Now, one of the things that Age of Conan promises, even on the box itself, is DirectX 10 Graphics.

Unfortunately, that is a hit against this game on the review. As of the times of not only release, but of the writing of this review, there is still no DX10 graphics in place. Even users who are running the system-heavy Vista will have to run in DX9 mode.

Now, even though that is a strike against the graphics, I have to go on to say that the graphics, even at lower details, can look amazing. I wouldn't recommend playing it on anything below an Nvidia 7 series video card, or even higher.

I did get the chance to play Age of Conan on a few different systems, most notably my laptop and my main gaming machine. On my laptop with an 8600M GS video card I am able to still get a steady 20-25 frames per second while out questing. PvP is even an option, as the 8600M GS handles other players on the screen perfectly.

As I stated earlier, however, I have not gotten a chance to try either the laptop or my main computer in a siege, so as for performance of that, I cannot say for sure. I would expect that you would want at least an Nvidia 8 series or equivalent card, and possibly a 9 series if you don't want to have to worry about looks.

As for the sound, it is spectacular. There are just a few minor annoyances, however. In many MMOs, people will make more than one character, attempting to find the play style that fits them right.

This can make the voice acting in Tortage start to sound rather repetitive. After your second or third time through, you'll stop listening to what they have to say. Once you get out of the first city, very few quest givers speak. Luckily, voice acting doesn't get in the way of this game, considering quite a few people playing will also be connected to a voice chat such as Ventrilo or a similar program while playing, thus easing the ability to communicate with others.