tank and spank for a lot of the time, which kinda annoyed me a bit :/ however gear is no where near as important as in say, WoW, because PvE/P is based largely on skill. Raids, however, are quite atmospheric and awesome simply because of the enhanced graphics and lighting as well as certain very cool ideas by the devs... i did a solo instance once where the floor had traps and spikes came out of the ground etc when u ran over them, was very fun :) However, i will say that raiding is better in WoW because there are far more tactics and cool effects used. Cities and landscapes are perfectly formed in AoC, looks like they took something out of a photograph and remade it, whereas in WoW they used rounded brushes to create topography (mountains, hills etc) which has a very unrealistic effect, as well as the same buildings being cloned into every settlement >.<, and the lighting, well sucks. In AoC, the sun moves across the sky in dynamic day/night cycles and if you watch long enough, your shadow, the trees' shadows, buildings' shadows etc move across the ground with the sun, which, IMO, looks awesome and Hide (Stealth) takes advantage of these shadows in real-time, which can be used to a rogue's advantage (there are 3 rogue sub-classes), for example they are far more effective at night because Hide takes into account light levels (including the advanced shadows), awesome! :D Leveling is very immersive compared to other games, quests have audio talking connected to them and you can select what to say to the characters, rather that one-click quest accepting where nobody reads the quests at all like in WoW, and the only objective is "kill x of y" or "collect x of y" or "talk to y". In AoC (especially in the first 20 levels) each class has its own destiny quests where you find out your identity etc, which is continued throughout the next 30 or so levels, for example the barbarian (rogue subclass) one has a very 'Splinter-cell' type effect involving missions to eavesdrop and assassinate at night, with a far more immersive effect than "talk to marshall mcbride... kill 10 kobold vermin" (WoW human start quests) as a start quest, followed by more of the same. The overall leveling in the game is just more fun and you have to actually think about the combat as you attack in 3 different directions (5 at level 40) which are chained together into combos, much the same in spellcasting/ranged classes, because the opponent has 3 shields that he can assign to any of 3 different directions (default is one per side, you can change to any number on any side upto 3 total) to reduce or block incoming damage from that direction, requiring a lot of knowledge of combos from different classes, AI and players alike. The game has certain flaws, such as the fact that you cant fight back if someone ganks you while interacting with an NPC until you hit Esc and by then you're probably fighting a losing battle, and the fatalities sometimes bug if you are moving while they execute, and that the ganking is enough to make ANYONE rage at some points/areas *cough* Noble district *cough*, but all of the original graphics bugs (playing on low with 20 fps for example on release) have been fixed entirely, i have already said that i play with everything ticked and all sliders maxed very happily and playably on an 8800, and athlon x2 6000+, nowadays a standard gaming rig, fps anywhere from 15 in the laggiest loading areas to 50+. Classes have been well balanced for the most part, and more balances to come, but most deaths are simply lack of skill and experience. DO NOT buy this game if: You hate getting ganked You have no skill/do not wish to spent a lot of time getting it (because you will) You only ever raid You are 12. DO buy this game if you: Love PvP (world pvp and capture the skull = win) Love ganking (even being ganked is fun, its hard to explain but the graphics + random fatalities just make me laugh every time i die :D) You have skill/are willing to try your best to get good You are mature You love hacking limbs off You have a similar/higher spec pc than mine (you will not be dissapointed) You have 32GB of free hard drive space :D Most of my guild have quit WoW for this game and, although both have their pros and cons, all of them agree that the PvP and leveling gameplay is just far superior and are much happier here, this game deserves recognition :D If you have the maturity and patience to learn the game mechanics, this game is just awesome. Buy it.… Expand

Not sure why people bash the game. Ive played em all so far this is the one for me. I guess most of these reveiws are old because they have done alot of fixing. Balances are constantly being added along with content. Graphics are nice if you have a good card. Leveling is a bit easy but other than that ill be sticking with this for a long time.

Didn't start out this way, but its certainly a rock-solid MMORPG, thanks to Funcom's continued work on patches/etc. Minor issues aside, the game is enjoyable, thoroughly engaging and highly recommended for anyone who has read any Conan. yes, read - forget the movies. This is Hyboria as Robert E. Howard envisioned it.

