When I first heard about the release of a Conan the Barbarian game on the 360, I was a bit worried. I enjoy a good fighting game but my fear was that the game would be molded after the Conan portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger. While he did a good job looking like Conan, he never really fit the true character created by Robert E. Howard. I also wondered if they would create a decent story for the game. Fighting and slashing is great but without a reason behind it could ruin a game like this. After playing the game, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Read the Full Review of Conan to find out why.

Gameplay

While the story is not deep and was never meant to be, the game starts off with a chance to see Conan and his destructible nature. He is on a small island looking for a gem. Of course Conan son finds himself faced with more than he bargained for. He finds the island is the burial ground for a powerful sorcerer named Graven. Conan stumbles upon his grave and opens it looking for treasure. The grave releases the power of the evil Graven and strips Conan of his armor and leaves him for dead. Now without his armor or weapons he is faced to find out what else is going on in the island. He then meets up with a young Queen who is trying to find her army and asks Conan to aid her. This sets up the main story. While not deep it’s presented in an interesting way.

Conan decides to help the Queen and agrees to help her rescue her army that has been held captive. The Queen keeps telling Conan of a plague that is about to overtake the island and anyone on it. Here is where my fears were relieved and makes sense if they went with the Conan played by Arnold, he would have made some wisecrack and figure a way to make the Queen his latest conquest. Instead, going the route of Howard’s Conan, the story seems balanced and you begin to care about both characters’ situations. It is helps to explain the way the game allows for Conan to wield different weapons and earn new moves as well as how he regains power as he gets back pieces of his lost armor. The game is very gory, but it was meant to be. The gore is used to set the storyline and is not included just for the sake of blood and guts to sell a game.

The developers added some puzzle elements which fit the game perfectly. The hard part is trying to solve or trigger a certain part while battling a ton of enemies. This is where the game also is the most enjoyable. Conan can pick up any weapon. Keep in mind that at times deciding to change to a new weapon can back fire on you. If you have a dual weapon and have to battle a large creature, the fight is going to take a long time. There are times when you will need to operate huge weapons that will require cranking and loading them before firing. You’ll need to time each step while in battle. On the normal setting this is not that difficult but will take time to learn the timing. I like the idea behind the weapon system and think it added something to the game.

I like the way you will need to team up with the Queen to help her and then act alone. You’ll also get a chance to rescue maidens captured along the way, raid treasure chests, and gain power ups. Overall the game is a blast to play and has some interesting levels. It’s not a long game but not as short as some other adventure games out there. It’s well done and for the story and the game pace, it seems about the right length. Conan is a single player game and there is no Xbox live mode. I really don’t see how they would have created an online mode that would fit the game.

Control

The control system is made up of basic and advanced moves. All the controls fit the game well. I wish the door opening system was changed a little. It seems too much like a mini-game. You’ll see a button or analog stick pop up and you need to match each move in order to open the door. It’s not bad, but they use the same technique when fighting some of the bigger enemies so it can get a little old. The fighting is great and pulling off the moves is pretty simple although it will take practice. Learning all the blocks and attacks will take time but most gamers will get the hang of the game within the first 10-15 minutes.

Graphics

Conan uses some great animations for the fighting and really did a good job capturing the gore and violent nature of the character. At times the game looks a little bland and then can look great. Conan and the main characters look good and there are no issues with the graphics.

The game is fast-paced. When you’re trying to decapitate a bad guy, you’re not looking around for little flaws. The graphics could have been polished a little more but then there would have been a risk of losing gameplay for the sake of looks.

Audio

Ron Pearlman voices Conan and is convincing enough, but it seems to take him a while to really get into the role. He plays the role well just seemed a bit hard to capture the Barbarian nature of Conan. The rest of the sound effects and weapons all sound decent and realistic enough. The best part of the audio has to be the music and the orchestra which was well done and captures the feel of the game perfectly.

Replay Value

Conan offers three difficulty levels to start with and you can unlock more after beating the game. You won’t find every hidden item the first time around. The replay value is there. It depends on how bad you want to find everything and unlock all the achievements. Hack and Slash adventure game are always hard to judge when it comes to the replay value since the story stays the same no matter the difficulty. I will say Conan is a fun to play. I think that’s what is important with a title like this.

Bottom Line

Overall Score: 7.8/10.0

Additional Comments

The game is not perfect but it was a blast to play and had some neat things to do in the game. I liked the mix of puzzles and fighting and the constant change of fighting styles kept me entertained. I was surprised at how good the final game was and better than I thought when I first heard about it. They captured the real Conan and I think this was the main reason the game was enjoyable to play. It’s not an easy game to beat and not too hard. They really made it a well balanced game.

Links

• Conan Official Website

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