Age of Conan is one of the most anticipated PC games of the year and if the developers have improved on what I saw at E3 last year, rightly so. The game has been in development for four years and will be available in the U.S. on May 20th and in Europe on May 23rd.
"The initial sales and reviews are very encouraging, and it's great to see that so many are enjoying Age of Conan," said Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. "This is just the beginning, and we already look forward to massive updates and cool new features. We believe our focus on making Conan unique and groundbreaking is a key reason for the initial success.
Finally, he also discussed the need for players to purchase Basic Riding in order top use Mammoth and Rhino special abilities. Apparently, these skills were supposed to be given for free when a player claims a pre-order mount.
Applying to the Beta test requires answering some questions and submitting your DxDiag.txt (instructions on how to get this can be found on the beta application form). It should be noted that those who have been accepted in the beta testing will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement. If you've been waiting for the game, now would be a perfect time for you to go and sign up for this (the Read link leads you to the application page).
This character has a wide variety of abilities, from the simple Drain Life to the more insidious Blood Pact. A powerful skill that most will probably be aiming for is Pestilence Body on Level 40. This skill poisons all enemies around him giving him a bit of crowd control.
Another new addition is Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory to the Xbox Originals section. Like other Original titles, the game costs 1,200 Microsoft points (£10.20) to download. First released in 2005, the Ubisoft stealth action game takes players into the world of high-tech espionage.
The research project involved 621 participants, with 15 percent being identified as "problem gamers"--those who played 50 hours or more per week. Luton used the Problem Video Game Playing scale (PVP) and the Social Skills Inventory (SSI) psychological scales to test addiction and social interaction.
The Conan brand is destined to become THE fantasy license of 2006 as over 45 companies are working on a massive coordinated re-launch of the world's greatest fantasy hero. With a movie from Warner Brothers and an anime movie from Swordplay Entertainment underway, an ongoing comic series from Dark Horse Comics, new novels from Penguin, a collectible toy line from McFarlane Toys, an Online Action RPG from Funcom and a vast range of official merchandise, Conan is reentering the global scene of entertainment with a brutal beheading of the competition.
For those who haven't been keeping up with the latest news in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, Xbox 360), then you should know that a patch for the game was recently released.
Basically, the Scion of Set are worshippers of the Egyptian God of Chaos, Set. They are healers with powers of inflicting life-draining venom spells, enchanting allies with venom attacks and laying down curses. If anyone gets near enough, they make use of their ceremonial and sacrificial daggers to keep enemies at bay.