The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Age of Wonders

A few years back there was vaporware floating around about a sequel to the excellent game Master of Magic, by Microprose. So gamers waited. And waited. And waited more. Needless to say it never happened. So to play a good conquer the world fantasy game Master of Magic (MOM) was kept on PC's, running in the DOS window when the nostalgia become too much.

Then last year something happened, Age of Wonders (AOW) was released. While it is not Master of Magic 2, it would be easy to speculate that it was highly influenced by that game. There are a few key differences however. The graphics have been upgraded and look very lush and the effect are well animated. The graphics settings are customizable to take advantage of good resolution (or adapt to a more outdated graphics card too). In other words it s a nice game to look at.

One of the best things about AOW is that your character and the other heroes you gain along the way are customizable and get experience points to spend as their levels increase. Making this an even better option is that there are a great many different abilities to gain over time as well as increasing base statistics, such as defense, resistance, damage, attack, etc. The only knock to this is there are certain abilities that work really well and all your characters may begin to deeply resemble each other. Abilities like archery, marksmanship, bard, leadership, vision and spell casting are all ones most heroes should probably have.

The magic in AOW is much like MOM. Magic is split up into the realms of fire, water, earth, air, life and death. If you are skilled in one, you can not practice it's opposite. However there are opportunities to buy spells not in your chosen realms. Spells are researched at the cost of casting mana and then they become available to the player or their magic using heroes. The effects are cool, but the spell selection is somewhat limited. Some of the spells do not have much use in the game. But that might very well depend on playing style too. Some spells are a must have, like chain lightening and ice shards. Well worth the one skill rank in water magic, but you sacrifice fire magic in the process.

The AI in AOW is weak, but with subsequent patches is better. That is the biggest flaw in AOW. It is tough to get the computer to even attack in a time of war, whether it is an enemy or an ally. Unfortunately this can lead to fairly easy victories over the computer in the over game strategies. The biggest advantage the AI has is that usually it has established kingdoms and armies, where as the player usually starts with a single city and few resources (money, mana).

The story line in AOW is good. Unlike MOM's random world generation, AOW has a set world with a series of linked scenarios. The game is played from two possible perspectives the "good" Keepers of the Faith who adhere to a policy of tolerance to the human invaders. Then there are is The Cult of Storms, whose dark minions seek to rid the continent of humanity. The plot is well scripted and there are enough variants to offer a few replays of the game. In addition to the campaign, there is a world-building tool. It is robust and entirely new scenarios or parts of an existing game world could be brought to life.

The game play is pretty standard turn based in both the strategic and combat screens. But in an interesting step towards real time, there is an option to have the game played in simultaneous mode, where all players move at the same time. That may not be for everyone, as timing becomes as important as tactics. One good feature for combat is the ability to have the battle automatic entirely by the computer, which saves time when fighting battles of little or no consequence. Of course the AI not very strong so sometimes it is needed to go into tactical control of a battle to ensure a hero or units survive. As well the battle can be turned over to the computer at any point or vice versa for a slightly faster manual battle. But if the automated battle is selected to be fought automatically you can only sit back and watch the results as the turns progress.

There are plenty of creatures and units in AOW. Each race has 12 units, though they may be similar or the same to other race's units (such as archers, battering rams or catapults). There are plenty of heroes and monsters to make the game challenging outside of the scenario's goals. Also the resource management is kept to a minimum in AOW. Cities simply have 3 upgrades to build (at a steep cost, BTW). With each upgrade comes newer, better and more expensive units. Once a city is safely in your domain you can either have it build units, upgrade defenses (walls) of simply churn out much needed cash for your campaign.

