Petroglyph hopes Conan Unconquered’s co-op will have you hooked

Real-time strategy games are rarely hits because of co-op gameplay. That’s just what developer Petroglyph is hoping though, for Conan Unconquered.

Take on Conan’s world with a pal

Co-op play and RTS? They only kinda/sorta mix well. The meat and potatoes of any real-timer is pretty much the straight multiplayer and the campaign. Or is it? Could an RTS be equally compelling played in a cooperative format with an ally?

That’s just what Petroglyph is shooting for with their newest title, Conan Unconquered. The game launches players into the harsh world of Hyboria, and sets them to task with repelling invaders attempting to sack a city that counts none other than Conan himself as a protector.

Gameplay seems to center on not just leading waves of cannon fodder into battle, but also controlling hero characters. And it sounds like the intriguing co-op play won’t really alter that much.

Tailoring an experience

“We’re trying to make it as cooperative an experience as possible,” explains Executive Producer Ted Morris who, in addition to working on Command & Conquer, can boast of having been the Development Director on the critically acclaimed RTS Star Wars: Empire at War.

In co-op mode each player will have their own hero and army, but they will share resources and most of the buildings. “Where the challenge comes in, is in trying to coordinate the fight with more challenging mobs,” says Senior Game Designer Patrick Pannullo, adding that it is not simply going to be about double the number of enemies. Instead, the increased difficulty will mainly be about what kind of mobs you face and where the attacks will come from.

Petroglyph press release

Actually sounds kind of neat. The game won’t just throw more bad guys at you, but will tailor those enemies to be a stiffer challenge. I can also see the sharing of buildings and resources becoming something that gamers might find a bit tougher than they may think.

Here’s the team from the developer talking about not only the co-op, but also the new Challenge Map feature:

If all of this sounds good to you, you won’t have much longer to wait to play Conan Unconquered. The game lands on the PC next Thursday, May 30th.