Age of Conan @ CES: poison the wells, get drunk, and go to heck

Hell hath no fury like a barbarian drunk, so probably sayeth Funcom about Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventuresfor the PC… and Xbox 360. Funcom reps at CES 2007 explained to MMORPG.com many of the game’s mechanics and gameplay, running on Windows Vista PCs.

One of the more unique aspects of the game they showed off was using the Xbox 360 controller with the PC. It will be one of the cooler features of Vista that devs will simply love to abuse, and it should make interplay with Xbox 360 players easier.

Connected to that is the Real Combat system of the game. You can target specific parts of an enemy in battle. You can hit multiple enemies with a wide swing attack, you can ride mounts and ram a lance through someone’s barbarian behind, and there’s no auto-fire with bows, necessitating a busy trigger finger.

From combat, PvP battles is the next logical step. There will be three variants of player-vs.-player, says Funcom. First is the Drunken Brawl, where levels and equipment do not matter, but the skills at hand and the beer in your belly count the most. And the bartender is calling the sheriff – again – as we speak. The second is the Mini-Game type, more traditional and arena-based, with in-game matchmaking. Finally, there’s siege/massive PvP, with entire guilds clashing on the field to take over or keep each guild’s… keep. That should prove quite the interesting end-game PvP.

Outside of PvP (and perhaps in PvP as well), there are many ways of interacting with your environment to deal with NPC enemies. Like in Metal Gear Solid, each NPC will have a radius of sight and hearing, and will react to movement or sounds within that radius. Distracting guards with thrown rocks or projectiles is one way of unbalancing them. Another way, revealed by Funcom, is to poison their drinking wells.

You bad barbarian, you. Yet another sin you can commit in the chaotic world of Hyboria is to cast dark spells. “If you draw too much dark magic, you could end up in hell, tormented by demons.” Tsk, tsk. Wrath, after all, is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. You could fight your way out of hell, though, they say. But with all the killing and getting drunk on the field, who knows if you’ve just punched a return ticket for your character?

Hell hath no fury like a barbarian drunk, so probably sayeth Funcom about Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventuresfor the PC… and Xbox 360. Funcom reps at CES 2007 explained to MMORPG.com many of the game’s mechanics and gameplay, running on Windows Vista PCs.

One of the more unique aspects of the game they showed off was using the Xbox 360 controller with the PC. It will be one of the cooler features of Vista that devs will simply love to abuse, and it should make interplay with Xbox 360 players easier.

Connected to that is the Real Combat system of the game. You can target specific parts of an enemy in battle. You can hit multiple enemies with a wide swing attack, you can ride mounts and ram a lance through someone’s barbarian behind, and there’s no auto-fire with bows, necessitating a busy trigger finger.

From combat, PvP battles is the next logical step. There will be three variants of player-vs.-player, says Funcom. First is the Drunken Brawl, where levels and equipment do not matter, but the skills at hand and the beer in your belly count the most. And the bartender is calling the sheriff – again – as we speak. The second is the Mini-Game type, more traditional and arena-based, with in-game matchmaking. Finally, there’s siege/massive PvP, with entire guilds clashing on the field to take over or keep each guild’s… keep. That should prove quite the interesting end-game PvP.

Outside of PvP (and perhaps in PvP as well), there are many ways of interacting with your environment to deal with NPC enemies. Like in Metal Gear Solid, each NPC will have a radius of sight and hearing, and will react to movement or sounds within that radius. Distracting guards with thrown rocks or projectiles is one way of unbalancing them. Another way, revealed by Funcom, is to poison their drinking wells.

You bad barbarian, you. Yet another sin you can commit in the chaotic world of Hyboria is to cast dark spells. “If you draw too much dark magic, you could end up in hell, tormented by demons.” Tsk, tsk. Wrath, after all, is one of the Seven Deadly Sins. You could fight your way out of hell, though, they say. But with all the killing and getting drunk on the field, who knows if you’ve just punched a return ticket for your character?