dmarusz's Full Review: Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic for Windows
Hello, all. I'll write this review a little differently than most of my others. I'll just discuss the good the bad and the ugly of this game. Reason being that I'm guessing most of you have played Age of Wonders II (AOW II), plus possibly the original, and know the particulars of the game. So, I won't rehash the basics again and just get to the meat of what's happening in this new game. Without further ado:
Good - They restored the in-game clock! Woo-hoo! Okay, not the biggest improvement, but if you played the original AOW, you'll remember how useful this was. No more showing up for work 30 minutes late. You can tell the time and strategically plan how much that you want to play. One of the titles greatest strengths is that you can be immersed in it for hours or just play 10 minutes worth and have fun.
- This iteration of game takes what AOW II had and expands it. For example, they add new races that you can play like the Shadow Demons (bad guys who are strong in their own dimension) and Syrons (likewise but good guys.) These new races add diversity to the story and game play, which gives the game a divergence from being just more levels to the old AOW II.
- They bolstered up the story to give possibly the best yet of the series. It doesn't have the flexibility of the first AOW but is just as intriguing. The in between missions cuts really fill out the plot and keep you very interested in what's happening.
- They kept what was great about AOW II. Your wizard is most powerful within his tower. You expand pretty much the same way, but you are a little more vulnerable in your cities. Remember that magical city guard that attacked the enemy. Remember if you were out of firepower, you just ran away from the enemy until the magical guardian took care of him. You can't do that anymore. After several turns, the guardian cuts out leaving battle strategies a little more fair and balanced.
- There is much character and mission diversity. This can lead to great game play and a stronger cornerstone that all good turn-based strategies excel at ... which is strategy. You'll like using different races to attack the enemy as opposed to migrating your cities all to one type of race. The missions aren't overly repetitive. It's not simply dominate the board. Sometimes you rescue. Sometimes you just stay out of the way and get your stuff done. The lands also seem to be laid out in a way where you have to change your plans of attack per each mission.
- The AI has definitely improved. The opposing forces don't bust down just one gate and then all try to fit through one gate. They try to pour in like the Orcs of Lord of the Rings. Fun!
- They've also added new buildings. Sometimes this is fluff and doesn't add much to the game play in other games, but in Shadow Magic, it really works. It gives greater depth to even what was already mentioned.
Bad - They added a new zone where the shadow creatures and Syrons live. It at first seems good, but when you look at it, it really just replaces the deep caverns/underground of AOW and AOW II (which were below the caves.) It adds to the strategy, but otherwise it is unstimulating. The shadow plane (zone) is black-on-black most of the time and it is hard to see. I think they wanted a land that was much different to the previous ones, but they didn't quite pull it off.
- The races are still a little unbalanced, especially some of the monsters within a race. Red Dragons/Draconians still rule. They are unaffected by the new zone. Worse yet, you can build a structure, which gives them regeneration, so that they heal within one global turn. When you play, don't anger the Draconians. That way you can migrate one of your useless towns to that race.
- Other than that, not much
Other - Overall, there is not much to complain about here. This part of the review was originally reserved for stuff that wasn't positive or negative. This game is mostly positive. It is one of the best games that I have played in years. If you read my review on AOW II, thank you:-) But also, you'll note that I had said that AOW II was not particularly better than AOW. In fact I thought it was worse. However, I felt that AOW II was a nice side step to set up a new, very good generation of turn-based strategy. This venture realizes GOD games' and Triumph's decision to redirect their focus. It's great.
When the ancient Order Of Wizards tapped into magic for their purposes, they unleashed an evil force that killed many people. The wizards became despi...More at Amazon Marketplace
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