Not all types of games lend themselves to all types of licenses, naturally. The RPG genre works best with licenses where the focus of the creators has been on the universe as much as on the characters.

I would like to point out that this is far from a simple tutorial. In fact, learning the ropes of the game is only a minor part of what you do in this period. I do not know with 100 percent certainty the amount of time that you will spend solving the challenges set before you in the single-player part of the game, but our goal is clear: We want to create a full-fledged stand-alone game that gives you a story-driven role-playing experience where the focus is on you, your character, and your journey.

In Hyborian Adventures, which is the first in several titles planned on the Age of Conan brand, the playable races are Aquilonian, Cimmerian, and Stygian. Over time, this will be increased. They will have different looks and hometowns, but the choice of classes will also be different for the various races. For instance, only the Stygians will have access to the mage class and its branching specializations.

The archetype classes are warrior, mage, priest, and rogue. You get to choose a class at level five, as you arrive at Tortage, the freebooter town on the Baracha Isles. You begin your life without a class, and all you need to choose is your looks and race.

When thinking about what Hyboria and being a character like Conan is all about, picking up a sword and crushing something seems very natural. The ritualized indirect, or downright slow, combat found in many role-playing games simply didn't lend itself as well to something as violent, brutal, and direct as a game in the Hyborian age.

It is true that we try to make the visual look and feel of magic in Conan different from what you have seen in other games and the more traditional fantasy settings. The clownlike, fireball-tossing magic users in pointy hats, with puffs and multicolored robes, are not part of the Hyborian universe.

Another batch of players will soon be able to enter Hyboria, as Funcom, Eidos Interactive and IGN team up to open the gates of Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures' open beta testing phase. Some 50,000 lucky MMORPG enthusiasts can live the life of a barbarian starting May 1st.

Funcom and Eidos Interactive have sent word that the pre-order program for the MMORPG Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Xbox 360 and PC) has been made available for almost all major markets including USA, Germany, France, Spain, UK, Oceania, and the Nordic territories.

Judging from the previous screenshots we've seen from the upcoming Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, Xbox 360) title, we all know that it's going to be one visual monster of a game. While the game may be quite easy on the eyes, the developers at Funcom are working very hard to deliver to gamers an accurate depiction of the world of Hyboria.

A rumor recently began regarding the possibility of in-game ad support for Funcom's upcoming Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, Xbox 360) title. However, the developers sorted out this issue by explaining that in-game ads will not be implemented in the actual game.