I found the game quite pleasant and fun to play. The graphics still hold out well today and the game is a pleasure to look at. Gameplay is solid squad-tactics rts, a kind of opposite of Homeworld where one commands hundreds of units. You can customise your ships before a mission and the limited amount of ships plus them being named and invested in makes them care about you. Story and music are, as far as i was able to see pretty decent as they develop into a space opera. However, what made me uninstall the game out of rage and principle was the design of mission 13 - Sneaking. Unless one times their movement down to a millimeter you will fail as the designers had a very clear intention on how one was supposed to finish it. I found it such an antithesis to an otherwise fairly open-ended mission format that i uninstalled the game after restarting the mission a dozen or so times. If you can get past this then the game is worth trying out.
As a kid i used to play rts games almost exclusively. I did try a few turn-based games but they always struck me as boring or too complicated. However Age of Wonders struck me as different. it had interesting graphics, beautiful music and intuitive gameplay. For a long time it was the only turn-based strategy that i could and wanted to play. I can say with certainty that although almost 20 years old, AoW still holds that charming and fun aroma that makes it worth having. Here is a shot analysis of key game elements: Gameplay - Overall a standard turn-based system, you research and produce units in your cities and towns via gold, form them into stacks and march them off to new conquests. Your empire doesn't need micromanagement, and what little of it is there is fairly easy and quick. Your playing area is divided into a world map with up to three layers (overland, underground and depths) peppered with various independent sites and creatures. In combat, there is the option of manual combat (fighting on a special tactical map with direct unit commanding) or a quick auto-resolve. There is also a rpg element as your hero levels up and can gain new spells and equipment from wizard towers and ancient ruins/dungeons respectively. Story - The story is a fairly nice if straightforward one. Long ago, elven king Inioch maintained the balance between good and evil races, but one day humans came after being banished and slew Inioch and his court. You take the role of one of his two surviving children - Julia, head of The Keepers, and Meandor, leader of the Cult of Storms. There are multiple endings based on your ally choice, which adds a nice variety to the story's conclusion. Music - The soundtrack is truly endearing and provides an excellent epic backdrop and ''feel'' to the game, a true fantasy music. Miscellaneous - The player should keep their hero safe, as his or her death means game over no matter what. In conclusion, you won't regret buying this game.
