Age of Wonders

In the earliest days of the world, the Elven Court ruled all living beings upon the Northern Continent. The Wizard King Inioch, governing from the Valley of Wonders, maintained a delicate balance of light and shadow and saw the life of each subject in his kingdom was not burdened by any great evil.

The story has the same kings, land, and magic elements as all other turn-based strategy (tbs) games. There have not been a lot of games lately that are of this genre. Is this type of game a dying breed? Some seem to think so, while others hope not. I would like to think that someday a game would redeem the turn-based strategy culture back into the spotlight. This game is not the one to do it. Age of Wonders is a cross breed between other games that have made good marks for tbs games. There is a lot of Heroes of Might and Magic and some aspects of Warlords included in this game. The gameplay, layout and interface are very similar throughout.

Start your mission with a pre-ready hero or build your own and assign the points as you see fit. You have a choice between two very long campaigns of good and evil. Both campaigns run together and meet at various points within the game. The campaigns can branch off in some spots, which gives the replay value a little extra boost. There are also single player and multiplayer scenarios that you can play instead of jumping into the time-consuming campaign missions.

In either campaign you chose, the gameplay is the same. You move groups of units, up to stacks of eight, across a map, conquering cities and using resources to become stronger. There are two resources you must obtain to become victor in this game. One is Gold, which is used to construct buildings and towns and upgrade your armed forces. The other is Mana, which is used to research and cast spells. There are various types of Mana, a total of six, and can be used to cast according to what type they belong in. The spell effects are what sets it apart from the other clones. The effects have a nice light and magic feel to them every time you cast a spell.

The units you move across the map either by flying, walking, or swimming consist of many races. Each race has its own unique characteristic ratings in attacking, defense, and magic. There are also hero leaders, which are an important part in winning the game. An advanced hero on your team can win an entire battle by himself and still have more to dish out. Building your hero up to your style of playing, and then building up your army to revolve around your hero, gives you a balanced unbeatable set of units. You advance your units from city to city, crushing them and moving on. If you know where the enemy’s leader is, then you may wish to attack him directly. Killing the enemy’s leader is a definite victory. Crushing and consuming the cities as you make your way to the leader allows you to control those citizens into producing you units and goods. Either strategy will lead to the same ending. Victory!

The interface is very simple and mouse driven. Every aspect of the game can be done with the mouse and only takes a few clicks. It is very easy and similar to other games in the past.

The graphics are very well done and, I would even say, the best graphics of this type to date. The units are animated nicely during movement and battle scenes. The detailed map landscape is great, along with the spell animations and effects. I did have one problem with the resolution standard of this game. At 640x480, the graphics seemed a little constrained to a small portion of map area; but at 800x600, the units looked like ants and you couldn’t see the battle scenes as well.

The music is outstanding. It has been a long wait to have this type of music added to a turn- based strategy. The battle cries and uproars are amusing, and the background tempo keeps up with the pace of the game.

The game AI is something that should have been worked on a little longer. It was too easy to beat the opponent and do it over and over again. The AI is what really made this game fall short of becoming something bigger.

Small flaws and annoyances made this game a little less than expected. If you are wanting to play something different than the Heroes of Might and Magic, Warlords, or the new Disciples, then you may want to try this game. If you are happy with what you are currently playing, then save your money and buy your mom a Christmas present.

Installation: 5 Same installation as any other. It did come with an installation troublesheet paper. That counts for something I guess.

Game Play: 7 Simple interface and nice long, involving campaigns.

Graphics: 7 Very detailed landscapes and characters. Great spell animations. Best graphics to date of this kind. Annoying resolution.

Sound: 8 Long awaited background music for a turn-based strategy.

Concept: 6 It’s a clone of many others that are successful. Too many of the same elements as other games.

Difficulty: 5 AI isn’t up to par. Would like to have played smarter single-player opponents.

Value: 6 Personally, I wouldn’t buy it twice. Everyone has an opinion.

Overall: 6.3