I played WoW for 4 years cleared all content except original naxx and most of the bosses in ulduar. This game isnt a WoW its community is much smaller and all in all when you weigh every aspect of it you will find its not as good as WoW. What this game is actually is the second best mmorpg out there. I could ramble on about the awsome combat or huge zones or beautiful graphics but I wont I'll simply say if you are sick and tired of WoW and want to try something else look no further… Expand

This game is ridiculously awesome! Groundbreaking in the mmom genre with real time combat that is so much fun to use!

Very Very awesome game.

Excellent game. Highly optimized engine and servers - very good performance. Deep combat system.

Best graphics and gameplay I've ever seen. Well done funcom. Already 700,000 subscribers and its the first day.

Amazing! Simply Amazing. Gorgeous to look at, absorbing to play and waaay too much fun!

Played for 3 days now and I'm already hooked. A bit to early to actually give it a review but my impression so far is excelente.

The best MMO ever provided the player is over 18 and don't mind action-combat. Period! For others its not a 10/10, but for this user group, its perfect. Easy to get into, difficult to master.

The game is a lot of fun. It has great graphics for an mmo. I'm surprised how low the average user rating is. My guess is people felt ripped off about the patches and downtime during EA and game it a 0. So far I think it's a great game.

Rock solid game with innovative combat. The few technical issues the game is experiencing keep it from a 10, but still well worth the purchase. This game could easily be a 10 in a few months (if the few glitches get sorted out

Beautifully rendered boredom. Once you arrive at the first city you're hit with huge lack of clear direction as to where to level or what to do. If their goal is to keep you guessing and wandering around, they succeeded. What i love about and while i'll be staying with WoW is that I always know what I'm suppose to be fighting next and why. This game just has too much guesswork and the leveling tedium is going to be outrageous compared to WoW.… Expand

So far it is the best MMO Ii have played and looks like it can only get better.

Great game, very immersing.

So far the game is fun, the graphics are impressive, the voice acting is superb, the game is a tiny bit sloppy, but for just being launched I am so far impressed at how smoothly it seems to be going.

This game is simply awesome.

This game puts a fresh and unique spin on the MMORPG world. Beautiful to look at, a ton of fun to play.

An awesome game, lovely graphics and a nice change to gameplay.

An amazing breath of fresh air in a genre dominated by dull "seen it before" game play elements. With the removal of auto-attack, this MMORPG has a completely unique feel to it, and this is coming from someone who is a veteran of EverQuest, EverQuest II, World of Warcraft, and more recently a newbie of LOTRO & Tabula Rasa. The superb graphics and adult themes are icing on the cake, and I think Funcom has found themselves a cash cow.… Expand

Best combat an MMO has seen since Planetside. A little buggy, the servers are down, otherwise though its an amazingly addictive and exciting experience!

Best MMO I ever played! GREAT game!

Makes me actually wanna kill stuff instead of just grinding awesome game really captivating.

Good: Great gameplay, amazing graphics and sound, fun classes to play. Bad: Steep system requirements, UI is pretty weak.

Best MMO ever made, unique playstyle, realistic graphics, great art, great sound, and awesome pvp/pve. This is the best all round MMO ever made.

This is the best MMO to grace us since WoW. Great Graphics, great plot, great fighting, GREAT, GREAT, and more GREAT! Oh...make sure your computer meets the recommended specs to fully enjoy it.

Very good quallity over all, on par with wow, may his content last long !!!!

Found the game to be nice as far as the graphics for the environment. Interface was weak, but I enjoyed the game play. I hope they end up tweaking the UI a little bit or mods for it will start to show up. Also a little dissapointed in the starting area, whereas WoW for example set's up areas for you to quest in which is appropriate to your level for people interested in maybe just doing the PVE thing, AoC doesnt do that and getting lost in your first few minutes or dying can easily get frustrating for someone new to the game. Great concept, poor execution.… Expand

It's an ok game. It doesn't feel fluid as say Oblivion or DDO does. They have tried to make dynamic animations and changing enemy weaknesses as a substitute, and it really doesn't work. For example, can I use terrain to my advantage? No.

