Thoughts on the game after leaving Tortage
The two best things about the game in my opinion are the combat and the graphics. As far as the general gameplay, it is pretty much standard MMO fare. The graphics are not cartoony like WOW at all. Much more gritty and real. Everything from primitive towns and villages to the capital city are rendered in detail that rivals even a single player RPG. You will really need a powerhouse of a rig to run AoC maxed out, especially if you want to play in DX10. I play in DX9 and the game is still pretty stunning. My comp is a i7 920, 6GB ram, Win 7 64, and a rather dated HD 4850 512mb vidcard. If I replaced that card with 57XX or 58XX 1gb I could probably run the game in DX10.
So the game looks great, especially when you get off of Tortage and into some really stunning, wide open vistas. If you are a fan of the REH Conan stories, you will appreciate it even more. Walking around I think, this is what REH had in mind, this is what Hyboria looks like!
The combat in the game is really the high point of the gameplay. At least if you are playing a melee character because you have all control over where that weapon strikes your opponent. If you want to win a even matched fight, concentration and alertness will be paramount to victory. If you become lazy or sloppy handling that weapon because you are a little tired, you will get your ass handed to you! You cannot autopilot the combat in AoC, you must stay on top of it. It makes for exciting encounters!
That is my take on the game after bringing my Conq to Lvl 33. I am glad I gave the trial a chance because playing in the Conan universe is pretty cool. I am even reading a book of Howard's stories to kind go along with the game. There are NPCs in AoC right out of REH's books. It is kind of an extra perk if you are a fan of the books, especially because the transition from pulp fiction to MMO was so well done.