If you have happened to read my reviews, you will notice how much I preach on about the importance of polish and presentation. They are two important aspects of a game which are often overlooked, and the result is usually a bad title. If there was a title out there as an example of good presentation and respectable polish, I would probably have to give the award to Age of Wonders. This fantasy turn-based title manages to present some beautifully simple two dimensional graphics, good story, and some pretty solid gameplay.
The story is presented to the player in a well-animated sequence at the very beginning. Accompanied by some pretty good voice acting, the story unfolds. The tale of a kingdom is told, this kingdom soon falls under the forces of the humans. Two factions of the original kingdom's forces are created. One seeks revenge for the horrors the humans have brought upon them. The second faction desires the exact opposite, and feels their first encounter with the humans can be corrected by a second encounter, which might go more smoothly.
At the beginning the player is allowed to choose which faction to belong to. Each faction has a different mix of forces, as well as a different set of ideals. The forces of good are comprised mostly of elves and halflings during the first levels of the title, while goblins make up the forces of bad. During each mission neutral towns along the way can be either bought, or accepted into your expanding forces.
Both factions are in a race for the ruins of the old kingdom, each with their own agendas. Each force is led by a "Hero" unit, which is player. This unit it especially strong and has the ability to gather spells and abilities for use in or out of battle. At the beginning of the title you can create the race, and some of the stats of this unit. While this is your main unit, you can still control all forces in your army.
Towns captured/joined during the game have the ability to create trade goods as well as forces to continue the advance. Some towns that are captured will not fall into order so easily. If a town is in a state of unrest even after it is captured it has the ability to rebel and become a problem once more. The ability to enhance towns' defenses can be used to either increase popularity within a town, or simply fortify it.
On most of the maps a lot of other structures are scattered about. The most useful structure/area in the game seems to be the healing springs, which not only heal all units, but cast a protection spell on them. Additional magic power is supplied to the players forces by captured Power Nodes. If the time is not available to properly research spells needed, a visit can be paid to a Wizards' Tower. Each tower has a different spell available for purchase, once bought the player learns this spell.
The spell-learning system is based on the passage of time with the passing of each turn. Once a spell is learned it can be used with the correct amount of turn points. Along with the usual barrage of impressive looking offensive spells, there are many defensive spells that can even be used in and out of battle. One spell allows the caster to protect a town on the map from magic. The ability to case defensive spells while outside of battle is especially useful in protecting the spoils of war from the enemy.
The battle system is unfortunately hampered by some weak enemy artificial intelligence. The computer rarely uses their strong "Hero" unit, and the forces they do throw at the player are usually relatively small. This factor makes a lot of the battles seem rather mundane. Age of Wonders does allow the player to set the battles to auto, and watch as the statistics go to work. This ends up being faster, and the AI seems to do a pretty good job handling everything. Although the bulk of the battles seem tedious, the more involved player control mode is not only more visually pleasing, but it allows you to use the spells you have learned, as well as try new units out.
The biggest challenge is actually not the enemy AI, but completing missions within the set amount of turns. Last mission I played I was thwarted by my own goofing off more than anything else. Believe it or not the challenge of completing everything within a set about of turns levels off the challenge that the enemy AI seems to fail to provide.
All control in Age of Wonders is done by point and click commands. The menus are very easy to navigate since the whole look of everything in the title has been completely standardized. A tutorial is also included to teach the player how everything operates, from the simple combat commands, to the many options that can be found in a town.
Age of Wonders looks fantastic, the game controls extremely well, and the story's presentation is really well done. Yet with all this polish in presentation the games' AI seems to lack most of the bite to back up its bark. Most battles seem tedious more than challenging, but again, this is crudely compensated for by the turn limit set upon the player. The challenge is certainly there, but it seems to be coming from the wrong places.
-- Ryan Thompson
