Age of Wonders III - Initial Thoughts

About the Game (From the Steam Store Page)

Age of Wonders III is the long anticipated sequel to the award-winning strategy series. Delivering a unique mix of Empire Building, Role Playing and Warfare, Age of Wonders III offers the ultimate in turn-based fantasy strategy for veterans of the series and new players alike!

Create an Empire in your own Image

• Rule as one of 6 RPG style leader classes: Sorcerer, Theocrat, Rogue, Warlord, Archdruid, or the tech-focused Dreadnought.
• Research powerful skills unique to your class to develop your empire and arsenal.
• Choose your allies from among the six main races - Humans, High Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins and Draconians - and fantastical monster dwellings.

Explore and Exploit a Living Fantasy World

• Explore a rich fantasy world that is more detailed and alive than ever with over 50 location types to raid for treasure.
• Expand your domain by building new settlements, forge pacts with monstrous allies and capture valuable resources.
• Wield earth shattering magic and terra-form the lands for your needs.

Fight In-depth Tactical Battles

• Recruit legendary heroes, equip them with magical weapons, and let them lead your armies into battle.
• Crush your enemies using the detailed 3D turn-based Tactical Combat System.
• Become a master tactician. Crush city defenses. Learn to use flanking and master your army’s hundreds of abilities.

Master Age of Wonders III’s many Modes!

• Immerse yourself in a rich single player story campaign, playable from two sides of an epic conflict.
• Create endless scenarios using the random map generator.
• Compete in multiplayer wars with up to 8 players online.

Previous Playtime

51 minutes

What Was I Thinking When I Bought This

This is a game I bought because I was under a complete misapprehension about what sort of game it was. I thought it was a fantasy 4X, like Fallen Enchantress. It was well reviewed and the screenshots looked pretty cool. To be fair to Age of Wonders III, though, it's not as if I was deceived. I just didn't pay enough attention. Back then, I had a lot of disposable income and I went shopping whenever I felt down emotionally (a habit I'm still trying to break). Seeing a newish strategy game on deep discount just short-circuited my judgement.

Expectations and Prior Experience

So far, I have not enjoyed the Age of Wonders series. If the pattern holds, I will not enjoy this one either. However, I have reason to be hopeful, or, at least, cautiously resigned. The main thing I disliked about the earlier games in the series was their terrible UI. It was too easy to move units by accident, and there was no automatic cycling between units without orders. It so distressed me that I played the Age of Wonders III tutorial just to confirm that it had been updated with modern quality-of-life features. I am heartened by the fact that it seemed acceptable.

Of course, the other thing I disliked about the Age of Wonders series - its primary focus on military conquest and long, drawn out wars of attrition - is by all accounts still intact in this installment. So it's likely that I won't be happy, but it's all right. I've got my sights set low here. I'll be content so long as the game is tolerable.