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Conan

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7.8 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 49 critic reviews
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Based on 36 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Nihilistic

Genre(s): Action, Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: M (Mature)

Release Date: October 23, 2007

Summary

Conan is an action adventure game featuring a story of epic brutality, sheer evil and visceral combat. Players follow the journey of Conan the Cimmerian as he fights a vicious battle against a variety of enemies and an elusive power that threatens to consume the Hyborian world. Playing as Conan, players take advantage of a deep and gratifying combat system that offers a variety of deadly weapons, fighting styles and interactive environments to battle hordes of enemies. In addition, the Conan harnesses next generation hardware to deliver a cinematic game play experience, complete with special effects, lighting and a powerful, epic soundtrack, to capture the essence of the Conan universe. [THQ]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Play.tm

An absolutely storming adventure, and I will definitely recommend it to any fans of the genre; it has been one of the most enjoyable titles of its type that I have played in a long time. There are a few flaws that stop it from being truly great, but it does what it sets out to do - provide a few hours of happy blood-lust, carving a path of destruction through hordes of enemies.

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Deeko

At the end of the day, Conan is a fantastically fun game, that doesn't take itself too serious and knows what kind of creature it is -- something that a good deal of games nowadays could benefit from.

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Game Over Online

All said, Conan the game, like the titular barbarian himself, is very one dimensional. It’s great for getting in a little much needed smashing time, and maybe for checking out some computer generated boobage, but after a run through or three of the story mode it’s pretty much spent.

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Cheat Code Central

For every minor flaw though, Conan redeems itself with cool little touches; we love pulling health-draining arrows from our chests and torching village huts to reveal orb-filled treasure chests.

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Just RPG

While it’s not exactly an original formula, Conan’s gory action and light character-building elements should be just enough to keep most gamers entertained.

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Planet Xbox 360

I had a great time playing through it but with no online mode there is little reason to come back for more, other than the blood and breasts.

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Xbox World Australia

Conan appeared on the Xbox 360 out of nowhere like a thief in the night, and like its titular hero, it is brutal, powerful, and very rough around the edges.

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Play Magazine

It looks good but not great, feels good but not great, has some very cool moments before running into duller moments right around the corner. [Nov 2007, p.60]

GameSpot

Derivative as it is, Conan is still a viscerally satisfying adventure.

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GamePro

Fans of the Conan books will likely be disappointed by the disjointed narrative and surprisingly dispassionate vocal performances, and most gamers will see the button-tapping mini-games and bare-breasted maidens as the hollow window-dressing they are, but Conan is still an agreeable diversion despite its obvious faults.

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Games Master UK

Bloody good fun, but despite the solid combat a lack of variety pulls it under "God of War's" ilk. [Dec 2007, p. 74]

MS Xbox World

The game is not particularly lengthy and seems to average in at what most games do these days, with about a 5-6 hour campaign, obviously this will likely increase with knocking the difficulty up to Hard or the more deadly King difficulty mode.

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PALGN

Conan may at times be awkward and slightly derivative, but when compared to the fun that is available within, these shortcomings pale in comparison.

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Team Xbox

Purchased moves and learned skills help to keep the hack-and-slash of Conan fresher. Suspect physics and hit detection system. Camera control please.

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GamerNode

Conan's biggest strength lies in its ability to pull you into the mythos that is Conan. When you're playing it, you really feel like you're controlling an unstoppable bloodthirsty warrior who just wants power, riches and women. Awesome.

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Gamer 2.0

For what its worth, Conan is a rather intense and short game. Fighting through all the hordes and spending time backtracking only amounted to about seven hours of gameplay, and with no multiplayer or secrets to unlock, that’s quite a disappointment in terms of replay.

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Xbox World 360 Magazine UK

No matter how advanced the combo system, that constant button-pounding action begins to grate, especially since there's no co-op mode (which would have rocked). But it's testament to Conan's spark that the sheer fun of the execution moves and combos will pull you through the bad times.

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Console Monster

Conan is fun to play and it’s gory, but to be honest it‘s not worth its £40 RRP, maybe £25. I was expecting Conan to be poor, but it was nice to get a shock of playing a good title.

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Digital Entertainment News

Barely more than a clone of God of War, Conan manages to differentiate itself with an over-the-top style and mature themes. The action has its ticks, but a hardcore action aficionado will find a lot to like here.

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DarkStation

It is a shame that the story for Conan wasn't developed further, it really could have been something that pushed the experience from start to finish.