The breath of fresh air that is the AoC combat system is a welcome addition to the MMO genre, and the pace of the game keeps you engrossed from the moment you enter the game. It's like living Robert E. Howard's books. Very minor launch jitters and a few graphic issues (clipping) were my only point losses for this review. This a well deserved grade. 9.5 (as the rating selector doesn't have .5 intervals =)… Expand

Wonderful game. Have not been this pleased since wow came out four years ago.

This game was a huge let down. Sadly WoW has a more competitive combat system. The combo system was an amazing concept however they did NOT deliver on it. The combo system isn't as much a combo system, but a self pressed auto attack. For a combo system to be effective it needs to require some reaction time...sadly AoC's combat system requires none. Honestly though even a mess up on the combo system can be overlooked assuming the other aspects of PvP are good. This is just not the case with AoC. I can't begin to understand why the game developers decided that moving around in PvP was something to not focus on. Anyone who is serious when it comes to PvP can tell you that movement, and positioning requires more involvement from the player which in turn makes the PvP more in depth. Any PvP that requires you to stand still to be at all effective is sad. Yes you can move in AoC, but it is laughable at best. So if you're looking for no-skill click fest when it comes to PvP combat AoC is pretty promising. Now what about the other aspects of the game? Well for starters the graphics are absolutely amazing in some areas while terribly bland in others. For example the cities are amazing in design and in looks. but some of the outside areas are better suited for 2D Models. Now the world PvP is a gank fest on a PvP server which is something I've always found exciting. However whoever thought of the graveyard idea had to be an idiot. Take a PvP combat system that requires no skill and have everyone spawn at a few choice graveyards placed in an area and you have a nubfest. People like me can grief a person forcing them to exit the game and come back another time. When you die you can choose different graveyards assuming you've explored an area. Seeing as how I grief most people when they're stuck loading into the zone they really aren't given a choice as to which graveyard to choose. Upon resurrecting they have half life and can only resurrect in one place... Yeh that system cant be abused at all... Anyways thats my perspective on just the PvP aspect. Sadly this game did not deliver and I was desperately hoping for it be a great game. Sorry to those who enjoy this game but I cant go along with the hype.… Expand

This game is superb. Definitely better than World of Warcraft. To the person that says it has a lot of guesswork, how about you use your eyes rather than being spoon fed.

Best MMO I have ever played! Dont have time to write a good review cuz I have to get back to leveling. Everything is amazing!

Best MMO I have ever played. Combat is a bit clunky when you first use it and are on the "mash buttons!" phase of learning the system, but once you truly get used to it combat flows amazingly well and the combo system is great. From the very beginning the game is *packed* with quests and content, and I think I'll be playing this for quite a long time.

I play it, and it is definately an awesome play experience that captures my interest more than any other game i have played.

excellent game after years of MMO stagnation and the obvious decline of WOW.

Wonderful MMO. Great graphics, incredible atmosphere capturing the strangeness and brutality of Robert E. Howard's writing. Pick it up and play it - you won't be dissapointed. Best of all: no elves! No orcs! No high fantasy tropes at all.

What a game. Good move by Funcom adding som blood and gore to flavor it all.

after playing war craft 2448 hours - thats right folks 2448 real hours :() This new Age Of Conan Kicks MAJOR A$$ - Dont Bi%ch about system requirements if your system cant run it UPGRADE REAL MMO'S PLAYERS UPGRADE ASAP !!!! LOL - BLIZZARD'S CANDY A$$ GRAPHICS is O V E R Get to your nearist store NOW and buy this game - Rick

Great game woudl get a 10, but just launched, need a bit of work. other then that this game has TONs of potential!

This game really delivers! Tactical combat, awesome music score, best ever MMO graphics and a very stable ride. I'm really impressed with what Funcom got out of this game. I'm an old Conan fan, and this game surely has revitalized my interests for Hyboria and the lore. My specs are an AMD64 3800+, 3 gigs of RAM, winxp pro32 and a 7600GT, and I run the game on 25-30 fps mostly on a high to med settings w/o bloom and shadows with a little tweaking. So the requirements for playing this game are not as high as you can get an impression of.… Expand

This game is groundbreaking! No auto-attack. When you are fighting you're actually doing it, instead of just watching your character doing it for you. And the graphics, gosh, it's awesome. There's no other mmo even close. Thumbs up!

