I'm not really qualified to give a review since I haven't paid for a MMO since UO (just played beta's of various games and UO PRS'). But I am loving AoC. There's a lot of bitching on the official forums but IMO the launch was smooth. There are bugs here and there of course but as far as I've experienced, nothing significant.

The world is gargantuan but I still get a closed-in feeling at times. Supposedly you can run from one end of the world to the other but I haven't seen it. It feels like each zone is a giant corridor to the next zone. But I'm only level 31 and haven't gotten to some of the larger areas like the Fields of the Dead or the Borderlands. There are a lot of quick-travel methods you can use, which usually involve talking to someone on a dock or to a wagoneer.

The visuals are great. So good that I can't see them! :P I have to run the game in the lowest video settings to get a decent framerate. But even in the lowest settings it looks really nice. I have a new video card on the way though (GeForce 8800 GTX 768). My current card is a GeForce 7900 GS 256. To give an example... I can play Bioshock with excellent framerates and the game runs like butter (comparible to AoC on low). Assassin's Creed runs really choppy and isn't even worth trying to play on my system (comparible to AoC on high.) I'm looking forward to my new card. I had to upgrade my powersupply too, to support the new card. And I slapped another couple gb's of ram in my system, to total 4gb (er.. 3.5...). It's a 32bit WinXP Pro system.

I love the combat system. It's a little tweaky but once you've learned it, it's not difficult to use. It seems like there are a lot of mechanics that many people tend to overlook (blocking, dodging, etc). The active combat is fun and makes combat much more interesting then just point-and-click. You start with 3 directional attacks and learn combo attacks as you level, then you learn a couple more directional attacks at level 40. You can chain attacks to maximize damage and effects (Bleed attacks, stuns, knockbacks, buffs/debuffs, etc) and the fatalities are suh-weet. I love the blood splatters on my screen when I decapitate someone.

The quests, outside of the main "Destiny Quest" are a little generic.. the typical "go to point A to perform this deed or retrieve this item, and return to point B" kind of stuff. For the most part anyway. But that doesn't make them any less fun. And there are tons of quests. I hear there is a lull in appropriate level quests at around level 45. But otherwise you should be able to spend the bulk of your PvE time performing quests either solo or with a group.  I've played 90% solo so far. But I've had no problem at all with finding peeps to group with when I needed/wanted. And I've played about 90% PvE. The PvP is super fun and very dynamic, IMO. You also gain PvP levels seperately from PvE levels. Btw, dying means almost nothing in AoC. Dying give you a -2 to hit and damage (cumulative with each death) for 30 minutes or until you can run back to your tombstone (corpse). Dying in PvP also gives you a PvP exp penalty. But otherwise... no real penalty.

There are 3 types of servers to play on. PvP, RP-PvP, and PvE. ALL servers have PvP.. even the designated PvE servers. On the PvE servers you can PvP in mini-games (instances that you can join whenever the mood suits you), and in the expansive Borderlands where it's entirely FFA. There will also be drunken bar-room brawls at some point in the near future. On the PvP servers, it's FFA everwhere but in towns. The RP-PvP servers are PvP servers with name and behavioral restrictions. Oddly, there are no RP-PvE servers for the US. Apparently EU has one though.

All in all, the game ROCKS. It certainly needs some polish so don't expect something like WoW which has a few years of refinement behind it. But it seems like the dev's are working hard to get everything up to speed. It definitely feels like the game was released prematurely in order to make their stated release date. But that's pretty much par for video games nowadays. Regardless, the game is a total blast.

I pre-ordered the Collector's Edition because I've always been a Conan and REH fan. But honestly, unless you just really dig the lore, the CE isn't worth it. Details on the CE can be found here: http://aoc.wikia.com/wiki/Collectors_Edition .

I'm playing a Cimmerian Barbarian on the Wiccana server. Heh.. I couldn't help myself. I had to play a Conan-esque styled character. Wiccana is a PvE server. I didn't feel like getting punked by some random ass-hat while I was AFK attending to my 7mo pregnant wife, or my 2yo son. Besides, like I said.. even the PvE servers have PvP anytime you want it. Although.. if I didn't have the need to go AFK at a moments notice, I think I'd prefer to play a RP-PvP server.

And I love the sort of dark mood of the AoC world. Kind of a doom and gloom styled setting. Lots of war and death with an occasional whore house thrown in. ;) I <3 The Bearded Clam. I mean, come on.. how can you go wrong with REH's Conan world, especially when you throw in generous amounts of blood and nudity? ;)