My brief opinion of Age of Conan

Marlyjane

 Okay, I know you all are going to want to bash me cause I am a girl, but you see the MMO market, gaming market in general is more focused on the male audience and us girls get left out.So I thought for once a girl should get to voice her opinions. Let me start off by saying that this game is absolutely gorgeous, even if there is a lot of blood and nudity (which I will get to later).

The character creation in the game is pretty decent, I absolutely love that you can alter the body stature and what not and the different races do bring a lot of diversity to the game. I am a girl, so I love making characters, it is a ton of fun. Funcom definitely has the audience of women captivated in this sense. Now I want to quickly speak of nudity since I am making this review short. I actually don't mind it as a girl, I think it's great that the world is becoming more comfortable with the naked body. The blood I can do without so I am glad there is an option to turn that off. 

Now one thing I do think that is great about this game is that it has a very interesting combat system, the directional arrows are great and I feel absolutely immersed in the game. The combat for me is some of the most entertaining, if not some of the most complex I've ever played in any MMO, especially compared to WoW.  

Overall the questing is pretty entertaining (Especially the Pyramid of The Ancients quests in Khopshef Province) and it does an excellent job of keeping me as a player captivated. I am really into detail so it excited me to no end to see that many of the quests focused on extensive story lines. The only thing is I wish more quests had voice acting and that the Destiny quests were longer. Then again, not very many MMOs do have voice acting and it never hurts to actually read the quests, which is worth it in this case. 

I think the PvE content is amazing! Even after playing WoW I am still stunned with some of the encounters I've had in T2, I can not wait for Thoth Amon! I absolutely love raiding, unfortunately I cannot comment on PvP because I am on a PvE server. But I will tell you even compared to my encounters in WoW the end game in this game is pretty good so far. And it will only get better with Rise of The Godslayer. 

Overall this currently is my favorite game as of now. I haven't actually enjoyed a game this much since... SWG pre SoE, and that was a long time ago. I am really glad that this game has made up for it's wrongs, now only if it could stop freezing in the loading screens.... 

Rating 8.5/10

 

 

elderotter

Originally posted by Marlyjane


 Okay, I know you all are going to want to bash me cause I am a girl, but you see the MMO market, gaming market in general is more focused on the male audience and us girls get left out.So I thought for once a girl should get to voice her opinions. Let me start off by saying that this game is absolutely gorgeous, even if there is a lot of blood and nudity (which I will get to later).

The character creation in the game is pretty decent, I absolutely love that you can alter the body stature and what not and the different races do bring a lot of diversity to the game. I am a girl, so I love making characters, it is a ton of fun. Funcom definitely has the audience of women captivated in this sense. Now I want to quickly speak of nudity since I am making this review short. I actually don't mind it as a girl, I think it's great that the world is becoming more comfortable with the naked body. The blood I can do without so I am glad there is an option to turn that off. 
Now one thing I do think that is great about this game is that it has a very interesting combat system, the directional arrows are great and I feel absolutely immersed in the game. The combat for me is some of the most entertaining, if not some of the most complex I've ever played in any MMO, especially compared to WoW.  
Overall the questing is pretty entertaining (Especially the Pyramid of The Ancients quests in Khopshef Province) and it does an excellent job of keeping me as a player captivated. I am really into detail so it excited me to no end to see that many of the quests focused on extensive story lines. The only thing is I wish more quests had voice acting and that the Destiny quests were longer. Then again, not very many MMOs do have voice acting and it never hurts to actually read the quests, which is worth it in this case. 
I think the PvE content is amazing! Even after playing WoW I am still stunned with some of the encounters I've had in T2, I can not wait for Thoth Amon! I absolutely love raiding, unfortunately I cannot comment on PvP because I am on a PvE server. But I will tell you even compared to my encounters in WoW the end game in this game is pretty good so far. And it will only get better with Rise of The Godslayer. 
Overall this currently is my favorite game as of now. I haven't actually enjoyed a game this much since... SWG pre SoE, and that was a long time ago. I am really glad that this game has made up for it's wrongs, now only if it could stop freezing in the loading screens.... 
Rating 8.5/10
 
 

Well, not brief... but well written.  I did enjoy AoC but I find it very hard to play MMO's now - they all seem too alike to me which means I burn out quickly.  The only game I have ever enjoyed more was EVE and it makes me so competitive that my GF stops talking to me - so I don't play it.  I am glad that you came forward, as a girl, and wrote a well-informed article on a game you liked - hope to see more women play and write.  Thanks.

