The compass guiding the team behind the game’s art direction appears to be the panels of the Marvel and Dark Horse Conan comics. As a result they have created a representation of the Hyborian Age that should be recognizable to those who are familiar with the original Cimmerian wanderer, with the visual style, down to the palette used in each scene, harkening back to these sources. The backdrops for the action look fantastic and left us taking moments out of the gameplay to sit there and marvel at how polished they were. Starting in a dungeon-like area we moved onto a tropical island complete with forests that looked like they had been stolen from the set of Survivor. Whilst we didn’t see far beyond these environments in the couple of hours spent with the game, what was present was varied enough to keep us interested and the promise of more set pieces later on in the game gets us incredibly excited to see the final product.
Character animation is fantastically rendered with an incredibly life-like feel. We were not playing the final build but motion was almost absolutely fluid with no slow down whatsoever. The design of the characters appears well thought out too. Conan’s muscular frame is almost a believable body, unlike the over the top no necked monster that could have been. Enemies also portray the hard work that seems to have gone into the modelling of those who you'll come across.
Conan is starting his own blood bank, with no lack of donors.
The first thing to figuratively jump out of the screen when the action began was the crimson explosion that is released from wounded enemies. Put simply this game is gory. Giving you a count of limbs chopped off, the end of chapter score tally further pronounces the game’s celebration of its over the top action.
Touting an impressively complex combat system, we’re told that there are over one hundred weapon combinations available. Each felled enemy drops their tool of the trade, leaving it behind for you to pick up and either wield with your main sword or by itself. Certain weapons lend themselves to this double wielding, whilst the more cumbersome ones will have to be grasped within both of Conan’s hands. An icon that greatly aids in your decision appears in the corner of the screen to inform you of the style of the weapon you’ve got the option to picking up. Along with the obvious weapons there’s the requisite barrels, and even boulders, for the barbarian to hurl at surrounding enemies. Along with the hand to hand combat there were points in the portion of the game in which we took control of ballistae and laid waste to enemy ships.
One thing that is worth noting is that while many game's characters seemingly magically block arrows and other projectile weapons with their blades, in Conan this is not the case. Instead, if hit by an arrow the player must yank it from their skin otherwise it will continue to sap health.
Enemy AI already appears to be relatively well tuned. Like a less agile version of the Heavenly Sword's Nariko, Conan continuously gets engulfed groups of four to six adversaries. However his skills look to be based more in his abilities with the sword rather than in his kinesthetic flair. Seemingly sensing this, enemies often hung back as we played, assessing the situation, anxiously awaiting the right time to strike. Partly a result of the range of weapons there are multiple ways to tackle adversaries depending on which style you prefer. The game definitely allows for some up close and personal action or darting in and out of close quarters combat depending how you like to take on foes.
Conan isn't the only warrior in Hyboria.
Whilst its combat is definitely the hub from which the rest of the game’s elements protrude, Conan’s narrative promises to be an interesting one. It appears that the game holds a slightly non linear plotline which intersperses fragments of Conan’s past within the current story.
Conan shows a great deal of promise. And whilst its gory, over the top action doesn’t look like it will appeal to those who aren’t fans of such things, it appears its gameplay will provide a good old button mashing time to addicts the genre. And don’t worry, if you were in to the celluloid version of the barbarian’s tale for its barely clothed characters, there’s still quite a few scattered around the levels awaiting rescue or ready to deliver some grievous bodily harm.
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