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Thursday 6 March, 2008
(Gameplay Session 2)
[GAMEPLAY]
As I progressed through more of the levels, I found the core game mechanic of killing anything and everything in your path fairly satisfying, especially when limbs or heads came off. I can assure readers that I'm not truly supportive of going around lopping heads off, and although some may not appreciate the violence in the game, the game was originally based of a series of short stories created in the mid 20's. Thus, just remember that the books came before the game!
Getting back on track--since Conan lost his armor, he seemed to have "forgotten" all of his cool combos. By killing enemies and destroying destructible environment objects, I was able to earn red experience runes that I could save and later spend on learning different sword-shimmering combos. Not only was it fun, but it was satisfying as well to dispatch of the different enemies by cutting of limbs or a head and receive experience runes as a result.
For the most part, the levels and game flowed smoothly. There were certain points where I'd find myself become stuck due to difficulty of getting past certain stronger characters, but once past that small hurdle, continuing on with the game was no problem.
[DESIGN]
One of the really interesting and engaging aspects of this game is the depth of the skill tree and weapons system. Conan is able to wield three weapon types: single sword, dual-wield, or two-handed broad sword. He is able to switch between these on the fly at will based on what kind of sword(s) the player picks up off the ground dropped by fallen enemies.
For each weapon type, there is a very large skill tree. Unlocking different skills requires that the player has enough experience runes to spend on each skill. Also, certain skills are not available for purchase until an earlier skill item is unlocked/bought. This system allows for supporting and encouraging the player to continually try to do well and earn as many experience points as possible so that they can unlock lots of new combos. The player will try to perform to his or her best so that they not only survive, but also earn more experience runes as well.
The levels in Conan seem to follow a similar format. For the most part, the levels are primarily hack-and-slash your way through until you get to a boss or beat the level. Certain levels here and there, however, have minor puzzle elements embedded in them that the player must solve in order to continue. The puzzles seem to be surface-level though; if the puzzles were more frequent and pushed further, the game could potentially compete more with a similar title such as God of War. Overall though, Conan does a really good job of performing as an action-adventure title with a solid weapons and combo/skill tree system, as well as does the Conan title justice.
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