Gathering of Developers Age of Wonders Strategy Review

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
2 votes

Summary:
"The way you can ruin a turn-based strategy game."

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Price Paid:  $10.00

Summary:
Age of Wonders is the first game in years that caught my attention so badly, I couldn't stop playing, and replaying it. The team that made this game have to be congratulated for their fine work. Heroes III? Delete! Who needs it when you can play a far more complex game than that. Not because of the graphics which are acceptable, or the sound that needed some adjustment, but because of the gameplay. I think it has the best Gameplay of all turned based strategies! And that is the thing that should matter the most in a game, and should explain the overall rating...

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Price Paid:  $25.00 from Comp USA

Summary:
Have you ever gone to one of those Chinese buffet places? You know, all the food is sitting on a couple of long tables, and you pick and choose what you like for your plate? You're guaranteed to get a little bit of everything that you like. Well that's the kind of mentality that was used to program Age of Wonders. This is not a bad thing.
I use the buffet analogy because it fits perfectly to describe this game. The best parts of previous games have been thrown in here. Unit stacking of Warlords, combat and hero management similar to Heroes of Might and Magic, dimplomacy and global magic system similar to master of Magic. Even the story is somewhat of a ripoff of Tolkein.
But what's wrong with that? So what that nothing is original. How many times have we sat around saying," You know if I could take this from game A and combine it with game B's graphics, and add the music from C, I'd have one hell of a game!" Not only has Age of Wonders done this, it has managed to combine all of these elements without losing any of the quality of these particular elements. The magic system, for example, is as in depth as Master of Magic, but with updated graphics. Nice!!
If you're a purist, fine. Don't get ths game. But if you're like me, the average Joe who can't afford to buy all the original games mentioned above, then Age of Wonders was made just for you. Especially now (note the date of this review) that it can be purchased at a bargain bin price. THis game is a real value for the hours upon hours of entertainment it will give back.
Age of Wonders: It's like buying a "Greatest Hits" album from your record store! It's like getting the cliff notes for your favorite fantasy games! It's like......never mind the analogies, it's a very, very good game.

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Price Paid:  $10.00 from EB

Summary:
Sorta like HOMM3 but it involves smaller numbers of units and has less map locations. Basically like heroes except with more variety

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Summary:
It's tough being the new guy in town. Starting out without knowing the ropes or really not much. Age of Wonders is like a new kid to the turn-based games. Even though it has great graphics and some unique elements for a new game, it tends to lose its replay value among the diehard fans of this genre, while people new to the genre and other gamers might enjoy this game.