Age of Wonders 3 Deluxe Edition

While this game remains faithful to the play style of the prior games (3 of my favorite games ever), it just isn't quite as good as them. There are too many little things removed or "streamlined" that the whole game feels a little less interesting on the whole. I personally prefer the graphics of the prior 2 games (beautiful 2D), but this one looks nice enough. The music is good, but I found myself only really enjoying the new versions of the old songs. The new stuff was a little too dramatic in general. That all said, the game is still good fantasy TBS fun and I did play through the campaign within 2 weeks of the games release. If you prefer modern games this is a good bet. If you prefer older stuff, the older games in the series are better. If you played the others to death like I have and wan't to know if this is worth it, I would say yes, as long as you are OK with a slightly watered down experience. Finally, there is no DRM in the game. You have to register if you want to use the online servers to play the game mulitplayer. I don't play online multiplayer and never had to register. If you want to play multiplayer, but you refuse to register your product to do so, don't bother with this. Registration consists of entering your product Key and an email from what I can tell. Offline it works just like every other GOG game and as usual for the series includes hotseat mode.

GAMEPLAY Expect 3D perspective instead of isometric with similar gameplay to previous incarnations. Alright for multiplayer, weak AI. Nonetheless: enjoyable TBS. ON-LINE ACCESS KEY FOR MULTIPLAYER SERVICES Reason given by publisher: "We are running our own servers for online features. This makes it possible - for example - to have both Steam and GoG players play together. It will also allow us to expand our online features in the future." One reviewer commented that an on-line access key is a way to make sure "some people actually pay for it". This game is NOT offered for FREE on GoG. Customers ARE PAYING for the game, in PARTICULAR for "DRM-FREE CONTENT". Requiring an on-line access key to access a specific aspect of the gameplay is arguably a deliberate means of enforcing control by dependency and from that perspective not entirely DRM-free. Yes, it can be circumvented by using VPN solutions IF a game has a play over LAN option that works. Yes, you can still play the game off-line. Yes, you can get that access key. My concern is not just DRM. Once a game loses popularity its servers receive less maintenance or disappear. There are plenty of games which relied on Game Spy or on publisher's servers, like SWAT3 or No One Lives Forecer 2, where there were takeovers or bankruptcy scenarios so you end up only being able to play a game single-player. EXAMPLE: Civ4. Supports up to 40 players in multiplayer, has LAN multiplayer, but needs GameSpy. GoG version will only work with TWO (host and one guest) over LAN due to a bug. GoG can't fix that and 2K Games won't, because their main revenue is from Steam. Got it there? No problem: it is patched for that platform, replacing GameSpy, BUT you need a Steam account which is in itself a form of an on-line access key. Forces me to now get it on Steam as well. What happens when Steam is gone like GameSpy? Or the game's publisher? Or there is no internet access? That is why I choose GoG over other platforms.

The game is one of the better turn-based strategy games out there. Fans have been waiting a long time for this game and it does not disappoint. I'm sorry to see GoG members give the game 1 star reviews, just because its online function requires a key. You can just use Hamachi or another service to avoid the key. This way they can offer the game on GoG while still making sure that some people actually pay for it. Otherwise it could possibly only end up as a top torrent somewhere.

Several months passed since the launch of AoW3. Several updates were implemented, many gameplay issues and bugs were addressed and fixed. The game is pretty solid combat oriented turn based strategy. Combat will accompany the player from his first to his last turn. So if you don't like such games - you might skip this. However, if you enjoy tactical combats - this will be your game. The strategy level is more deep than it may initially seem, as it is with many similar games. Wars are won on the strategic map, battles on the tactical one. When you play vs players or high level AI, every turn is a weighted decision - where to spend your resources - not only gold and mana, but where should you send your armies, what should you research - go for a more versatile spell or a specialized situational, yet high reward one. Will you risk taking the Quarry - as it will give you production and some rewards, but you might lose your already wounded archers. This is a game of methodical and rational thinking. Every action bring its own weight - mistakes can be amended, but make many and you might go past the recoverable state. Stale for a while and see how the AI slowly overwhelms you without mercy. My only criticism of this game is that, as similar games, you need to really dive in to see the depth of it. Otherwise you may enjoy it but never feel it's true strength - which is - making you think. This is it's greatest appeal and it's greatest weakness. If you play it like just methodically pumping some units and sending them out - then you will find it rather boring. If you consider the factors of each game session - map; skills; cities; spells; resources and etc. - you will enjoy every moment. I am yet to see such meta in other tbs. It's not a game for every one. Triumph Studious are supporting this game to an extend I've rarely seen in the industry. They actively listen to feedback, have adapted an iterative approach to updates and do their work right.