I used to play AOW2 and AOW3 for years. I had no idea how awesome the original AOW was.
This game has been one of my favorites for years and years. The atmosphere, music, and unusual combat/world interaction system is enough in itself to make this game worth the venture. The game deserves a word about its combat system, which has a big learning curve but is very rewarding after a little practice. This game ties an intricate attack system with manual dodging, strafing, and parrying - it offers a lot of options and mobility within combat, but it never holds back its punches. You've got to be quick and vicious in order to kill your opponents. It really gets the adrenaline going and makes for a brutal, fast-paced, intense, and ultimately satisfying game. Unfortunately, it seems like this game was never really finished when it was released. It seems to be missing a few elements - weapons specifically, and as the game progresses and your character and enemies become more and more powerful, the balancing is thrown off as certain melee weapons become exceedingly powerful and the only ranged weapon, the "light bow" becomes increasingly useless. I'm sure there were more advanced types of bows that would have been implemented to make ranged combat possible in the late game, but for one reason or another they were left out. All in all, it's an excellent game and a very interesting combat system, but there a few balancing problems that get exacerbated in the late game and make it seem like an unfinished and unpolished product. Still, it's well worth checking out!