Age of Wonders is a solid game and there is no shame in calling it the "sequel" to Master of Magic. It has lush graphics, good game play and a decent replay value. It has something for every type of gamer and is well worth picking up.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Age of Wonders
Author: Epic Megagames / Triumph Studios Category: Software Company/Publisher: Gathering of Developers Line: Age of Wonders Cost: $45 Page count: n/a ISBN: 1-892817-18-7 SKU: N/A Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 04/23/00. Genre tags: Fantasy	Age of Wonders A few years back there was vaporware floating around about a sequel to the excellent game Master of Magic, by Microprose. So gamers waited. And waited. And waited more. Needless to say it never happened. So to play a good conquer the world fantasy game Master of Magic (MOM) was kept on PC's, running in the DOS window when the nostalgia become too much. Then last year something happened, Age of Wonders (AOW) was released. While it is not Master of Magic 2, it would be easy to speculate that it was highly influenced by that game. There are a few key differences however. The graphics have been upgraded and look very lush and the effect are well animated. The graphics settings are customizable to take advantage of good resolution (or adapt to a more outdated graphics card too). In other words it s a nice game to look at. One of the best things about AOW is that your character and the other heroes you gain along the way are customizable and get experience points to spend as their levels increase. Making this an even better option is that there are a great many different abilities to gain over time as well as increasing base statistics, such as defense, resistance, damage, attack, etc. The only knock to this is there are certain abilities that work really well and all your characters may begin to deeply resemble each other. Abilities like archery, marksmanship, bard, leadership, vision and spell casting are all ones most heroes should probably have. The magic in AOW is much like MOM. Magic is split up into the realms of fire, water, earth, air, life and death. If you are skilled in one, you can not practice it's opposite. However there are opportunities to buy spells not in your chosen realms. Spells are researched at the cost of casting mana and then they become available to the player or their magic using heroes. The effects are cool, but the spell selection is somewhat limited. Some of the spells do not have much use in the game. But that might very well depend on playing style too. Some spells are a must have, like chain lightening and ice shards. Well worth the one skill rank in water magic, but you sacrifice fire magic in the process. The AI in AOW is weak, but with subsequent patches is better. That is the biggest flaw in AOW. It is tough to get the computer to even attack in a time of war, whether it is an enemy or an ally. Unfortunately this can lead to fairly easy victories over the computer in the over game strategies. The biggest advantage the AI has is that usually it has established kingdoms and armies, where as the player usually starts with a single city and few resources (money, mana). The story line in AOW is good. Unlike MOM's random world generation, AOW has a set world with a series of linked scenarios. The game is played from two possible perspectives the "good" Keepers of the Faith who adhere to a policy of tolerance to the human invaders. Then there are is The Cult of Storms, whose dark minions seek to rid the continent of humanity. The plot is well scripted and there are enough variants to offer a few replays of the game. In addition to the campaign, there is a world-building tool. It is robust and entirely new scenarios or parts of an existing game world could be brought to life. The game play is pretty standard turn based in both the strategic and combat screens. But in an interesting step towards real time, there is an option to have the game played in simultaneous mode, where all players move at the same time. That may not be for everyone, as timing becomes as important as tactics. One good feature for combat is the ability to have the battle automatic entirely by the computer, which saves time when fighting battles of little or no consequence. Of course the AI not very strong so sometimes it is needed to go into tactical control of a battle to ensure a hero or units survive. As well the battle can be turned over to the computer at any point or vice versa for a slightly faster manual battle. But if the automated battle is selected to be fought automatically you can only sit back and watch the results as the turns progress. There are plenty of creatures and units in AOW. Each race has 12 units, though they may be similar or the same to other race's units (such as archers, battering rams or catapults). There are plenty of heroes and monsters to make the game challenging outside of the scenario's goals. Also the resource management is kept to a minimum in AOW. Cities simply have 3 upgrades to build (at a steep cost, BTW). With each upgrade comes newer, better and more expensive units. Once a city is safely in your domain you can either have it build units, upgrade defenses (walls) of simply churn out much needed cash for your campaign. Age of Wonders is a solid game and there is no shame in calling it the "sequel" to Master of Magic. It has lush graphics, good game play and a decent replay value. It has something for every type of gamer and is well worth picking up. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)