 

KroxMalon

Hi there, Glad your enjoying AOC. It is a good game.  Maybe my lvl 80 ranger will become a godslayer

MisterSr

Great little article you have here. I agree with most of the things you say in here, a nice quick sum up of the game. I am glad you are enjoying it, I know I am. I agree it is much improved as well.

Jakdstripper

AoC is definately one of the best PvE games i'v ever played cosidering story, difficulty, immersive combat, graphics, world, music and even comunity. i never considered this game a waste of money, unfortunately the pvp was just too frustrating for me and after levelling a few 80s i got bored of  PvE. still a grait game for any mmo fan.  

dogtownmark

kind of sucks about the minigames was looking forward to spilling some blood on my lowbie trial haha

MisterSr

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Originally posted by dogtownmark
kind of sucks about the minigames was looking forward to spilling some blood on my lowbie trial haha

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All the more reason to buy it haha.

DarbiiRue

Originally posted by dogtownmark

kind of sucks about the minigames was looking forward to spilling some blood on my lowbie trial haha

Well, the cool thing is, if you hop down to your local Gamestop or Best Buy, the game is no more than $10, and you can get a 60 Day Gamecard at either for $12-15, which is an extra 30 days more than the $15 through Funcom for only 30 days.

Overall, it's the cheapest P2P on the market and yet, has the most gorgeous graphics and in my opinion, some of the most interesting combat/gameplay. I wouldn't say that I'm super happy that Funcom is running the show, but they've started to listen to the concerns of the playerbase more and I appreciate that.

Plus, the new expac is coming down the road here in about a month or two and it looks very promising.

Overall, best bang for your buck, if you want something somewhat different.

 

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On Topic:

I'm a female as well and can say that the customization of characters is definitely one of my favorite things about the game. I wish there were more base faces to choose from, but overall its very well done. Don't mind the nudity. People for the most part are mature about it anyway and you don't see tons of people running around with their boobs hanging out. :P

I too love the combat and the fact that it is totally different from the norm.

But unlike the OP, I love having the blood turned on. :P When I make that fatality, I'm engrossed. No other game has such a crazy death system. Haha.

finaticd

As a female I think inter game social communities AKA guilds would be important.  Now over the last year at least half the population quit playing so wouldn't that lead to unstabilty in guilds?  I also noticed instead of many guilds, AoC has few huge massive zerg guilds with everyone on the server in one of them so wouldn't that make guilds less sociable as you won't know everyone well and there is massive turnover anyway with new ins and outs.  It also may lead to grief over who gets into the raids and how loot is distributed, idk, I prefer smaller guilds with quality players. After megrgers it is probably better as even the zerg guilds were PuGing spots before.

Also, on the same topic you mentioned T2 but that and T1 take like 3 hours a week to do, as a female gamer wouldn't that be a bad thing?  Females love to socialize so raiding and grouping up would be fun and the lack of it means less social activities.

Also do fewer females play this than say Aion or Warcraft?  I think girl gamers would prefer the lighter atmosphere and some of the customization options in those games, like elves.

DarbiiRue

Originally posted by finaticd

As a female I think inter game social communities AKA guilds would be important.  Now over the last year at least half the population quit playing so wouldn't that lead to unstabilty in guilds?  I also noticed instead of many guilds, AoC has few huge massive zerg guilds with everyone on the server in one of them so wouldn't that make guilds less sociable as you won't know everyone well and there is massive turnover anyway with new ins and outs.  It also may lead to grief over who gets into the raids and how loot is distributed, idk, I prefer smaller guilds with quality players. After megrgers it is probably better as even the zerg guilds were PuGing spots before.

Also, on the same topic you mentioned T2 but that and T1 take like 3 hours a week to do, as a female gamer wouldn't that be a bad thing?  Females love to socialize so raiding and grouping up would be fun and the lack of it means less social activities.

Also do fewer females play this than say Aion or Warcraft?  I think girl gamers would prefer the lighter atmosphere and some of the customization options in those games, like elves.

