The last time I played or viewed Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures for any length of time was last summer. This isn't to say I haven't seen it at all since then, just not in depth. There was a press event in early December I was unable to attend; I was feeling unwell and missed my appointment at CES. If you have read my earlier previews, you may know that I was lukewarm about the game - it is very ambitious and I did not feel it could deliver what it promised by launch. Since that time, launch has been moved back twice; this is a good thing. And, I can say with all honesty I am glad I did not see the December or January showings; to have seen incremental changes in the game would have diminished the impact of the changes I viewed at GDC. Though no MMOG is ever finished, this game has come a long way since last July and I am much more confident that it will ship in a playable - and enjoyable - state.

It was nice to have Game Director Gaute Godager available to give his take on the game as it stands. Behind us were 4 members of the development team playing live as well as Product Manager Erling Ellingsen running some keys in front (you could tell this was a special event for him - he was having way too much fun). Jorgen Theraldsen was on hand to keep everything from getting out of control. *grins*

The preview began with an awe-inspiring, pounding, machismo trailer. This is Conan! As soon as this was completed we were taken to our familiar slave galley of the previous two years for character creation, last year's missing details were shown off in glorious detail. Scars, deformities, tattoos and females! Women of strong feature, hearty stock and not the type I want to make angry. You'll find this to be the type of character creation where it is impossible to make the same avatar twice; the head alone has 15 sliders.

Character creation completed, it was time to wash up on the shore. A slave, bereft of memory and apparently a soul - both abducted by an enemy of Conan. A man greeted us and the first of many cinematic played with full voice-over, beginning our quest.

My associate asked where Funcom had the voice over production completed. Surprisingly, it was all done on location in each demographic: Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, etc. Localization was done with extreme care for this title as was the orchestral music. An astounding 300 minutes of original music was composed for the game. Five hours may not seem like much in the scheme of things, but sit and listen to 5 hours of orchestral music and then consider it again.

Before beginning our first quest - a story quest, not a kill quest - Ellingsen did a fly-over of the opening area. It has been flushed out significantly since last year, a time when it startled me with its vibrancy and color. Foliage is denser and more varied and wildlife runs rampant - literally. I watched apes climbing mountainsides and fighting with one another.

The detail - exceptional last year - is intense now. Jorgen mentioned they were going for a "realistic" corrupt magical look. Umm, yeah. Since I've never seen any real corrupt magic here in the good 'ole US of A, I'll assume that's something from the Old World. Though, I admit, they seem to have the feel they were going for.

We have yet to leave the "single" player area. Originally, we were told this would be where we learn the game, leveling to 20, before entering the multi-player world. While this is still an option, the ability to party with friends in a group as large of 4 exists for 15-20 hours of play. During this period, you choose your class from a lengthy list of 12, begin to specialize through the feat system (skill tree), and learn how active combat works. (Go here for my first experience with this system.)

The UI has been cleaned up and is less obtrusive, more intuitive but still rather mouse oriented. You can use the keys for the Q123E directional hits along with a WSAD movement and mouse for strafe, but forget typing any chat! This will be a mouse-oriented game.

The most frustrating experience of my longest play session was collision upon falling. There's nothing like backing out of the way and dying for your troubles! Gaute assured me that although I would still take damage, they had scaled it down significantly. Also, fatalities - those nifty animations where you decapitate someone and it splatters your screen with their blood - give health and stamina bonuses. Eewww, but cool at the same time.

Some time spent dungeon crawling was an experience. The dungeon appeared to be a series of cells containing caged things. Monsters? Things. The designers playing behind joined in and spells, etc. start up along with some nifty melee moves. Visual cues become apparent during battles to indicate the shielded areas of enemies. Combat isn't just active, it is engaging in a way never seen before.

After killing off Ellingsen a few times, the group decided to sneak around a corner. All classes have the stealth ability and became shadows of their former selves. But only the assassin is skilled so one of the less skilled alerts the monsters to their presence and they're off at a brisk pace. Ellingsen has had enough of death and wants to show off the mounts anyways.

War mammoths, war rhinos and horses. Ok, so currently you can only get the mammoth and rhino by pre-ordering but it is an interesting choice. The mass of your mount affects the velocity and impact of the hits you make when on your mount. One may be great for long distance travel; another allows for unique moves while mounted; and still another gives an advantage when sieging a battle keep.

The keeps - these are impressive, like a war rhino is impressive only times ten. Gaute has us warped to a rather sizable piece of land where a "crafting village" can be built. The area will have resources, provide abilities to characters, and allow high-end equipment to be made; it will enable smithing, alchemy and the creation of temples. But first, it has to be built.

What began as a series of small buildings amassed into first a keep with an inner wall, then a second and then a third wall. The encampment is so large that it required a special camera angle only available with GM tools to see it all in one shot. It is awesome both in size and utility. The army necessary to take it will not be small; defending it will be of utmost importance to those who hold it. Here is the feature that says "Conan" more than any other I've seen in this world.

Ellingsen indicated that development of new features had stopped and for the next three months, until the May ship date, plans include completing and polishing only what is in game. I hope the team can stick with that plan. I am cautiously optimistic as I write this. This is not ... the MMOG I started out on 10 years ago ... it is ambitious, epic, grand, and different. Here's hoping it's successful.