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Maxi Consolas (Portugal)

It’s a more Schwarzenneger version of the barbarian than the one from the comics. It tries to make the most of its influences (especially God of War) in the form of a competent game for all Conan fans out there. [Nov 2007]

Eurogamer

The lack of real depth to the combat engine means it'll never match up to the standard of its loftier genre peers, and the absence of any co-op or multiplayer mode in a game this demented is inexcusable, but it does make for a more shamelessly enjoyable blade-swinging romp than the similar but oh-so-dull "Heavenly Sword." And it has more naked boobs.

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VideoGamer

On the one hand it's highly entertaining and almost obscenely violent and crude, but for a next-gen title with a next-gen price tag it doesn't quite deliver.

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Game Informer

If your blood pressure can withstand the beatings that may seem unfair, there's a lot to like about Conan's combat system and adventure. [Nov 2007, p.140]

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GameDaily

Sure, it has annoying glitches, the cheap artificial intelligence will piss you off and Sony's God of War plays ten times better, but you don't play Conan for enlightenment or for a lesson in quality game design. You play because you enjoy the thrill of the hunt, and because sometimes, it feels good to rip a fake person's arms off.

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Jolt Online Gaming UK

It’s playable and for a while it’s even fun, but you’ll be surprised just how quickly mindless violence and bloodshed with semi-naked women can turn into a grind.

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Edge Magazine

Conan is a genuine surprise. It’s not innovative in its entirety, but it does almost as much as it can with the central conceit, and thus proves one of the better examples of the hack’n’slash genre. [Dec 2007, p.93]

GameTrailers

Despite being somewhat derivative and rough around the edges, Conan has an enjoyable combat system and brings in enough variety to keep the action from feeling too repetitive. Players that aren’t turned off by the gore, nudity, or disregard for canon should have plenty of fun dismembering the scum of Hyboria.

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AceGamez

All in all, you know exactly what you are getting with Conan; a balls to the wall action game with little need for subtlety. This is big, brash and dumb as a bag of hammers, a relentlessly violent, uncompromising adventure that's fun from start to finish with a combat system that packs a visual punch as well as a technical one.

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ZTGameDomain

If ever there was a game that deserves the word plagiarism on the back of the box as a bullet point it would be Conan.

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GameSpy

It has a less-than-inspired storyline, but the creative and visually fun ways that you can dispatch of the countless number of enemies keeps things from becoming too ho-hum.

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Extreme Gamer

Conan the character is brutal, honest and straight to the point, and so is Nihilistic’s version of Conan the game. Even though there isn’t much past the combat, Conan is still a lot of fun if you’re into mythological lore, saving naked woman, and getting vicious in battle.

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X360 Magazine UK

A sleeper hit if there ever was one. [Issue 26, p.94]

Gaming Nexus

It's just a very derivative game that could have been so much more. They could have added a few new features to the game, added a few levels to the game, or even spiced it up with some real sexuality rather than the tee-hee stuff they put in the game. There are a lot of cool features in the game but it's really hard to recommend this game for ownership.

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Game Positive

Given that this is such a short game, it becomes hard to recommend at the sixty dollar asking price. However, it's still a solid experience that should be looked into for at least a rental for fans of the genre.

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IGN

The graphics, the combat, the design, the sound are all just okay. With a final boss battle that is as painful as a trip to the proctologist, Conan is a game best rented for a one-day lark. It's certainly not worth spending $60 on.

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GamingExcellence

While Conan is still a decent game, it's likely better off as a rental.

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Official Xbox Magazine

But overall, the affair is a tad bit low-rent on the production values. [Dec 2007, p.75]

GameZone

An extremely short and derivative game that tries very hard to emulate God of War, but fails to be as compelling or nearly as fun to play.

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GameTap

From the very first level, the God of War copying is all too apparent; in fact, the setup of the first scene mirrors the first scene in God of War II to a T!

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games(TM)

Conan is not a particularly good game, it is an average one made with love and personality. When so many games feel like little more than exercises in turning a profit, we reckon that counts for something. [Dec 2007, p.126]

G4 TV

Though the visual glitches hurt the game somewhat, the terrifically violent and expansive combat makes this game worth playing.

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Worth Playing

Conan is an average action game that seemed content to borrow from other titles without really taking full advantage of its source material. If it's a thirst for blood you have, though, this title will definitely quench it.

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NTSC-uk

Obvious flaws and blatant plagiarism aside Conan isn’t a bad game by any stretch, offering a lot of throwaway entertainment and a real challenge on anything above the normal difficulty setting.

