Age of Wonders 3 Deluxe Edition

Let me begin by saying if you buy this for multilayer you'll be fine. But if you're like me and you cant always convince people to invest in $45 games that can last most of a weekend for one campaign(and aren't as well known as say the Civ series) chances are you'll be playing with the AI a lot, Unfortunately this is baby's first AI program and it has ESP, increased production, increased research, increased city growth. And the ESP is the real kicker here. The AI will attack Cities they can't see, Cities they have never seen and yet they know EXACTLY what is in there and EXACTLY what to send to win the battle. It's great, its really really great because it turns this from strategy to whack-a-mole. Because I can't bluff the AI, or pull troops that are normally defending cities, or use camouflage(because it doesn't work against the ai) or else they'll just swoop in with exactly the right number of cavalry to take the city and then roll in with a larger slower force to occupy it. Or they'll decide to tortuosly move an entire stack of units one by one in my line of sight so I have to watch the animation six times in a row. My biggest problem with this game is I'm just trying to learn it and I can't bring myself to because of all this cheapness, its no fun playing a game where the entire thing is rigged from the start in such a blatant way. I want to like it, I can see a fun game in there somewhere, a game that could easily be a true successor to Master of Magic but until the AI at least pretends to play fair(at normal difficulty) I don't want to touch it.

The game is OK. The score that comes with deluxe edition has basically the same tracks you already know and love only better quality with modern sound banks and virtual instruments. I personally like this more than the old MIDI version. It's up to you to decide how valueble the music is for you. Just be aware that you can't play the game offline. Not even the so called "offline version". You can download the sountrack regardless and listen to it with your favourite media player whenever you like.

About ten years later, this game is a faithful continuation of its predecessors, not much more or less. There are some substantial core mechanics changes that will please some and displease others. Hero units are more nuanced and balanced than ever, though. The graphics are 3D, modern, and blingy. Unfortunately, they're a bit squinty and it takes some camera manipulation to find just the right scale where you can see the big picture without units looking like ants. The clarity and economy of sprites is something I miss, but the simple decision could have been made to make each unit be represented as one soldier instead of several would have helped. The fact that damage output is *not* changed after health is lost and "soldiers" in a "unit" die basically is there way of saying that yes, it's essentially just one unit for all intents and purposes, but we're going to make the game "epic" by making the game squinty to play. If you can get over that, there is probably a great multiplayer experience to be had, if you can find a good skill match. Unfortunately, the AI is frozen in 2004, and the campaign communicates with the player badly. You might be roleplaying as a hippie tree hugger based on the lore, but literally the *only* way to advance the campaign past a given map will be to goad your neighbor into a war. Earlier games at least told you who your enemies were up front. Otherwise the AI here is comparable to that from AOW1, 2, and SM in just about every way, and it's a pity. I would have paid $40 for an AI patch for AOW1, since a dumb AI that makes up for it by cheating (at higher difficulty levels) makes for a lopsided and frustrating experience. Veteran players will eventually find that the game is too easy when it's fair, but requires some wacky AI behavior exploits to win when it's not fair. + A legitimate AoW offering - Squinty battles in all but carefully-chosen camera settings - Needs better AI + Game mechanics changes are more or less good IMO

I have played the main campaign, and I like it, but it is challenging. I don't like it when they are too easy, but I have had to retry almost every mission multiple times to beat it. The flaw is that it is kind of a nuclear arms race. You have to get to the biggest units the quickest or you lose. The basic units are almost useless after the first few turns. Also, the rules that EVERY hero must survive means that you can't lose any fights in which they take part in. Plus, limiting an army to 6 units contribute to the uselessness of basic units. If you could throw hordes of them at your enemy, then it might even out. This is something that every version of this game has done though, so if you have played the previous games, you know that it kind of works out that way. The good things about the game is that the visuals are incredible. I love playing out the battles just to watch them. The game is strangely addictive, and even though you lose a lot, you want to go back and try again. I also like the fact that there are random games available which keeps the replayability there. I have loved this whole series of games since I found it. I have wanted a good successor to Lords Of Magic, and this has been it. It may not be a perfect game, but it is a good one!

The game itself is pretty good. There was only one thing I (my own mistake) didn't recognize: The deluxe edition does not contain the dlcs. Now I have to wait for sales etc. to get them. I hope there won't be a GOTY (^^).