Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures - updated impressions

Based on our latest look at Age of Conan, we can safely say it’s looking pretty damn great. The combat system has been changed in a number of very definite, deliberate ways, and it improves the feel of the game immensely.

The number of directions in which you can attack has been reduced, combos must now be activated instead of memorised and hopelessly recited, and enemies now display shield icons on either their front, left or right sides- a seemingly trivial inclusion but one that gives purpose and meaning to the ability to attack from one direction rather than another. It gives us hope that a live-combat MMORPG can actually, seriously work, and that Age of Conan could be the biggest trend-bucker the genre’s seen.