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Game Revolution

For the things that Conan gets right - big breasted naked lasses, blood and guts - it gets two things wrong - the use of magic, the god-awful voice acting. Otherwise, this is just another entry in the burgeoning God of War genre, neither offering anything in the way of innovation nor testing the limits of next-gen graphics.

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Electronic Gaming Monthly

Put simply, the story's not very good, it's short, and it just has too many small flaws to match Sony's game. [Dec 2007, p.104]

1UP

Conan isn't really a horrible game. There are moments when all the flaws fade away and you'll experience a great animation that slows down at just the right times and chops off just the right heads and you'll start to think that the game is actually pretty fun, but it's all extremely straightforward and lacking a lot of polish.

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Official Xbox Magazine UK

Conan is like a bad exploitation flick. It's lurid, crass, dumb and looks like sh*t. However, strange as it sounds, these are exactly the kind of things that might just keep you playing. [Dec 2007, p.104]

Destructoid

Where it fails, however, is in trying to be superficially difficult through cheap enemies with aggravating attacks and the ability to instantly block all your moves until you level up enough to find the one attack that breaks their defenses.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 36 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

M W gave it a9:
Fantastic game and a brilliant representation of the Conan Universe. Great graphics and good production make this title so much fun..it's hard not to love being the brutal cimmerian. A must buy for any fan of the Conan world or of simply enjoyable gameplay.

Aaron J. gave it a4:
Odd camera angles, annoying jump and button sequences, and a really bad story would make this a 6/10. Add in possibly the most annoying and tedious final boss battle and this puppy quickly drops to bargain bin status.

A. C. gave it a7:
I have to be one of the biggest Conan fans ever! I was really disappointed with the mis placed Voice Acting for Conan. No one can deny that Arnold brought a true taste of exotic barbarianism to the character of Conan, which in fact was right on the money. This game's v.o. sounds more like a 21 year old California college actor than a true exotic barbarian....it really takes me out of game. Some of the power combos are non reactive as well, you can do them, but it seems more like luck percentage of executed them than actual skill.

Tony M. gave it a9:
Must agree that this is a very underated game. people keep comparing it to god of war, which to me is not so...because this game has true physics system, there are rag-doll effects which makes a world of difference in hack and slash games and shooter games. in god of war, its all animated death scenes...every enemy dies the same...whats the fun in that? in conan, you can slice a guys head of and he tumbles down the steps...can god of war do a simple thing like that?...no. also this game has real weapons and not blades on chains and whatever crap that god of war looser uses. "the graphics are ps2" someone says below...i suggest that person to check his eyesight...or maybe clean his tv screen...because conan has great graphics, they are designed to be just like the comic books. the only one instance where this game may not be your cup of tea, is if you dont like conan in the first place. for example, im not so crazy about sonic the hedgedog...it wouldnt matter to me if they created a game of sonic that looked and played like halo...i still would not like it. so, there you have it....go buy it. its classic, its great fun.

Jason L. gave it a7:
Some of the best combos I've seen and ultimately fun gameplay wrapped up in frustrating boss battles, PS2 graphics, a boring story and annoying glitches. This game is about 6 hours in total length with no muliplayer or co-op, do yourself a favor and rent it.

Brian M. gave it a9:
Game looks very much like the Dark Horse comic. I'm really enjoying the gameplay. The only thing that could use some work is the camera. It's something you get used to after awhile, but would have been nice to be able to control it.

B Dub gave it a7:
I am a couple of hours into this. For those that care about how much they spend, I should state that this is probably more of a rental. I was in need of a good action hack and slash and this filled the void. Had it came out after Assassins Creed or maybe even Beowulf i may never have bought it, or maybe i would have when it hit the $30 price tag. I don't really regret the purchase, but i'm not exactly frugal. The game plays identically to Lord Of The Rings Return Of The King for the xbox, with improved graphics and weaker replayability (because you can't play as multiple characters or replay levels to increase your abilities). Definitely a violent game, which is nice. IF you are in need of some good hack and slash RIGHT NOW, get it. Otherwise wait to see how Beowulf pans out, and Assassins Creed is going to blow everything out of the water, but won't be just hack and slash. I don't see myself playing Conan much longer than a week seeing as Xbox is finally going to start relentlessly dumping awesome games on us in the next month (why couldn't they have spread these games out over the last year which was dead for new games).

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Conan

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