Another primary concern in a game with almost 200 square miles of real estate to cover is a means of fast travel. While
WoW (man I’m getting tired of mentioning it) has a few mounts of mythical origin,
Conan offers a broad selection of real world animals - and maybe some fantasy ones for all I know - that aren’t restricted to particular classes. We got a chance to see a horse and a mammoth in action. Yes, a mammoth.
The first thing I thought when I saw the enormous beast appear on screen was, "What happens when 100 characters, all on mammoths, get into the same area”. They assured me that the game would still run without a hitch though they did mention that it is common practice for people who know they will be playing a large party game to turn down their graphical settings for the occasion. While this sort of thing may fly for the PC crowd, the game is intended for an eventual, some time in 2009, Xbox 360 release. I can’t imagine them giving graphical options on the 360, so hopefully some sort of automatic adjustment system can be implemented.
Back on mounts and the horse, as predicted, has a series of ups and down in comparison to the mammoth, as all of the mounts come with specific strengths and weaknesses. The mammoth may be great for battle, as you are high above the crowd and difficult to hit, not to mention the inherent destructive power of a mammoth, but its speed is maybe half that of the horse, so it’s not exactly ideal for long road trips. Conversely, all fighting on the mammoth is down through the mammoth itself whereas, when on horse you can not only have it charge and rear and kick, but you can also decapitate a nearby enemy with a well-timed sword swipe.
Overall my time spent watching the game was a very mixed bag. Many things about it impress. At the same time, however, every MMO for a long time coming will have to be held up against the harsh light of
WoW - not just by us elitist reviewers, but also by the millions who have been playing it for years. There are a lot of key improvements to be made, but there are plenty of reasons to think it may never be able to come near the success that
WoW has reached. While you as a player may not be terribly concerned about a games financial success, MMOs can wither and die rather quickly if they can’t maintain enough subscribers to warrant the server maintenance.
To be clear, I’ve no real concerns that such a fate will ever befall this title, as I myself am rather excited to get involved, but it’s a possibility that warrants mention. Personally I think it’ll be a success, at least for the immediate future. The graphics are more than enough to impress, the premise is certainly strong and the dismemberments add enough flair to draw people in at the start. Couple that with just enough innovation to make it stand out while maintaining enough of the familiar to not alienate and
Conan certainly is shaping up to be a landmark MMO. I’ll be getting my hands on it shortly and after a few weeks of regular play I’ll be back again with a much more in-depth and decisive analysis.
