What's best in life? Bloody combat, and topless maidens.
The Bad - Voice acting is hit-or-miss, graphics are fairly standard, difficulty is un-even.
Conan can be considered one of the original pop culture icons. He was created by the mind of Robert E. Howard during the 1930’s in a series of short stories published in pulp fantasy magazines. He’s iconic, savage, and a lover of women and life. In short, every man wants to be like Conan. Now he stars in his newest video game from THQ.
There’s an endless debate going on about how this game is a “God of War rip-off.” Although the two games share similar gameplay mechanics, Kratos owes his very existence to Conan. In the end, people who enjoyed God of War will likely enjoy Conan, and for a lot of the same reasons.
It should also be noted that Conan is based on the original stories by Robert E. Howard. This Conan is much more intelligent and cocky than the slow-witted version made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1980’s movies.
Like the original short stories, Conan doesn’t have any direct connection to any of the other tales about him. The game starts off with Conan plundering an ancient tomb. When he accidentally releases an evil wizard from his imprisonment, he is stripped of his armor, and washed ashore on a tropical archipelago. From there he sets out on a quest to recover his armor, and stop the evil spreading upon the land.
GAMEPLAY – 8 of 10
At first glance, Conan shares lots of gameplay similarities to God of War. But God of War shares a lot of gameplay mechanics with past hack and slash games. Therefore, you can say that Conan is a standard representative of the genre in terms of gameplay. The controls are tight, and there are no targeting problems. The only downside is that the combat can get somewhat repetitive. But you’re encouraged to use different fighting styles as enemies will block and counter more if you use one combo too much.
There are three weapon types you can use. One-handed weapons (with optional shield) are the best over all balance between speed and power. Dual wielding lets you take out weaker enemies quickly but lacks power to kill tougher foes. Finally, two-handed weapons are slow, but very powerful. Best for tough, slow moving enemies. Each style has it’s own set of combos with different effects. New weapons can be picked up from fallen enemies. This allows you to easily switch styles based on the needs of the battle.
As you fight, you’ll gain experience, which can be used to upgrade your fighting styles, and purchase new combos. You’ll also gain magical powers as you regain your stolen armor. Although Conan had a well-known aversion to magic, this makes sense within the context of the game as the powers are forced upon him.
The combat is especially bloody. Conan fights using the three D’s: decapitation, dismemberment, and disembowelment. Bodies don’t disappear after combat, so battlefields are frequently littered with dozens of bodies at a time. You’ll also frequently encounter topless Hyborian honeys being used as sex slaves that need to be saved. No one ever said the world of Conan was for the faint of heart.
GRAPHICS – 8 of 10
Overall the graphics are well done, but there are some visual hiccups. For example, Conan is very well animated, and detailed. But a lot of the other characters and enemies didn’t get the same treatment. The levels look good, but are too linear in their design.
When performing a counter or grapple kill, the camera zooms in for an up-close view to show the brutal combat. Entrails and severed limbs are commonplace. The game has a unique visual style that is designed to look like classic Frank Frazetta paintings of Conan.
SOUND – 7 of 10
This is a hit-or-miss area. The music sounds great, but tends to come and go at odd times. The combat sounds are gruesome, and sound fantastic. Ron Perlman does the voice of Conan, and does it well. The narrator also sounds good, but other characters like Akanna sound terrible and forced.
VALUE – 8 of 10
The long-term value is going to depend on how much the player likes hack-and-slash games. If that’s your thing, then Conan will likely last you for many hours. The difficulty ramps up steeply in the later parts of the game. The final boss is especially difficult. So you can expect a challenge. If you don’t care for the genre, you might only get one play through out of it. Which lasts about 10 hours, and is standard for the genre.
The production values are high, and the cut-scenes are especially well done. However, Conan really could have used some multi-player or co-op play to lengthen out the value. The achievements are a little on the easy side, but others will take time. Such as 1000 dismemberments or beating the game on King difficultly. Others seem downright impossible. Like getting the combo counter to 325.
Conan sticks true to the character by not shying away from gore and nudity. Conan will undoubtedly please fans of the character, and is a must buy. Those players that like the genre will also want to pick it up. But this game is fairly standard for the genre. So if you don’t get into these types of games, then you’ll find much of the same here.