A little premise: I've been a fan of the Age of Wonders series since the first game; I loved the Tolkien-esque and dark themes, the battle mechanics, the story, characters, music, and aesthetics; it really felt like entering a storybook! That being said: I really appreciate the updates that have been made in the series; while I still prefer the dark tone and music from the original game, there have been massive improvements and updates in battle mechanics (percentage and damage calculation being one of them), graphics, role-playing elements, and more! The best update for Age of Wonders 3, in my opinion, has been letting go of bioessential elements (i.e. your chosen race does not predetermine your moral alignment) from its predecessors, giving you more nuanced ethical choices and influencing the game mechanics as a consequence of that; I've played so many more hours by exploring that feature, and hope to see an Age of Wonders 4 in the future!
