Ok I'm very tempted buy this small set and I read some old reviews for AoW and AoW 2 which said they were pretty good. I'd share them but they are from old magazines. Ah what the hell I'll share the first review from the Australian PC Authority Magazine, it is from June 2000 so I doubt the copyright police will hound me.

Now for my pay to get into my bank account, here in Australia the bank I use had a processing glitch that is lasting days so my pay is yet to appear and so far all the debits from my accounts have occurred but none of the credits which doesn't look pretty when you look at my bank balance so I'll have to hope they sort it out before this deal finishes.

I'm here to complain because I have nothing to complain about.

Excellent GOG!

I'm weak.. I bought the entire thing.
Please go back to gigantic packs, at least I'm able to resist those.

They are inspired by MoM in many ways but they are quite different.

Either get Age of Wonders or Age of Wonders - Shadow Magic. (AoW Shadow Magic is an improved version of AoW 2)
Both games are great, my personal favourite is the first. Many people think the first is best end even more prefer the third. There are many differences between them.
The artwork in AoW 1 is of a lower resolution than in AoW: SM but I still think it is best in the first. If you have the time look at some videos for both games and see which one that appeals to you the most. You can't choose wrong anyway.


The AoW series is not a fantasy Civ since the main focus is on war (on a strategic and tactical level) and exploration\exploitation. City management is basic in AoW 1 and a little more involved in AoW 2\SM. There are many different things to manage like magic research, heroes levelling up, upkeep for your army, the movement of your troops (they can move on their own, they are not confined by heroes like in HoMM), control over the important resources on the map, racial realtions, diplomacy and more.
It has many similarities too HoMM too but it is a much deeper game.

Different from all those. The battle takes place on hexagonal map that is representative of its location on the strategic map. Each unit is represented and can act individually (they are not stacked on the battle map, so that suggests that each unit represent x number of soldiers.) The battles can get quite large and epic. Up to 56 units, though there seldom is more than 48 involved. The sieges are great with walls that must be torn down (some units have other ways to pass the though) and many tactical opportunities for both the defenders and attackers.
In AoW 1 you need battering rams, catapults or some special units that are allied with certain factions like Giants that throw boulders to bring down the walls. In AoW 2\SM any unit an do it.

Most of the units have many passive and active abilities that can be used in battle.

In AoW 1 there is one overworld and two different underworld planes. In AoW 2 One overworld and one underworld. In AoW: SM there are One overworld, one underworld and one shadowworld (different dimension).

Only in AoW 1. They are great though.

I swear people are trying to empty my bank account...

First steam, now GOG.com.

Just ok? This is big stuff!
The Age of Wonders series is the most deep and immersive computer strategy games made in a fantasy setting.
The world where the games takes place is not a crappy generic fantasy setting like Fantasy Wars or most of the stuff that is made today.
Through unit descriptions, portraits, the story and backgrounds of the races in the manual and the story in the campaign you get a very interesting world fleshed out.
Just playing a couple of scenarios will give you this experience.

And the battles! Epic is a word often used and abused, but battles can be really epic in this game. Especially the sieges. Though the combat music is good I often find myself putting on some Basil Poledouris - Conan the Barbarian\Conan the Destroyer\Flesh & Blood, Hanz Zimmer - The Gladiator or Summoning for some of the battles.

All this applies especially to the first Age of Wonders game

And so many possibilities!

No! The cake is a lie!

LIAR!!!1!!1

I REFUSE to believe that the cake is a lie!

OK GOG, you win again.
3 more games bought! :)

The day after I buy age of wonders shadow magic....

No wonder....after all, the appendix IS a useless organ. ;)

Someone persuade me not to get this! I'm supposed to be saving money... but it's such good value. Damn.

Um.....consumerism is the root of all evils, and will lead you down the path to the dark side?

How bout that?

The third one is the best and thus should be the only one you should get. I don't feel 30% off is good enough, it should be 50% off so you shouldn't get it based off that notion.