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How Metascores Are Calculated
68
1942: Joint Strike
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games. |
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]
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... 85
Ferrago
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.
 80
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.
80
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.
80
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.
78
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.
78
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.
76
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.
75
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]
75
GameSpot
Derivative as it is, Conan is still a viscerally satisfying adventure.
75
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.
75
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]
75
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.
75
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.
75
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.
75
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.
74
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.
74
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.
73
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.
70
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.
70
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.
70
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]
70
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.
70
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.
70
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]
70
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.
70
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.
70
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]
70
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.
70
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.
70
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.
70
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.
70
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.
70
X360 Magazine UK
A sleeper hit if there ever was one. [Issue 26, p.94]
68
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.
67
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.
67
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.
66
GamingExcellence
While Conan is still a decent game, it's likely better off as a rental.
65
Official Xbox Magazine
But overall, the affair is a tad bit low-rent on the production values. [Dec 2007, p.75]
60
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.
60
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!
60
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]
60
G4 TV
Though the visual glitches hurt the game somewhat, the terrifically violent and expansive combat makes this game worth playing.
60
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.
60
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.
58
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.
55
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]
55
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.
50
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]
40
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.
M W gave it a9: Aaron J. gave it a4: A. C. gave it a7: Tony M. gave it a9: Jason L. gave it a7: Brian M. gave it a9: B Dub gave it a7: |
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