Guilds are important to everyone, not just females. Now, I personally like to socialize in games, it helps in the long run towards getting things done, getting into groups, etc, but that doesn't just go for females, that definitely goes for everyone. The population of Conan is no where near as strong as it was at launch, that is true, but the server I'm on, Cimmeria, is perfectly fine, especially after the mergers.

I'm in a rather large guild, but its not a zerg guild and we rival other guilds for battlekeeps via seiging, we participate in PvP and such and we raid. Every night theres 30-50 people on, hands down.

I am slightly confused over your second paragraph. Personally, my guild raids constantly, they like to keep everyone busy doing things. A lot of our higher levels are constantly helping our lower levels get things done if they aren't raiding, and they raid on a pretty constant basis.

I'd say fewer females probably play the game then WoW or Aion, however I personally can say as a female, that the "lighter atmosphere" and the "elves", are more of a turn off to me, then a turn on. I'd rather watch my character tear a head off its neck, or tear a heart from a chest and eat it, then watch my character sprinkle fairy dust, any day.

Quite frankly, I get pretty miffed over the lack of female characters in games. Not MMO's as theres always a female option, but Team Fortress 2 is a perfect example. Why the hell can't I play a female? I know a lot of female TF2 players, and it would be nice to be able to choose a female toon instead of a male one.

MisterSr

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Originally posted by Splinki

Originally posted by finaticd

As a female I think inter game social communities AKA guilds would be important.  Now over the last year at least half the population quit playing so wouldn't that lead to unstabilty in guilds?  I also noticed instead of many guilds, AoC has few huge massive zerg guilds with everyone on the server in one of them so wouldn't that make guilds less sociable as you won't know everyone well and there is massive turnover anyway with new ins and outs.  It also may lead to grief over who gets into the raids and how loot is distributed, idk, I prefer smaller guilds with quality players. After megrgers it is probably better as even the zerg guilds were PuGing spots before.

Also, on the same topic you mentioned T2 but that and T1 take like 3 hours a week to do, as a female gamer wouldn't that be a bad thing?  Females love to socialize so raiding and grouping up would be fun and the lack of it means less social activities.

Also do fewer females play this than say Aion or Warcraft?  I think girl gamers would prefer the lighter atmosphere and some of the customization options in those games, like elves.

Guilds are important to everyone, not just females. Now, I personally like to socialize in games, it helps in the long run towards getting things done, getting into groups, etc, but that doesn't just go for females, that definitely goes for everyone. The population of Conan is no where near as strong as it was at launch, that is true, but the server I'm on, Cimmeria, is perfectly fine, especially after the mergers.

I'm in a rather large guild, but its not a zerg guild and we rival other guilds for battlekeeps via seiging, we participate in PvP and such and we raid. Every night theres 30-50 people on, hands down.

I am slightly confused over your second paragraph. Personally, my guild raids constantly, they like to keep everyone busy doing things. A lot of our higher levels are constantly helping our lower levels get things done if they aren't raiding, and they raid on a pretty constant basis.

I'd say fewer females probably play the game then WoW or Aion, however I personally can say as a female, that the "lighter atmosphere" and the "elves", are more of a turn off to me, then a turn on. I'd rather watch my character tear a head off its neck, or tear a heart from a chest and eat it, then watch my character sprinkle fairy dust, any day.

Quite frankly, I get pretty miffed over the lack of female characters in games. Not MMO's as theres always a female option, but Team Fortress 2 is a perfect example. Why the hell can't I play a female? I know a lot of female TF2 players, and it would be nice to be able to choose a female toon instead of a male one.

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I agree, I am not a female but I think most people place female gamers under a stereo type that they want to be magical fairies that are pretty and wear dresses. This probably is true to some extent, but just like anyone else they too are GAMERS. They actually want to play a good game, not just look pretty.

finaticd

Originally posted by Marlyjane

 Okay, I know you all are going to want to bash me cause I am a girl, but you see the MMO market, gaming market in general is more focused on the male audience and us girls get left out.So I thought for once a girl should get to voice her opinions.

 

Pretty sure the point of this thread was to point out she was a girl and had a female perspective so pretty sure some generalizations are aceptable, otherwise why would there be a need to mention it?

One of the best MMO players I encountered was a girl, she rolled a male toon, never mentioned she was a girl or talked on Ventrilo and was considered the best dueling rogue.

