Product Reviews Net » Age of Conan http://www.product-reviews.net Information on the latest gadgets, technology, news and product reviews Sat, 26 May 2012 11:39:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Visual start for Age of Conan free to play: 2011 sets example http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/07/01/visual-start-for-age-of-conan-free-to-play-2011-sets-example/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=visual-start-for-age-of-conan-free-to-play-2011-sets-example http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/07/01/visual-start-for-age-of-conan-free-to-play-2011-sets-example/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:50:54 +0000 Gary Johnson http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=135881 If you don’t already know Age of Conan is a fantasy themed online multiplayer game which has a huge following. Originally scheduled for release on the Xbox 360, way back in May 2008 saw the full online game being released in America and Europe. Gamers had to sign up to a monthly subscription to continually play, but then in May we told you about plans to release a free to play version of the game. Now the developers have launched a new trailer for a visual start to Age of Conan free to play, and 2011 sets an example how gaming is changing.

The free to play version of the game is now available and titled Age of Conan: Unchained. Users of the free to play version of the game have a choice of four character classes, and two character slots. Things which are limited include bank space, adventure zones, dungeons, raids, and mount training.

Alternative advancement, offline levels, sieges, and veteran points are unavailable to free users. If you want to unlock all the content it will cost you $12.95 per month. Over recent times we have seen a big change in the way we play games. With the likes of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 you may go out and buy a hard copy of the game, but further down the line see extra content released for download for an extra fee.

This is what we are seeing this week with the release of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation map pack for the Xbox 360. We have also heard rumors of another being released later in the year. We are also seeing online passes finding their way into games, so if a game is sold on at a later date the new owner will have to go out and purchase one. This stops the developers losing money on resale’s and has caused some controversy in certain quarters.

But the big push is likely to see free games becoming available more like Age of Conan, and users needing to either subscribe or purchase in game items. Even games on Facebook follow this trend with users needing to purchase credits to buy items for their game. In years to come our grandchildren will likely be laughing when they hear we had to spend money up front for video games.

There could be a risk to this trend though as not everyone can afford to keep paying out for games, and what if after people have played the free part for a while decide they don’t like the game?

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/07/01/visual-start-for-age-of-conan-free-to-play-2011-sets-example/feed/ 0 Age of Conan: Unrated – New free-to-play game announced http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/05/25/age-of-conan-unrated-new-free-to-play-game-announced/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=age-of-conan-unrated-new-free-to-play-game-announced http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/05/25/age-of-conan-unrated-new-free-to-play-game-announced/#comments Wed, 25 May 2011 12:38:29 +0000 Tina Chubb http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=132057 We have some rather interesting news now for those of you that are familiar with Funcom’s fantasy-themed MMO game Age of Conan, as the Norwegian video game developer has recently announced that it will be offering a new free-to-play game alongside the subscription set-up.

According to a recent article by Fred Dutton over at eurogamer.com, the game – titled Age of Conan: Unrated – is scheduled to arrive sometime this summer. Executive producer Craig Morrison said that the move is intended to capitalize on a potential increase in interest following the upcoming Conan film.

Those who choose the free-to-play Age of Conan: Unrated game will still be able to reach level 80 without having to fork out any money, but they do have to pay for extra items – such as scrolls, new pets, mounts, bags, premium location passes and potions – and expansions.

Existing Age of Conan subscribers will now be called premium members, and will continue to enjoy exactly the same benefits as they currently do. Premium and free-to-play gamers won’t be segregated into separate servers either, and will all be able to play together.

The re-launch will also add 2 new solo story-based dungeons called The Forgotten City and The Breach, which scale to a player’s level between levels 40 and 80. Have you ever played the Age of Conan game before? If not, will you be giving the free-to-play Age of Conan: Unrated a go?

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