Age of Conan - GDC Previews

Age of Conan is the next game to generate a plethora of previews from GDC.  Here's a list:

• GameSpot
• GameSpy
• GameZone
• IGN

Let's take snips from GameSpot and GameSpy respectively:

Tharaldsen showed off the character-customization options briefly, illustrating the power of the character editor. After that, he dived straight into the game with a high-level character. Enlisting the aid of employees at Funcom's US offices, he then showed off what a group of characters is capable of. With a flurry of sword strikes, the group mowed through waves of enemies easily. It's not just hack-and-slash gameplay, though, as the composition of the group highlighted how tactics can play a role in the game. The real-time combat system in Age of Conan means that each battle can be a tactical dance to the death. Multiply that further with group combat, and there's a rush as players race to aid one another.

The main combat innovation is the combo system, complete with a combo meter. There is a six-way "clock" in the lower-middle of the screen, with each direction attached to a hotkey; each direction lights up when executing that specific attack. For example, "1" is a swing aimed at the upper-right while "3" is an attack going for the lower-left. Tharaldsen says that this mechanic was specifically inspired by Street Fighter II, in that everyone knows that a quarter-circle forward performs a fireball when playing as Ken or Ryu, and he wanted to impart a similar feel for the combo moves here. Before you folks with a total lack of fighter skills shriek about the possibility that only fighting game aficionados can be good at Age of Conan, don't fret. This clock also shows you how to pull off the combos; anytime you perform an attack, the next step in the combo will helpfully illuminate, effectively guiding you all the way to the end of the combo string.