Age of Conan coming to Xbox360?

[CptStern]

I've touted Age of Conan [a MMO that includes an offline single player campaign] as my most anticipated game of the year yet it hasnt made all that of ripple here when I've posted about it in the past. This may change that:

Potentially the biggest arranged lan party in the world is hold every year in Norway. About 6000 individual people who's wired up with one and another. So the norwegian game company Funcom took time off to show of their future games at the location.

I have a friend who's there this year and he was attending a Q&A with developer Funcom(The Longest Journey, Dreamfall, Anarchy Online) and after showing of their soon to be released Dreamfall they started talking about their next game Conan(hitting pc's this autumn). They showed a trailer with a pretty intense draw distance apparantly aswell as Conan himself wielding a morning star which seemed totally realistic in how the spiked ball would behave due to it's weight and momentum. Anyway, a question was asked about if they were thinking about other platforms than pc and they said they where thinking about Mac's since it's move to intel cpu's. And then the spokesman(Bjorn Sundquist) made a kauf gesture saying *kauf*360*kauf*. It's no secret that Funcom have been looking into the console but it seems like this very interesting mmo may indeed be coming to the console.

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/news/...pic_id=24524453&part=rss&tag=gs_&subj=6147722

obviously take it with a grain of salt but it makes sense as funcom has been talking about making next gen console games for awhile now

as always I have some trepidation when a developer who's game I'm anticipating announces they're also developing a console version of said game, especially since the game tackles a character that I grew up with ...but this could ensure that the game is successful ..and the 360 is the perfect way to drum up sales which is always good as it means future support


more info on Age of Conan:

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=99070&highlight=conan

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82349&highlight=conan

http://www.halflife2.net/forums/showthread.php?t=79174&highlight=conan

 

[CptStern]

which HL2.net member do I have to beat to a pulp to get you guys interested in this game?

 

[Warbie]

Mongol General: "What is best in life?"
Conan: "To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women."

It looks pretty, and I like the movies. I'll pick up a copy if the reviews are favourable.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Not a huge fan of MMos, but I love the Conan license, so I am optimistic. Everyone will want to be Conan, though, which makes things not exactly optimal. I would much rather a great single-player Conan experience than a big Cimmerian world to explore with other people tired of WoW or not interested in Middle-Earth Online (which is more interesting to me as I am much more familiar with the world).

We'll see....

 

[CptStern]

finally some interest (I can always count on you warbie )

the game promises Oblivion style combat mixed with MMO gameplay that isnt about level grinding


VoS: Age of conan starts as a single player game ..for the first 20 levels you play offline, then you can go online

 

[VictimOfScience]

VoS: Age of conan starts as a single player game ..for the first 20 levels you play offline, then you can go online

Oho? Really?
Hmm, that's strange, but potentially very cool. Like this, for instance:

"The first sections of the game will be played just like a single player title as you develop your character through an involving storyline, as you prepare for even greater adventures beyond. The whole game will always be played on online game servers." and "Yes, you will require an internet connection to play Age of Conan."

A shame you will always need to be connected to play...hopefully it will have an offline mode too like HL2. And how does that work--its a single-player experience, though its still on their servers with others presumably?...weird. Need more info...(sounding better though )

 

[CptStern]

well I think the being online to play the single portion is for authentication to avoid pirating ..kinda like what valve did ..also so that character stats will transfer to the online component easily

 

[boglito]

which HL2.net member do I have to beat to a pulp to get you guys interested in this game?

Not even Conan could beat me enough to make me interested in a game with "Conan" in the title. I have a relative who was a Conan-fan so I have read faaaaaaaaaar to many of the comics, and believe me, there is little material therein to construct a functional game world out of.

Besides, the only proper mmorpg is EvE, and it will probably stay that way for a few years yet.

.bog.

 

[CptStern]

yes because the comics are the original source material

http://conan.wikia.com/wiki/Robert_E._Howard


the conan comics came out in the 70's ..conan was first written about in the 30's

 

[VictimOfScience]

well I think the being online to play the single portion is for authentication to avoid pirating ..kinda like what valve did ..also so that character stats will transfer to the online component easily

Never cared for that sort of copy protection--like Windows making you use IE and online verification of your install and such. Pain in the a$$ and I don't like being forced into such things. I much prefer the old days of the code wheel (ala Monkey Island) and the like....

 

[CptStern]

I read somewhere that the code wheel might be making a comeback

 

[Warbie]

I quite like the idea of playing offline before venturing into the online world. mmo's often feel a little vague and can fail to drive the player forward in the way a carefully constructed single player experience can. Sometime to immerse yourself in the Conan universe and get used to the game mechanics could be good.

I'm not at all familiar with the develper, so am not on the edge of my seat yet, but Oblivion style fighting and no grinding does sound good

 

[boglito]

conan was first written about in the 30's

So, I guess there is a whole world of Conan there that was never explored in the comics. Or not.

There is an off-chance that FunCom will get this right, but they have not made it easy for themselves by picking a highly unimaginative backdrop for what is going to be made or broken by their "real combat" engine.

They have done one thing right, though. Making the game single-player up to a point will make players and reviewers more forgiving and making that single-player experience "online only" will make both cheating and pirating the game difficult. A stroke of genius (patting my own back here) that truly is the future.

.bog. less excited by AoC than Paris Hilton is by 5 1/4 inch "floppies".

 

[CptStern]

So, I guess there is a whole world of Conan there that was never explored in the comics. Or not.

There is an off-chance that FunCom will get this right, but they have not made it easy for themselves by picking a highly unimaginative backdrop for what is going to be made or broken by their "real combat" engine.

that's your opinion ..as seeing as how you've never read any of the ReH books, it's purely speculative. The world is extremely rich and fleshed out ..pick any of ReH's books and I'm sure you'll agree

 

[OCybrManO]

Stern, why must you force me to keep digging up this picture?

This is the true Age of Conan.

 

[Pesmerga]

Looks great, I've been half-waiting for a badass game to come along, no matter the setting. Everything I have right now is just too pussy to make me feel like a man, anymore. I have to beat my mother up to make me feel better.

Kidding aside, I just hope it's as badass as Conan was.

 

[CptStern]

Stern, why must you force me to keep digging up this picture?


This is the true Age of Conan.

heh I linked to that in the first post

 

[boglito]

that's your opinion

Indeed.
Only time will tell if I'm right. I wish good things for FunCom (being the little nationalist that I am), but I am certainly not buying stocks.

.bog.

 

[CptStern]

no ones asking you to buy the company, just the game