Conan Review

Marching through the Hyborian realms, Conan also gets to solve an occasional puzzle or two, resting from almost constant swordplay. These puzzles are often unimaginative and unchallenging to say the least, so it's probably better to look upon Conan as an action-packed hack'n'slasher rather than a typical action/adventure. Some poor attempts were made to incorporate a few measly adventure elements. When you arrive to the The Capital of Zingara, you'll have a chance to find your way around the city by chatting with several NPC's that inhabit the nearby area. Sadly, dialogues are unoriginal and boring to sit through, even when you stumble across a segment crucial to the game's storyline. Poor character voicing makes the situation even worse, and it contributes to our overall disappointment with the game.

It's back to the Ice Age for you weirdoes!

Oooh, these knickers are so warm and soft. A bit tight around the waist though.

The bad audio continues with repetitive ambient noises and recurring monster screeches - stuff like wolf howling, bear growling, etc. In any case, they're all tiresome and annoying to listen to. The game's soundtrack makes things a bit more enjoyable, featuring tunes composed by Basil Poledouris (yep, once again, the same dude who brought you the soundtrack from the first Conan movie).

There's not much we would like to point out when it comes to the graphics. We've seen so many games that look better than this. Although it does showcase a few cute visual effects now and again and pleasing character animation, the surroundings are in dire need of additional textures and polys, while specific areas appear almost featureless. To make up for the second-rate visuals, the designers thought it might be a good idea to cram the scenery with as much reflections as possible. In truth, particular sections look more like cheap and burnished porcelain rather than ordinary backdrops.

To sum it up, Conan is a typical ported modern-day console brawler with very little gameplay depth to keep PC gamers occupied. Actually, the weird camera issues and unchallenging AI are likely to fend off any gamer out there. The combat is enjoyable for a few hours tops, but after a while players will most probably get tired of the mindless action. Also, there isn't anything exceptionally alluring that would draw you back into the game after you've played it for, say, several hours. There's no multiplayer, or any additional feature that might make the whole thing more interesting. It's a shame really, given the amazing potential of the franchise.