Age of Wonders

even if a little dated. I had to install AoW_MapViewer.ShowScene_patch to get rid of crashes.

One of my all time favourite turn based strategy games. Over hundre different units. Four spell schools with for summoning characters, buffing toons or altering map. The relations between factions and politics gives it another layer.

The game is simply magnificent. Some people say the graphics are outdated but i simply adore the artstyle and i think it aged very well. The world is colourful and full of "life", it really makes You feel like a part of a real fantasy world of old. The music immerse You even more and it is easy to just play and think of nothing else. Truly one of the best game expiriences i ever had, no over the top exposition, just great gameplay and magnificent little world to fall in love with.

Sure, there's a popular sequel to AoW and even more popular third AoW with pretty graphics and stuff. But these games are missing the spectacular atmosphere of first Age of Wonders. Excellent storyline with variety of choices, fun gameplay and most importantly the mysterious aura of a reality the player sinks into. There are few games that possess this particular quality and while dated, this game is really worth time put into.

Ive played so many games that most blur together and are forgotten but there are several that stand out in my mind an that I keep going back to. AoW is one of my tope 5 games of all time and I have played it beginning to end five or six times now. This was release around the same time that Starcraft was really in its prime so a lot of games were over shadowed but never the less this game stood out. Not only is it beautiful for its time (still is) but the variety diversity of the available magic and minions really puts this one above the other games of its kind during the time. And one of the best parts is that there is no race that I dont like. All races have their fun units (ie the halfling rogue, elf centaur, etc) they all have something that can give you an edge and that makes it both balanced and exciting at the same time. And with two similar yet distinct campaigns it keeps me coming back for me. Maybe play a different type of hero with a different race, etc. I vote this as a must have for any turn based game fan. And I love GOG.com for supplying this and its successors!