Platform: Xbox 360

Release Date: September 28, 2007

Developer: Nihilistic Software

Publisher: THQ

Genre: Action/Adventure, Hack-and-Slash

Nerd Rating: 7.4 out of 10

Reviewed by Budroo

Conan’s initial quest was to find some treasure. He was searching an ancient tomb, easily destroying any foe that stood in his way when he accidentally freed the evil wizard Graven who had been imprisoned for years. Graven shows no thanks for his release and instead teleports the barbarian away, cursing his armor and scattering it across the world. After this, Conan’s quest becomes a search for his armor pieces. He encounters various enemies along the way, all corrupted by the Black Death curse that Conan hopes to end. Conan’s a great game. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great game. Its strengths are its graphics, gameplay, unlockable combos, sexy maidens, funny dialogue, and replayability. Its weaknesses are its lack of significant depth in the storyline, some annoyingly difficult battles, and lack of equipment choices. This game has some hiccups, but its strengths outshine its weaknesses.

Conan has some of the best graphics you’ll see on any Xbox 360 game. There’s an impressive amount of detail included in this game. Whenever Conan slashes through an enemy, you can see pretty much every drop of blood that splatters out. The character depictions visible in some cutscenes are brilliant as well. When Conan encounters warrior queen A’Kanna after slaughtering a band of enemies, a cutscene commences that shows off some of the game’s potential. The detail is impressive in the cutscene. The lines between each muscle in Conan’s arm and the wood curve of A’Kannas bow are depicted perfectly. Also, the weaponry and armor is made out to look really cool in this game. Conan’s massive two-handed slashers look deadly. For example, one is a giant scimitar-type sword that can only be retrieved by killing enemy lieutenants. It makes it even more worth the effort to take out those bigger enemies when you know you get their weapon afterward.

There is some cool art you can see on some of the loading screens. These impressive art pieces are but a small part of the game but they add to the overall experience. Gameplay is a strong point in Conan. If you like to hack and slash, Conan is for you. This game takes the hack-and-slash genre to a new level. It’s so gratifying taking down a group of pesky enemies with one of Conan’s massive weapons, or even a sword and shield if playing more defensively. As far as controls go, left stick is walk or run depending on how hard you push it. Right stick is roll; this is very handy in battle for avoiding damage. X is quick attack, Y is heavy attack, B is grab (doesn’t work on enemies that aren’t small), and A is jump. LT is block (handy and can lead to parries if timed correctly), and RT is throw. You can throw your weapons or shield at enemies from a distance assuming that you don’t only have a one-handed sword left in your arsenal. Conan can store two one-handed weapons or one two-handed weapon on his back. The D-Pad is for changing abilities and RB allows Conan to cast one. Conan unlocks four different abilities throughout the game. They’re powerful but to be used sparingly. An example of one of them is the “Rain of Fire” ability.

The attack moves are awesome in Conan. As you slay more enemies and gain more experience, better moves become available to you. Conan gains experience points for every kill. Experience points are used sort of like a currency to buy new moves. Some of the late game moves are heavy damage, single-target attacks designed to take out the strongest enemies. Other moves are designed to damage multiple weaker enemies at once. One of my favorite moves is the “Cimmerian Cyclone” that Conan can perform while dual-wielding. Conan spins around and around with his two weapons in hand, only stopping when not making contact with an enemy. This move allows for some serious, high-number combos that put Conan into a state of frenzy! When frenzied, Conan’s weapons glow red and deal more damage. Another example of a good move is the “King’s Execution”. Conan leaps way up into the air and slices his enemy from head to toe in one emphatic strike before reaching the ground again. The parries in this game phenomenal. Blocking an enemy attack (assuming it’s an attack from a medium or small sized enemy) with perfect timing allows Conan to engage in a parry by pressing A, B, X, or Y. The parries are just another demonstration of the epic-style gameplay that occurs in Conan. One parry causes Conan to swiftly move behind an enemy and chop his head off from the back (graphic and slightly over-the-top but nonetheless cool).

Throughout Conan’s conquest he encounters sexy maidens who’ve been chained up by the villains Conan aspires to eliminate. Their curvaceous bodies glisten with nervous sweat before you find them and boy are they happy to see you. This game is very similar to God of War. Some may even call it the “poor man’s” version. Don’t let that turn you off though. Conan is an original. The fact that it’s the story of the legendary barbarian gives it value. You won’t be disappointed by Conan’s personality throughout the game. There’s plenty of suspense, comedy, and art in Conan. Someone trying to avoid the darker tone of God of War will appreciate the colorful graphics and more lighthearted tone of Conan.

It’s available on the Xbox Live marketplace for cheap, get gaming!