Age of Wonder

[Jed]

I'm still fairly n00bish when it comes to strategy games, so I'm wondering, first, if Shadow Magic is generally considered to be the best of the three AoW games, and, second, is AoW the best of a specific genre? Does it even belong to a specific genre (beyond TBS)? It seems closest to Civ and the like, but the hero and party aspect makes it very differnet (at least to me)...

 

[Whipporowill]

AoW is one of those games I wished I never played, so I was free to play it again... mm. Never played the first one - due to finding it a year to late or so, and my buddy wouldn't lend me his copy. 2nd game is a bit more linear when it comes to what kind of schools of magic you use - as there's like several mini campaigns. I liked Shadow Magic better in that regard - one arching storyline.

 

[Necropennis]

The AoW series are incredible. I remember when I playered the *bugged* demo of the first one. I was totally blown away and played that thing for days because I couldn't find the game to buy.

Pity I never got to play Shadow Magic for more than a couple of minutes.

edit: Aow is a TBS, I guess.. Now, if it is the best in its genre, I don't know...theres Heroes 3 too :O

 

[Psilon]

It's essentially the modern version of Master of Magic. Lighter on the city management, though, and with less of an emphasis on summoned units.

 

[Sheriff05]

Jed, Just go with Shadow Magic it's "the one" as it's continuely improved on the game since its inception. The first is slightly different in the hero management department, so once you master SM go back and play the first one. If you ever want to play online email me, It's great online it's just that the games do take a very long time, multiple sessions.

 

[Jed]

Hey, Sheriff! Long time no see. Where've you been? I'll look into picking up AoW:SM then--thanks for the recommendation. Also, I'll definitely PBEM wit'chu once I've got the game...

 

[RuySan]

The 2nd one and Shadow Magic are pretty good. The first one is so-so.

I still prefer the HoMM series though

 

[Sol Invictus]

I liked the first one more than I liked the second one but it was probably because of the pixel art graphics, more than anything else. The second one lacked any RPG feel to it and the campaign wasn't overarching like that of the first game.

Shadow Magic brought the feel of the first one back into the series, however - and the addition of the spirit world or whatever it was called was reminescent of Myrran in Master of Magic.

 

[Ryuken]

The AoW series are incredible. I remember when I playered the *bugged* demo of the first one. I was totally blown away and played that thing for days because I couldn't find the game to buy.

Had such an experience too. I skipped the second game but Shadow Magic and the original Age of Wonders are pretty decent yeah. Never understood why anyone would prefer Heroes of Might & Magic 3 or even Warlords 3 (HoMM 4 and Warlords 4 were simply put both a letdown) after that besides nostalgia but to each his own of course.

If you want something similar to AoW try out series like HoMM, Warlords and Disciples. The latter is a case of loving the art or not.

 

[Jed]

Damn. Neither EB, Best Buy, or CompUSA list the game on their websites. Any idea where to pick AoW:SM up?

 

[Naked_Lunch]

Amazon? eBay? GoGamer?

 

[Jed]

I found it for $24.95 on Chips & Bits. Anyone ever order from them?

 

[Atrokkus]

A fun game for just looking at it for awhile, do a couple of skirmishes and stop, uninstall. The game just failed to keep my playing it for more. It had no fast dynamics taht any real RTS *MUST* have, otherwise it's not RTS anymore.

RTS genre, almost as RPG, is undergoing some serious degradation. It loses the challenge, the professionaliism. That's why still there are NO successors to StarCraft's and Warcraft3's thrones.

 

[Jed]

Um. Last I checked, AoW is a TBS, not a RTS.

 

[Sheriff05]

Hey, Sheriff! Long time no see. Where've you been? I'll look into picking up AoW:SM then--thanks for the recommendation. Also, I'll definitely PBEM wit'chu once I've got the game...

Hey Jed, I've still been around mainly lurking. While I have still thoroughly enjoyed reading Volourn's mental breakdown, The normal melodrama around here has gotten a bit tired.
My work schedules been a bit heavy these days but once a few of the new epic steaming piles of shit get released, Oblivion, Bio's new fodder. The D&D MMORPG, etc I'm sure I'll have lots to talk about. Looking forward to VD's game as well.

As for AoW, it's one of those games, that's "the way they used to make em" back before the whole industry took a shit. Multiplayer is a blast even Play by email is cool for those marathon games. So definitley email me once/ when you get into it. I talked about it with Whip once too, It be great if a bunch of us cynics around here got together to play something cool.

 

[Sheriff05]

A fun game for just looking at it for awhile, do a couple of skirmishes and stop, uninstall. The game just failed to keep my playing it for more. It had no fast dynamics taht any real RTS *MUST* have, otherwise it's not RTS anymore.

RTS genre, almost as RPG, is undergoing some serious degradation. It loses the challenge, the professionaliism. That's why still there are NO successors to StarCraft's and Warcraft3's thrones.

You know there was a famous Russian who once said "When approaching the unknown, it's always prudent to have your friend stick his dick in the hole in the wall first, or at the very least pour Vodka on yours" Translates something like that, ring any bells?

Anyway, you're confusing this with something else, it's TBS, you don't skirmish and
it's the polar opposite of Blizzards RTS's games, etc, etc, etc.

 

[Atrokkus]

Wait, isn't it Age of...... oh for fuck's sake, there are so many "Ages" now. I confused it with "Age of Mythology". All my flame is offtopic then, addresing Age of Mythology ^_^

 

[Crnobog]

Amen to what everyone said about AoW. Get Shadow Magic, it has better campaign and more stuff (random map generator) than AoW II and if you like it, you might want to try AoW I.

 

[Whipporowill]

I talked about it with Whip once too, It be great if a bunch of us cynics around here got together to play something cool.

I'm a bit busy these days, but drop me a line if you guys get a game started and I'll see if I can scrounge up some time for it.

 

[RuySan]

I liked the first one more than I liked the second one but it was probably because of the pixel art graphics, more than anything else. The second one lacked any RPG feel to it and the campaign wasn't overarching like that of the first game.

Shadow Magic brought the feel of the first one back into the series, however - and the addition of the spirit world or whatever it was called was reminescent of Myrran in Master of Magic.

i also liked more the campaign strutucture of the 1st game, but some gameplay stuff was annoying, like having to have battering rams to breach walls. Yes, it's realistic, but made your troops very slow. The battles were much better in the 2nd one