Conan demo = Not half bad

[Scrivener]

So I'm on the lookout for a mature-oriented game to look forward to and happen to stumble across a tiny blurb somewhere that a Conan demo has been released. I know I've heard of this game somewhere before and just didn't care, but I took a chance at downloading it in hopes that I might, just maybe, be treated to some dismemberment and gouts of blood. Now my intuition tells me that the source material will be raped of all it's mature content but I got nothing to loose, a demo's free. So now that I've played it, I've got some good news and some bad news.

A. The good news. It's pretty fun - and it has a neat fighting system. The music and sound is fantastic. More developers need to look at games like this to see how much really great sound and music improves the immersion factor. Arx Fatalis is another great example of that, best sound I've ever heard in a game - sucks you right in. Well, this has got that... at least in the sound department. Music really gets the blood pumping during a fight. And guess what... there's BLOOD!

B. The bad news... there's definately blood... but nearly enough of it... especially not for Conan. I, for just ONCE, want to see melee combat portrayed as the messy, bloody, gorefest that it really is (We're talking pools of blood that collect in the crevices and run on slopes to the last pint). Also, bodies dissapear the instant they're off screen and there's no decals for wounds... nor is there dismemberment. Just blood spray when someone gets hit. Kinda sad, considering it IS Conan. There's also a couple frustrating puzzles.

Conclusion: Good demo but has the potential to be really great... just needs more blood and gore.