But most females like certain things it was why there were very few girls rolling horde and many rolling alliance at release most likely for better looking toons.  Females group more often for purpose and some just like to chat or gain attention in small guilds but the social thing is much much much stronger for them. I can play with guys for hours a day for weeks and never chat about anything aside from very little  business, gear or boss strats and then many girls I rarely play with chat in tells all the time. Is always like that so is a big differance because pretty much all girls send random tells to chat and guys never ever do.

Also, yeah greedy females have been the number 1 guild killer for me because they are social they can scoup up players and move to biger and better guild which they do more frequently than males for some reason, if a guy does it they generaly go alone. But even when we recruited we were always getting girl + X players.

You also mentioned you would like to tear off a head but yet you say you have blood effects off, curious.

But is interesting none the less, goes along with the AoC "killed by a girl" advertisement.

Some things girls may like in MMOs, not all:

Grouping up like I mentioned, many more roll healers than men just for companionship

cosmetic changes...like a dress that goes over gear or ability to change hair style or costumes

chatting, you mentioned arrow keys but wouldn't that hinder girls ability to chat while they are in combat?

Combat mechanics, many girls like to heal and chat but heals over time kind of kill it.

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Good review, if you are fickle just like a women please rereview when you change your mind ;p jk

P.S. yeah is kind of Funny I always play female characters...well I was Orc male in WoW but female options were ugly, idk why even in fighting games, Cammy FTW! I always pick female but ya many games just have male options or ugly females.

Marlyjane

Originally posted by finaticd

Originally posted by Marlyjane

 Okay, I know you all are going to want to bash me cause I am a girl, but you see the MMO market, gaming market in general is more focused on the male audience and us girls get left out.So I thought for once a girl should get to voice her opinions.

 

Pretty sure the point of this thread was to point out she was a girl and had a female perspective so pretty sure some generalizations are aceptable, otherwise why would there be a need to mention it?

One of the best MMO players I encountered was a girl, she rolled a male toon, never mentioned she was a girl or talked on Ventrilo and was considered the best dueling rogue.

But most females like certain things it was why there were very few girls rolling horde and many rolling alliance at release most likely for better looking toons.  Females group more often for purpose and some just like to chat or gain attention in small guilds but the social thing is much much much stronger for them. I can play with guys for hours a day for weeks and never chat about anything aside from very little  business, gear or boss strats and then many girls I rarely play with chat in tells all the time. Is always like that so is a big differance because pretty much all girls send random tells to chat and guys never ever do.

Also, yeah greedy females have been the number 1 guild killer for me because they are social they can scoup up players and move to bigger and better guild which they do more frequently than males for some reason, if a guy does it they generaly go alone. But even when we recruited we were always getting girl + X players.

You also mentioned you would like to tear off a head but yet you say you have blood effects off, curious.

But is interesting none the less, goes along with the AoC "killed by a girl" advertisement.

Some things girls may like in MMOs, not all:

Grouping up like I mentioned, many more roll healers than men just for companionship

cosmetic changes...like a dress that goes over gear or ability to change hair style or costumes

chatting, you mentioned arrow keys but wouldn't that hinder girls ability to chat while they are in combat?

Combat mechanics, many girls like to heal and chat but heals over time kind of kill it.

---------------------------------------------

Good review, if you are fickle just like a women please rereview when you change your mind ;p jk

P.S. yeah is kind of Funny I always play female characters...well I was Orc male in WoW but female options were ugly, idk why even in fighting games, Cammy FTW! I always pick female but ya many games just have male options or ugly females.

 

 

I was only trying to establish that this was most definitely a review by a girl. I wanted the readers to know that this was a feminine point of view and I am not afraid to admit that it is one. 

I just had to say this is VERY true. ^_^

The arrows in now way effect my chatting ability at all unless I were an unskilled gamer, which I am not. :P Anyways why would you be talking while in combat anyways? I am an efficient player and I talk in between combat, but while in combat I would like to be focusing on the battle and not typing... 

finaticd

Originally posted by Marlyjane

Anyways why would you be talking while in combat anyways?

In most MMOs I played, WoW, EQ1, EQ2, Aion, I don't drop combat...is just get a group or raid together and chain pulling or PvPing for like 6 hours on end, If combat stops is do to a wipe and that is infrequent.