Amazing game ive been on the early access for a week now and i can not fault it in anyway... only thing that put me off giving it a ten was the high demand in computer resourses which made me buy another graphics card, i also added a hard drive with a sepeate installation of WinXP soley for the game which gave me excellent FPS. I can only recomend this game (if your PC can handle it.

Great game, runs smooth on medium spec computers, no lag at all.

Buggy, Slow, and most importantly Boring. I'd rather go back to play EQ again than play this sadly =( Was hoping this game would be great too.

The Game is great so far. The comment about the leveling being tedious and there not being enoguh direction is unfair for this game at this stage. First of all i dont find level tedious at all and found my character at level 10 before i knew it. Secondly, press 'm' and look at your Map. The problem with AoC is that people are comparing it to WoW. Everyone in game was talking about oh this class is like this. They are pretty different games. I dont see AoC being as successful of WoW (purely from an age perspective, 18+). But it is definitely refreshing to paly a game with content. World of Warcraft is a pie eating contest where your only reward is another pie.… Expand

Best MMORPG since WoW. Been playing WoW since it came out but now the game has lost its edge. AoC feels right at home for gamers like me, familiar keyboard/mouse bindings, a great storyline, voice quest givers, gore (yes, it's rated M), sexual innuendos, language - all the stuffing of a good game ;-). Did I forget to mention that this is one of the best-looking games to come out in recent years? The game has two interesting modes: Night (single-player, more storylline advancing and day (multiplayer, questing). Familiar archetypes, somewhat more granular and none of the WoW cartoonish look. Still some quirks to iron out but the game is backed by Micro$oft so we can expect a huge push to break into the existing WoW market. Blizzard watch out: This is a WoW killer!… Expand

Great graphics, great concept from storyline to fighting. Wicked terrible lag ... and I more than meet specs for this game. They fix these issues and I will gladly up my vote ... until then mediocre at best.

After a few hours the novelty of the combat system wears off and starts to be more annoying than it is immersive. After that you're just playing every other fantasy MMO made in the last five years, except it's prettier. Same grind, different game. The PVP is somewhat redeeming, except that virtually every class has an optimal attack pattern, and once you figure it out it's really just a matter of who can do it faster.… Expand

This game is a blast, pure and simple. I had high expectations for it, and that usually sets me up for disappointment, but I have nothing but positive things to say about this game after several days with it. I love the interactivity of the combat and the fatalities are great fun. The graphics are gorgeous - I'm taking screenshots all over the place. The character creation options are vast and I couldn't be happier with my avatar. For the first time in an MMO, I'm actually thinking about his backstory, his character, goals, etc. Good times. Very pleased with the launch so far and looking forward to growing with this amazing game. It's all I'll be playing for the foreseeable future.… Expand

Fantastic game, exceeded my expectations in every way. I've found my new MMO home!

So far so good. It's hard to review an MMO after only a few days, but that being said, the game is great thus far. The game starts off laughably easy until about lvl 7. Once you start the night missions, the difficulty feels right. The combat is engaging and fun. Funcom definitely pulled it off. The story, music, voice acting and quests have all been top notch up to this point. Climbing a volcano to disrupt a ritual, causing the volcano to erupt was my favorite quest so far. The bad: the UI is really bad. The little info they provide for ui management and skill management is mediocre. I don't really care about this all that much, since I know tweaks and custom UI's will almost certainly be introduced in the very near future. The game does require a beat of a pc to run well. If you've been waiting to update your older box, this could be the game that makes it worth the investment. First 20 levels get a 9 for me.… Expand

Combat cool having lag issues with it, the biggest problem i have is the whole game being instance based and not being able to see all players in areas.. to me thats guild wars and not a true mmo

Best MMO released since WOW.

Simply put, this game is amazing! The Story line wraps you up and guides you beautifully. I actually enjoy doing the quests, I feel like I'm actually part of the world. The graphics are amazing. I haven't had any issues at all, an Extrememly smooth Roll out for a new MMORPG. The Combat is intuitive and engaging. I am very pleased with this and will probably be playing it for quite some time. I haven't enjoyed another MMO like this, It is a step above the all the rest. Excellent and intuitive UI, I could just keep on praising it...… Expand

A very good MMO, graphics are the best in MMO uptil now. If you ar a fan to Conan and Howard's writings this is a must. A solid 10 from me.

