Think there are already too many MMORPG's on the market? Funcom begs to differ. At E3 this year, we had a chance to chat with Gaute Godager about the Anarchy Online developer's plans for the upcoming MMO, Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. Not only did he show us a stunning early version of the game engine, but he described plans for making the game unique in a genre not known for taking risks. With any luck, this melee-combat based RPG will meet with a warm welcome upon release.

With AO, Funcom has already proven that story-driven play can be successful in an MMO. In Age of Conan, they plan to take even further steps to ensure total player immersion. The first and most amazing feature that will enable them to accomplish this will be to begin the game as a single-player experience, and gradually introduce the gamer to the persistent world in small increments. While the player will actually be online while playing, he will not be fully immersed in the online world until level 20--out of a total of 80.

Godager impressed upon us the three most important aspects of Age of Conan: combat, combat, and combat. Specifically, the game will take three approaches to battles. In one-on-one melee combat, players will fight each other in real time, using their swords to string attacks together into combos and supercombos--and impressively, you will be able to target multiple areas of your enemy, allowing you to focus on any given point of attack, such as a head or a leg. The second type of combat is tactical combat. In Age of Conan, players will be able to hire NPC's to join their party, which they can then use in various formations. Godager believes that most players will find themselves satisfied with a formation of 20 or so, although he was unsure whether Funcom would limit this number. In the pre-alpha build we saw, he could create formations of unlimited numbers. The third combat type will be massive siege battles, which will be conducted both against other players and against the game's "hive" artificial intelligence, similar to what we would see in a real-time strategy game.

Mounted combat will also be vital. Godager showed us a character mounted on a hulking mammoth, from which the player will conduct ranged attacks. Other mounts will include horses, camels and more. Interestingly, some mount will support multiple players, which should add some intriguing tactical elements to the mix.

Funcom is understandably proud at how well the game world is coming to life. Age of Conan is based on the works of Robert E. Howard, and takes place about 10,000 B.C. The mountainous environments we saw were simply stunning, as was the village in the land of Tortage that Godager introduced us to. Funcom does not want NPC's to be static parts of the surroundings. Instead, the village was teeming with life as villagers went about their daily activities, which will change based on the time of day. Not only may a merchant not be in the same place you last saw him, but he will actually tout his wares to you. It's all part of Age of Conan's "need-based" AI: the villagers need to talk, or eat, or play. As Godager maneuvered his character along the village path, a few small children tagged along, demonstrating their need to socialize--although he was thankfully able to lose them after a few moments.

Players should also expect to level quickly, which Funcom hopes will please both inexperienced role-players as well as experienced ones. Age of Conan's endgame will be vital, and will rely on instanced dungeons and PvP to keep gamers occupied. Player-versus-player will come in three brands: massive (i.e., the siege battles); matchmaking (i.e., consensual arena combat); and old fashioned bar room brawls, which will pit players against each other using only their fists. Watch out, though: how much you have had to drink will affect your performance. Kind of like real life.

We're definitely intrigued by the possibilities in Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. For more information on Funcom's upcoming MMORPG, keep your eyes glued to Inside Gamer Online.