To many people, Conan the Barbarian is a goofy bit of Schwarzenegger's early career. But the rich world of Robert E. Howard's classic pulp fantasy series hasn't been used much lately. Dark Horse Comics is publishing a series of graphic novels and the company that holds the Conan license has been actively working to get a movie deal underway. And then there's the next massively multiplayer online RPG from the creators of Anarchy Online at Funcom.

Age of Conan brings a few promising twists to a genre that these days seems to be all about trying to be more like World of Warcraft. The first twist is similar to something attempted in Uru: Age Beyond Myst. It begins as a single-player game to establish the world, and then segues into an MMO. But unlike Uru, the basis for Conan's single-player game is character development.