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Zero Punctuation visits Conan in Hyboria
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Jul 23rd 2008 at 9:00PM }
No matter how much the hardcore MMORPG crowd may want to deny it, almost every game in the genre wants to be, or wishes it could have been, World or Warcraft. This week's Zero Punctuation says as much, with Yahtzee trying to enjoy his Hyborian adventure but wandering into familiar -- but not quite right -- WoW territory.
Check out the NSFW review of Age of Conan after the break.
Age of Conan dethrones GTA IV in Europe
by Griffin McElroy { May 31st 2008 at 7:00PM }
Yes, Funcom's decapitation-rich MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures recently outsold GTA IV in a number of European locations, including Germany and Sweden. Since Rockstar's latest opus is still selling like freshly baked hotcakes in North America, we can't help but wonder if GTA's themes of living the American dream and hooker brutalization got lost in translation as the title crossed the Atlantic -- or whether Age of Conan's musclebound mascot reminds German gamers of a certain pop culture icon who is quite revered in their country.
Grand Theft Auto IV takes late night comedy world by storm
by Griffin McElroy { May 3rd 2008 at 3:00PM }
Comedy starved night owls are probably already aware of the attention that Rockstar's latest crime drama has received on the late night entertainment scene. We chuckled at the Daily Show's coverage of the game's midnight release, but thoroughly LOLed at Conan O'Brien's previews (embedded after the jump) of the toned-down version of Grand Theft Auto IV (if only Stephen Bishop's classic "It Might Be You" really were available on Liberty City's airwaves).
However, we didn't truly board the ROFLcopter until we saw the above skit from The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson (the former unitesticled boss on "The Drew Carey Show"). Perhaps it was the visit from "Saturday Night Live" veteran Tim Meadows that made it our fave, or perhaps it was their subtle send-up of the criticism the game has endured due to it's adult content. On that note, if there's anything funnier than the actual media coverage of Rockstar's mature blockbuster, we've yet to see it.
Detective Conan throws down the gauntlet
by David Hinkle { Mar 15th 2008 at 12:30PM }
Just like the last horrible and cruel challenge DS Fanboy set out before you, we're asking you yet again to brave the world of the Japanese game demo and check out what Detective Conan sees when he dons his spectacles. The official website for Detective Conan Kieta Hakase to Machigai Sagashi no Tou has put up a Flash demo for the game, allowing you to do just that. In very much a Quickspot-like manner, players must identify the differences between two seemingly identical images. Give it a whirl and let us know what you think!
[Via Siliconera]
Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 get celebrity love on Conan O' Brien
by Griffin McElroy { Mar 1st 2008 at 12:30PM }
If the annual shame parade known as the Spike TV Video Game Awards have taught us anything, it's this -- famous people love video games. Take, for example, "Arrested Development" star Will Arnett and "SNL" funnyman Jason Sudeikis, both of whom outed themselves as FPSophiles last week on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien".
While we were amused by Arnett's endorsement of Call of Duty 4 and his tales of domestic disrespect, we think Sudeikis pulled away with a higher chuckle per joke ratio. You can watch his entire interview after the break -- jump to 4:17 for his gaming testimonial, or to 5:48 to watch a grown man demonstrate Halo 3 teabagging in front of a live studio audience.
[Thanks, Colin.]
Age of Conan MMO News
by Terrence Stasse { Feb 19th 2008 at 2:00PM }
The Age of Conan MMO has been in development at Funcom on PC and 360 for some time now, and the game is starting to come out of it's shell a bit. With a demo at GDC, and impressions and interviews going up left and right, now would be a good time to discuss the shortcomings of your game right? Of course. The Funcom Product Manager Jorgen Tharaldsen told MTV Multiplayer that the game still has no release window for 360 and that the PC version will ship in May. Multiplayer even hints that the console release will not be seen until next year, a sorry state of affairs if the PC version is set to ship in a little over three months. It's easy to see why the team hasn't made much progress considering they haven't even touched what they call their largest obstacle, the controller interface. Tharaldsen even goes so far as to say that PC gamers would be unable to use their 360 controllers in the PC version, because the game was so complicated. But, if MMO's are so hard to use controllers with why do people play WoW with gamepads?Age of Conan's violence toned down for Germany
by Alexander Sliwinski { Feb 6th 2008 at 5:00AM }
Originally, the community manager also reported that the US version would "not see nipples." It wasn't made clear at the time whether the negative nipple mandate applied only to female mammaries or if the men would also need to wear pasties, but a correction posted later confirmed that the US would be free to see "breasts with nipples." Phew, crisis averted.
[Via Shacknews]
Detective Conan 2 puzzles fail to leave us puzzled
by Chris Greenhough { Jan 11th 2008 at 11:15AM }
These screenshots from the Detective Conan follow-up (full title: Detective Conan Kieta Hakase to Machigai Sagashi no Tou) transport us back to a less complicated age, when our younger selves would fill idle afternoons with "Spot the Difference" puzzles. Hence, we really like the concept behind this game -- identifying inconsistencies between two images -- but there's just one problem: these puzzles look ridiculously easy.We appreciate that only so much detail can be squeezed into the DS's dainty screens, but hopefully the difficulty will be ramped up further on in the game.
