247w ago - At the recent Leipzig Games Conference, Funcom developers announced that the first expansion to Age of Conan is planned for a 2009 release.

Details about the expansion are sparse, but a significant amount of new areas appear to be in development for that and a free upcoming content patch.

Massively points out a video which showcases some of the new content.

Below is a piece of concept art for the expansion. Enjoy!

260w ago - So, the time has come and the gates of Hyboria have been opened. This review is going to cover the first 20 levels of the Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures from the time you are ship wrecked on the island until you leave to adventure the true game.

First, AoC (Age of Conan) is the first game that I have played where you are able to create your character in detail. Although most mmorpgs have basic customization, your character in Conan is completely customizable from head to toe. Most of this you already know so let me get to the break down of the game itself.

AoC has to have one of the best starting off game play for a mmorpg I have played in a long time. Right off the bat you are fighting Picman and Savengers, not animals that slow down the game and make it repetitive. You level up fast through the first couple of levels and get some pretty decent attacks.

There are a couple of different classes that will suit different people and each class can be customized to your liking. No one character in AoC will ever look the same and fight in the same style because the game play is in such a fast paced environment and the leveling system is very open-ended.

One thing that really stands out in the game to me is the fighting. No more auto-attack!!! You have to swing your sword, pole arm,...

262w ago - Funcom has launched a feat calculator Web site that "is a tool for player to explore the various options available to them for their character's builds, without having to worry about in-game costs to retrain their feats."

"This tool will allow you to view all of the feats for every single class, and interact with them in the same exact way you would in-game, but with a few extra features," says the site.

"On top of being able to easily and quickly see all the feats for all the classes at will, the tool also shows you all three feat trees at once for better information delivery.

"On top of all that goodness, you can also link your feat builds to your friends so that they can take a look at what you had in mind. Sharing your feat builds is highly encouraged and people love to see what other people are planning for their characters."

Wow, if only we knew what all that meant. Sounds great though.

297w ago - Conan the game isn't directly based on any particular Conan story, but fans of the original works will recognize returning locations from the original stories, like the lands of Kush and Stygia. Of course, there will be a number of original, fantastic environments through which to slaughter, too, such as a set of ocean ruins we got to see that are full of gigantic living statues and semi-corporeal, ghost-like enemies that your weapons can't always hit. At the outset, Conan has lost four of his enchanted pieces of armor which he intends to recover, and each one will grant him a new magical attack when he retrieves it. As a barbarian, Conan doesn't especially relish the thought of using magic, but he also recognizes its utility when there are all these enemies just asking to be driven before him. Along the way, Conan will encounter A'kanna, a lithe and sensual archer who seems like she'll act as a wily feminine foil for all of Conan's trademark bluster and bravado.

Veterans of Ninja Gaiden, God of War, and similarly technical combat-action games ought to feel right at home with the mechanics in Conan. The burly barbarian's move and combo sets are categorized by weapon type; you've got one set of attacks for a single-handed sword, one for dual weapons, and another for two-handed weapons. Regardless of what weapons you're...