Frustrated with the Age of Conan open beta's serious performance problems? Worried that the game won't be ready for retail in just a couple of weeks? Don't worry too much; not it is all as it seems. Word on the virtual street is that the open beta client is an old build with issues long since resolved in the closed beta version.

When the IGN beta event finally began on Thursday, thousands of excited gamers ended up more frustrated than entertained. The experience has been marred by low framerates, stuttering, and frequent hard crashes. Admittedly, it's a beta; some of that is to be expected. But it's bad, and since the game's retail release is less than three weeks away, there's an air of concern that Age of Conan will hit retail in an unplayable state. The reality is more complex than that.