Sleuth your way past the break for a further five shots.
Conan eases writers strike boredom with Rock Band
by Griffin McElroy { Jan 5th 2008 at 11:30AM }
It would seem that Conan (the Late Night talk show host, not the barbarian) had a lot of time on his hands since the Writers Guild of America put down their pencils, pens and iBooks in order to get their fair share of the royalties pie, and, as a result, put his show on hiatus for nearly two months. When he wasn't frittering time away planning his grand return to Late Night or growing an unsettling beard, the Cone Zone killed time with a game that many of us cuddled up to during the rerun-filled winter months -- Rock Band.
As seen about a minute into the video (which, funnily enough, probably isn't netting any royalties for any writers), Conan chooses to sing the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" in the style of Edith Bunker. It's great, but we prefer our version of Faith no More's "Epic", where we do an alarmingly accurate impression of Lamar from Revenge of the Nerds. What flourishes you add to your Rock Band vocal performances to coax precious lulz from your bandmates?
Also, we missed you, Conan. Please don't do that to us again.
(Thanks to everyone who sent this in!)
Conan MMO dev: WoW popularity in decline
by Kyle Orland { Dec 19th 2007 at 5:30PM }
Everyone knows that World of Warcraft is the hottest thing to hit the MMO genre since BakeQuest: The Battle for Sliced Bread. But according to at least one rival developer, that popularity may be starting to dwindle. Speaking to the accurately named VideoGamer.com, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures Quest Designer Joel Bylos cites a "feeling on the Internet" as evidence WoW is beginning to lose its appeal. "You get that just from online communities, which of course we all pay attention to as well," Bylos said when asked if people might be getting tired of WoW.We're sorry, but a "feeling on the internet" probably isn't the best way of measuring satisfaction in a game with 9.3 million paying subscribers (up from 7 million roughly a year ago) and a celebrity-packed ad campaign. Sure, there will always be internet trolls and forum whiners that threaten to leave over every little problem, but by and large the silent majority seems just as hooked on the game as ever. Much like Democrats who promised to move to Canada if George W. Bush was reelected, these vocal complainers seem good at making threats but bad at following through on them. Then again ...
[Via WoWInsider]
Sunday ads: Heroes HD DVD and some free stuff
by Dustin Burg { Oct 21st 2007 at 4:15PM }
Simpsons, Conan on Xbox Live Monday, Monday, Monday
by Dan Dormer { Oct 8th 2007 at 10:30AM }
Monday, Monday, Monday! At home right on your 360, Microsoft dishes out two demos -- a double dose of pain that'll rip out your guts, blow your mind, and leave you burned beyond recognition. The Simpsons Game, fresh off its appearance on the PlayStation Network and getting publishers' panties in a bunch, drops all 442.71 MBs right on your hard drive, with complete disregard to public safety. (Oh, hey, the achievements list still mentions Grand Theft Scratchy?)
Then its time to get barbaric with Conan. Rated M for Mature, the ESRB says this game contains "BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, AND NUDITY." You can't take this game home to your mom, because it'd tread all over her face! Demo Monday, Monday, Monday! You'll pay for the whole controller, but you'll only need the edge!
XBLM gets Simpsons and Conan demos
by Richard Mitchell { Oct 8th 2007 at 9:30AM }
Ah, who doesn't love a good demo? It's not quite like getting a free game, but it's close. Every day we turn on our beloved 360, hoping to see some shiny new demos winking at us coquettishly. Suckers that we are, we download them all, regardless of whether or not we're likely to enjoy the game. Today is extra special though, because not only do we have two new demos on Xbox Live Marketplace, but we have demos for games we've been eager to try. The first is Conan, which gives us license to chop, hack, and bludgeon hapless foes (and who doesn't enjoy that?). The second demo is for The Simpsons Game, which has been looking more appealing all the time. We're hoping that the demo gives us a nice long look at the self-referential humor that has been present in the recent trailers. But hey, whatever happens, they're free, right? Go give 'em a try.Conan demo chops head off XBLM next week
by Richard Mitchell { Oct 5th 2007 at 12:30PM }
Fans of hyper-violent action rejoice, for Conan is on the way. No, not that Conan. We're talking about Conan the barbarian. The kind that pulls men apart with his teeth. THQ has announced that a demo for Conan (not to be confused with the MMO Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures) is scheduled to arrive on XBLM next week. Specifically, the demo should arrive on Monday. To get an idea of what exactly we're in for, you may want to check out Joystiq's impressions of the game from earlier this year.
Conan action game moves up to Sept. 28
by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 12th 2007 at 3:25PM }
If you actually have no idea about this God of War-style Conan adventure, you can check out some of our previous coverage and we've placed the newest trailer we're aware of after the break. Admittedly this was a game that flew under the radar, but aren't you glad its not another delay announcement?
