05/09/2008

Age of Conan Beta Review Part 3

Written By Dagny

Another day goes by and time for a 3rd review. I'm still having a blast. I've actually moved out of my Priestess comfort zone and rolled a Demonologist and an Assassin. I will give you the lowdown shortly. Up til now I have been, by all accounts very open-minded and fair, but I have found 2 issues that are rising to the top, one is really big, the other really isn't, but it's worthy of mention.

Ok the big one first. Please understand this comes from the perspective of someone who really really enjoys what she sees and is only concerned for the longevity of the game. Now I could be wrong here, but my best understanding was that this game was for "mature audiences". Now there's no way to make sure that adults are, or act mature, so I won't even go there. I have no issue with people being bawdy is a game like this, it's actually fitting to the flavor of the game. Even the NPCs get a little risque.

My issue is that there are people playing the game who are obviously kids. Some of them claim to be 12, 13, etc in the chat screens. Considering the beta is watered down as it is on the nudity and the language and the gore, Funcom should be really active in dealing with this now. My worry is that if you're going to put out a product that you specify requires being 17 to play, unless I am mistaken about the rating, then you had better police your product. The first lawsuit is going to cost so much money, not to mention the subsequent ones, that the ability to afford to keep improving the game will suffer.

Funcom really needs to hire someone per server to monitor the chats and use a big and swift ban stick. It's one thing if you don't know someone's age, but if someone is sitting in chat saying they are 13 and going on and on about "boobies" and running through Tortage being naked and openly vulgar like the guy who ran up to me and started yelling "I'm fisting you!", this is a different story. If they want to hire me to do it, I will. Freedom of speech is great and all, I'm not asking for censorship, but I am asking that they keep an eye out for people who shouldn't be there before someone brings a lawsuit for allowing their precious pure-as-snow child to witness the "decadence". People may think I'm over-reacting, but wait for the first lawsuit. Again, my only interest here is the longevity of the game, it's not prudishness, I find all aspects of the game fun. This is not an issue that will affect whether or not I play the game, I'll be there, but it could affect the game financially and legally which worries me because I want it to last.


My second "issue" as I said is not a huge deal and will probably clear up before launch is the zone crashes. Overall the game seems more and more stable, but I still find a heavy dose of lock-ups when changing from day-to-night and entering instances. These usually require ctrl+alt+del to shut down the client and reboot. I know there are people not having this issue, but a lot are. It will probably be cleaned up soon so I'm not worried, just after a few days it starts to get a tad annoying. For those reading this who are not in beta, when I say "day-to-night" the game so far is always daytime except for a series of quests that requires you to enter basically an instance where it's night.

Ok, issues and concerns aside, OMIGOD am I having fun! The more I play, the more I want to see more places, quests, classes. I know I keep saying it, but the game is just so pretty. As I mentioned I broke out of healer mode and made some other classes. I took a demonologist all the way to 13 without straying from the main storyline. The neat thing about that is that I could do it without touching more than 20% of the quests, so anyone wondering if there is enough to do… oh yes! Not only that, but different classes in the main quest line get different quests… the same story unfolds from a whole different perspective!

Usually my motherly instincts are at the forefront so I play my healers, but I was curious to see how the dark-side lived. I made my demonologist. For those who aren't playing, or haven't tried it yet, the demonologist is considered (according to the main website) the purest form of caster class. While some things are similar to mages in other games, it's not run-of-the-mill by any extreme. Your basic initial attack is fire, sound familiar? It's not. I was thinking "big deal, another fire mage"… nope. First of all, when you torch an enemy and they grab their head, visually write in pain, audibly scream in agony… omigod… adrenaline rush. I'm sorry to my fellow healers, but there was joy, I admit it. Enemies don't just drop over dead, they die brutally and painfully. Yummy!

Shortly thereafter you pick up lightning attacks and then around level 8, I forget exactly you start getting a pet, usually the primary caster type in most games is not a pet class. Oh, and it's not just any pet, it's a demon, from hell. No exaggeration… bound to you from hell, they are very specific. The demonologist was fun to play, but there are a few issues. Again, this may all clear up at higher levels since it's hard to judge a class at only level 13. The demonologist suffers from lack of any crowd control, its one root type spell is weak and easily broken. The demon pet is big and often gets in the way of line of sight and I often want to kick him out of the way of my targets and my loot. The demon also seems to be a bit of a pansy. He doesn't seem to deal much damage, and even if you have him attack first, the mobs come at you, not the pet, so he won't be tanking for you.

The class is still hella (pun intended) fun to play, and I will always have one for certain times when I think everyone needs to die horribly and painfully!


I'm working an assassin now which is really against my play style. I usually prefer to take down my opponents from a distance, I'm not so much an in-your-face aggressive person, I'm more of the subtle hit you from a distance type. Still the assassin is proving to be fun. I'm only around level 5 so I'm still learning the class. Even half-naked on the beach to start, you have 2 daggers dual-wielded to start and an assassin seems formidable. Even for not having much melee experience in any game I have handled everything thrown at me without a death.

You learn "swipe" which hits multiple enemies and "bash" which can knock them down at early levels. Directional attacks do matter. For those not yet playing, attacking is not just mashing a button over and over. You get 3 basic attacks left, right, and overhead, and you really do need to keep an eye on where your opponent's shield is. If there are combo moves, I haven't found or figured them out yet. On of the neatest things about the game is that it's new and nobody is an expert, so I feel comfortable not knowing things since everyone doesn't have 12 max level characters and the knowledge of every click like in some games out there.

I haven't tried grouping or PvP yet. I'm basically running my toons through the basic storyline. Grouping doesn't lend itself to learning all aspects of your character yet. The starter area really doesn't need it except maybe some of the higher level mobs after you have maxxed out your own level. In groups things die too fast and I want to get a feel for what all of my skills do so I can be more effective grouping later. The main story line requires solo play in the night instance anyway. You can level to 13 outside the main story line and in groups, but for me this is boo camp and learning what my toons do well and poorly.

So that's my lengthy ramble for today, 3 days into open beta. Things seem more stable crash-wise, game play is so much fun, just a few issues that really stand out and none of them are personally threatening my desire to play. Have a great day!

Till next time,

Dagny

PS I keep forgetting to mention it, but the music in the game is very very nicely done too!
Written By Dagny