Age of Wonders 3

...on various 4x and grand strategy titles, I can safely call Age of Wonders as THE game. 1) The balance between warfare and kingdom management is perfect. 2) 95% of the game mechanics are clean and simple. 3) There is an in game encyclopedia with all kinds of info. Rules, lore, units and building explanations, everything. 4) Beautiful artwork and animations. 5) One of the best random map generating systems ever. 6) There is a subtle role-playing layer above the whole game that makes you care about your units and heroes, even on deciding on how to deal with the various independent towns. 7) The combat systems is clever, quick and deadly. It's perfect.

Be warned, this game comes with DRM. There is a game launcher which asks you to create an account with the company using a valid email (requires verification). Then you need to register the game, which is going to be a hassle (you need to find the serial number in a version of your game library which is only accessible via browser, which no one tells you about). You can play the game without an account, but your games will not be saved and you won't be able to save any settings, despite being able to click buttons. Enjoy playing at Low graphics at 1024x768 resolution. Also, without an account you can not access the DLC content you paid for. Without this, I would rate the game a 5/5. It's got an incredible aesthetic and a very solid gameplay. It's a true heir to the Heroes of Might and Magic series in all regards. Each faction is unique, interesting and enjoyable to play. The city building plays like Civilization, and it's not as fleshed out as it could be, but it suffices. There are fun spells to play with, a nice campaign and interesting in-map quests to follow. I always have a fun time playing it, and even after so long, I always return to it to get some more.

The graphics and interfaces of AoW3 are modern. The gameplay is a throwback to the old Master of Magic in a positive and negative sense. AoW3 stands out in unit design. You select an empire race and a class. The game allows any combination, such as a dwarf arch druid, a high elf rogue or a halfling necromancer. Each combination grants you a list of unique units out of hundreds of possibilities. Even better, each unit has at least 10 skills and traits and gains experience. Unit experience increases its overall strength and may even grant more skills. Research in AoW3 is neatly put together. Sorcerers gain spells through research, while a warlord gains strong bonuses to units. The gains feel balanced, and every class has sufficient options to feel powerful. Only the late game spells/skills are a bit overpowered. I never liked how in many (old) 4x games you are forced to keep building city structures, thereby postpone building units. AoW3 tries to focus on units, but fails short by not allowing units to be build simultaneous with buildings. The random maps generator only has a few options. There is no limiting of research/building types for a low-tier campaign, nor to set undergrounds in random maps. The map is filled with repetitive monsters and sites, and no surprises. The AI is overall very weak and predictable. AoW3 applies old 4x methods of bonuses to set strong AIs. AI produces fixed group compositions and you will never be outmaneuvered by an AI. However, the worst is the repetitive (boring) setup in tactical battles. Armies oppose each other in straight lines at fixed distance. The defender moves first. It would be far more interesting to see more variety, e.g. attacker moves first, units closed into a melee. The extensive unit skill system would fit a more “daring” approach to the classic tactical setup. I hope Triumph Studios can (finally) fix these (old) 4x issues in their next game Planetfall, but keep the unit variety and customizable leaders.

I could speak at length about this game but frankly I'd much rather be playing it. It has excellent production values, pleasing depth and a decent story. Plus that illusive 'just one more turn...' quality that brings back happy memories of pulling allnighters playing Civ 2. I don't play online, but the single player mode is fully functional without any DRM nonsense. It's great to see new games of this quality on GOG, hopefully more developers will follow.

The game currently allows you to select from one of six classes and six races, and choose specialties in up to three areas of magic (or be a novice in one and an expert in another), and then select from one of 6 races. The classes meld almost seamlessly with any race, and each are quite a bit more different than the races or magic tree selections, making this selection arguably more important than the rest, and you can choose from Class specialties like a Warlord specializing in combat and cavalry, to a Theocrat who specializes in holy damage (and holy wars), to the Dreadnought who specializes in melding machine with magic, who will send flame tanks, cannons, and pistol wielding cavalry against their foes. If it weren't for the classes, the game would be almost too balanced (as the races and magics seem to be), and lose its character, but in my humble opinion it manages well. And the game is fun. It has several game modes, and you can set up your own custom settings. Or you can play the campaign which seems engaging enough for most players. Multiplayer is available hotseat or across LAN, and you don't need an account to use it, or you can play online with an account. I have spent many hours with it and I am still enjoying setting up new scenarios. Overall, I would give the game 4 1/2 stars. But since I can't, I'll give it 5. In my opinion, it is worth buying if you have any interest in turn based strategy at all, which is the only rating that really matters.