By far the best combat system out of any mmorpg. Graphics are amazing, run smooth. By far the best mmo launch ever. No crashes. No login problems. No patch problems. The person who wrote about not knowing where to go for quests has to be one of the biggest morons ever. The quest system is great and each step is detailed on your screen. The map has a big X where to go next.. If you ask me, its TO easy in that aspect.… Expand

A combat system that actually tries to break away from the norm, beautiful graphics with a great range from minspec systems to highspec. The quests are pretty standard MMO fare, all world pvp is a great mechanic that adds a new sense of suspense wherever you are. I have yet to try the siege mechanics. I've come from many MMOs from Guild Wars to Wow, this one may be my favorite. A little buggy with the UI at times but nothing they wont fix with patches.… Expand

Absolutely fantastic. The graphics are stunning, the game play is original, challenging, and a blast to learn. I was skeptical at first, but I've fallen in love with it! My 4 year long subscription to WoW was canceled two days ago and AoC has taken over!

An incredibly beautiful game and the most stable MMORPG release in history according to my playtests so far. System requirements may be a bit high, but the game runs flawlessly on my system. No lag whatsoever. Only slight disapointment for me is that the game feels a bit over-instanced, ala Guild Wars, but not to the extent where its a deal breaker. Awesome game, Ive been glued to it since release. A 10 from me.… Expand

Awesome game, wow players who don't get it didn't play it long enough.

Pros: Amazing graphics. It's Conan. Combat mechanics are much, much more realistic than other MMOs. Cons: Tutorial levels just aren't fun (1-20). You end up dreading ever making a new character just because you don't want to ever go back to Tortage. The combat system isn't entirely knew, it just requires more time to master (auto attack is split onto direction attack hotkeys). It's still just hitting hotbar buttons, but it is disguised well and requires your full attention at every moment. It's just like every other MMO in the fact that it's a major grindfest. Also, the quest system is the same as every other MMO (collect this, fetch this, kill this, deliver this, etc). Certain things completely kill the immersion: e.g. The Stygian Tempest of Set's heritage quests revolves around doing tasks for Mitra (rival God), helping Mitra's priests who constantly bash Stygians, and helping the weak and powerless (Set is merciless). It just makes no sense and would be an easy fix (replace a few quest mobs or change the dialog slightly). Conclusion: Funcom is a master of PR and capitalizes on/generates hype better than most companies, but the game itself isn't as great as everyone claims. However, if you're the type of person who only cares about being number 1 on the PvP scoreboard, then you'll probably love this game. I suggest you play something else and read the Conon stories if you want to be immersed in the world of Conan.… Expand

How is this honestly getting 9 and 10s? I was really anticipating this games release and hoped for a mix of an FPS and RPG. Thought this game would have a great fighting system, amazing visuals, a physics engine, and just great gameplay. Well on release date I went out and got it and it has so far been the biggest dissapointment i've ever had. The graphics, while better than most RPGs in its class, are still lacking from what I expected. They are as un-interactive as every other RPG and they feel unfinished. Dont expect something like Assassin's creed or Crysis here even maxed out the environment seems to have the bare minimum to look good at a distance but up close in personal theyre ugly, bland, and blurry. The UI is obnoxiously large taking up about 1/5 of the screen on a 1680x1050 resolution and very innefficient. Though i will admit the character models and voice acting were superbly done while theyre not perfect they are the best looking thing in the game. The combat system is annoying. I was hoping for something like oblivion or hellgate london instead they decided to replace the more common spell cast keys (1,2,3) with directional swings which was ok at first until you tried moving while in combat. Overall it was boring though, everyone died the same way, no ragdolls, no physics, some AI even keep talking like from cutscenes even after theyre dead and the controls are clunkier than two worlds (and if you havent played two worlds, DONT.) They have some bugs to work out (which is to be expected) and Eidos is notorious for taking a great concept and ruining it somehow. It could've been so much more than was and while the graphics will improve over time the gameplay and inability to customize your UI wont.… Expand