CONAN The Digital

The Dark Axe (working title)

Gametype: Adventure/Hack and Slash

Released: 2004

Developer: Cauldron

Publisher: TDK

Platforms: XBox Gamecube PS2 PC

Cover:

Story: Conan is as yet but a young man barely acquainted with the world outside the borders of his homeland, the grey mountains of snowy Cimmeria. He has just returned from wandering adventures in the border kingdoms, where he has experienced more adventures in a few months than many other people experience in their whole lives.
He is just setting out on the steep mountain road leading to Grannach and his expression is one of grim wrath. He is brooding on a meeting with a group of heavily armed riders at a nearby ford. Their armour covered in bloody dust and ashes told of a recent battle. Wounds and bloodthirsty glances spoke of their victory. Yet the speed with which they passed him bore witness that their business was not yet done.
In his mind’s eye there is always the symbol of the vulture, the badge of these riders. Its dark foreboding clouds his mind. Unconsciously, he urges his horse to greater speed until he comes within sight of Grannach. From his first glimpse of the smoke rising from the quiet village, he knows that it brings no hope of feasting and relaxing by the hearth, but rather forebodes death and destruction.

His fingers are whitened by the force with which he grips his sword, and he gallops wildly into the village. The sight that greets him is even worse than he imagined…

So begins one of the greatest adventures of Conan, the mightiest of all warriors, determined to avenge his family’s slaughter. He leaves behind the memories of his once peaceful village of Grannach in the heart of the snowy Cimmerian hills. His destiny now leads him over the deadly mountains, into the deep Pictish forests.

The tribes of Picts do not like strangers on their land and so Conan must escape before the wild men can get to him. The only choice our hero has is to take shelter in an old, abandoned fortress. Long forgotten is its name and long forgotten are its builders. But the evil ape-like creature within has not forgotten, nor the ghosts of the long dead, nor the species of half man, half ape now serving him.

Conan has no other choice but to fight his way through the fortress and the eerie catacombs beneath it. There he will free the gracious Zairin, a female thief from Kordava. The battles are fierce, enemies bloothirsty, but Conan is able to kill the monstrous ape god and make his way to Kordava.

Here, in the shining jewel of the western shore will be revealed the true identity of the murderers and their plot. Zairin is once again kidnapped by the murderers and for the second time Conan will have to hunt them down.

The sand of the Stygian deserts are hiding the lost city of the Atlantean race. Built as a new home for the refugees of the sinking island. It is now a place riddled with the undead and there is but a small trace of this fabulous race.

Unfortunately, the cult continue to elude our great hero. He arrives in the humid Darfarian jungles where there are now new obstacles for the raging barbarian to tackle. Our hero travels through a labyrinth full of deadly cannibals an then faces the challenge of conquering the volcano of Kwagabe and the ancient guardian of the artifact.

Conan will follow the trail of the murderers to the large stone fortress, where the Vulture Cult is based. An army of mercenaries, soldiers and followers of the cult are hiding there. Conan takes the battle through the fortress and fights his way to an extinct volcano, which contains the Tower of the Vulture.

There Conan will reveal the secret of the cult and he will face the most deadly and merciless of all his enemies…

Locations:

Conan's journey takes him from his home village in Cimmeria through the Pictish Wildernes to Kordava, the capital of Zingara. From there by ship to the burning sands of Stygia. Then on to the jungles of Darfar and finally to the citadel of the Vulture Cult in Keshan.
After release of the game in Europe, there were rumors that Cauldron would publish and additional level where it would be possible to play the ship voyage form Kordava to Stygia including some encounters with pirates. But this was never released.

For more details and maps about the different regions check the Locations section.

Screenshots:

Video
(Trailer):
Click here to see a short trailer of "Conan - The Dark Axe"

Gametype:		Adventure/Hack and Slash
Released:		2004
Developer:		Cauldron
Publisher:		TDK
Platforms:		XBox Gamecube PS2 PC
Cover:
Story:		Conan is as yet but a young man barely acquainted with the world outside the borders of his homeland, the grey mountains of snowy Cimmeria. He has just returned from wandering adventures in the border kingdoms, where he has experienced more adventures in a few months than many other people experience in their whole lives. He is just setting out on the steep mountain road leading to Grannach and his expression is one of grim wrath. He is brooding on a meeting with a group of heavily armed riders at a nearby ford. Their armour covered in bloody dust and ashes told of a recent battle. Wounds and bloodthirsty glances spoke of their victory. Yet the speed with which they passed him bore witness that their business was not yet done. In his mind’s eye there is always the symbol of the vulture, the badge of these riders. Its dark foreboding clouds his mind. Unconsciously, he urges his horse to greater speed until he comes within sight of Grannach. From his first glimpse of the smoke rising from the quiet village, he knows that it brings no hope of feasting and relaxing by the hearth, but rather forebodes death and destruction. His fingers are whitened by the force with which he grips his sword, and he gallops wildly into the village. The sight that greets him is even worse than he imagined… So begins one of the greatest adventures of Conan, the mightiest of all warriors, determined to avenge his family’s slaughter. He leaves behind the memories of his once peaceful village of Grannach in the heart of the snowy Cimmerian hills. His destiny now leads him over the deadly mountains, into the deep Pictish forests. The tribes of Picts do not like strangers on their land and so Conan must escape before the wild men can get to him. The only choice our hero has is to take shelter in an old, abandoned fortress. Long forgotten is its name and long forgotten are its builders. But the evil ape-like creature within has not forgotten, nor the ghosts of the long dead, nor the species of half man, half ape now serving him. Conan has no other choice but to fight his way through the fortress and the eerie catacombs beneath it. There he will free the gracious Zairin, a female thief from Kordava. The battles are fierce, enemies bloothirsty, but Conan is able to kill the monstrous ape god and make his way to Kordava. Here, in the shining jewel of the western shore will be revealed the true identity of the murderers and their plot. Zairin is once again kidnapped by the murderers and for the second time Conan will have to hunt them down. The sand of the Stygian deserts are hiding the lost city of the Atlantean race. Built as a new home for the refugees of the sinking island. It is now a place riddled with the undead and there is but a small trace of this fabulous race. Unfortunately, the cult continue to elude our great hero. He arrives in the humid Darfarian jungles where there are now new obstacles for the raging barbarian to tackle. Our hero travels through a labyrinth full of deadly cannibals an then faces the challenge of conquering the volcano of Kwagabe and the ancient guardian of the artifact. Conan will follow the trail of the murderers to the large stone fortress, where the Vulture Cult is based. An army of mercenaries, soldiers and followers of the cult are hiding there. Conan takes the battle through the fortress and fights his way to an extinct volcano, which contains the Tower of the Vulture. There Conan will reveal the secret of the cult and he will face the most deadly and merciless of all his enemies…
Locations:		Conan's journey takes him from his home village in Cimmeria through the Pictish Wildernes to Kordava, the capital of Zingara. From there by ship to the burning sands of Stygia. Then on to the jungles of Darfar and finally to the citadel of the Vulture Cult in Keshan. After release of the game in Europe, there were rumors that Cauldron would publish and additional level where it would be possible to play the ship voyage form Kordava to Stygia including some encounters with pirates. But this was never released. For more details and maps about the different regions check the Locations section.
Screenshots:
Video (Trailer):		Click here to see a short trailer of "Conan - The Dark Axe"