Good Old Games - Age of Wonders 2 Released

GoG has released Age of Wonders 2. If you enjoyed Age of Wonders or are a fan of turn-based, fantasy-themed strategy games then this game is for you. Here is the overview:

Overview:
Age of Wonders II is the wildly anticipated sequel to the award-winning strategy phenomenon. Delivering an invigorating mix of Empire Building, Role-playing, and Warfare, Age of Wonders II brings turn-based strategy to new heights.
Awakened to join an immortal group of Wizards in the Circle of Evermore, you must restore balance to a world on the brink of collapse.
* Dictate the fate of the world from within your Wizard's Tower, a transmitter of power used to channel your ground-shaking spells.
* Reign supreme over one of 12 distinct and races such as Elves, Frostlings, Draconians, Dwarves, Halflings, Humans, and even the Undead.
* Specialize in 7 spheres of magic including Air, Fire, Life and Death.
* Enlist the aid of more than 30 loyal champion heroes who possess the unique ability to wield over 100 mighty artifacts.
* Research and cast powerful enchantments, fierce combat magic, and world altering spells.
* Confront rivals in Multiplayer via a LAN or over the Internet for up to 8 players - options include Play by Email, Hot Seat, and the exciting Simultaneous-Turn System allowing all players to move at the same time!

More information.

Age of Wonders Heaven has tournaments and a lot of resources for anyone interested in AOW games.

Edit: Forgot to link Age of Wonders II Heaven.

I recently replayed the whole series. It's still lots of fun, highly recommended!

Originally Posted by Maylander
I recently replayed the whole series. It's still lots of fun, highly recommended!

I don't own any of them … any recommendations for a starting point?

I tried playing the original Age of Wonders, and it just seemed like the HOMM and Disciples games were so much better and worthy of my time.

I keep hearing that AOW2 is way better than the original, and the next game/expansion ( think it's Shadow Magic) is even more improved.

Id be curious to know what do the AoW veterans have to say about it.

Well, I prefer starting with the original due to the story, but starting with AoW2 is not a huge problem. In terms of gameplay it's certainly a lot smoother. I wouldn't start with Shadow Magic even though it has the best gameplay - AoW2 is so similar, but with a story that leads up to Shadow Magic, it would be a shame to miss it. Also, Shadow Magic is harder.

AOW : SM has a tutorial. The others don't.

However, the first few missions are relatively easy, imho.

AOW 1 is a bit different from the series, because it is made so that you could think it would be Middlearth. Not perfect, but almost. Plus, it has more RPG elements than the other ones, because you can really give the hero skill points.

There should be demos on the official site so that everyone can try them out.

Demo of AOW 1 : http://www.triumphstudios.com/ageofw…/download.html
Direct link to the demo of AOW 2 : ftp://ftp.take2.de/demos/AoW2FinalDemo.exe
I cannot find a demo to AOW : SW, though.

Originally Posted by xSamhainx
I tried playing the original Age of Wonders, and it just seemed like the HOMM and Disciples games were so much better and worthy of my time.

I keep hearing that AOW2 is way better than the original, and the next game/expansion ( think it's Shadow Magic) is even more improved.

Id be curious to know what do the AoW veterans have to say about it.

Shadow Magic is the best out of the bunch, but AOW 2 is also very good.

There are AOW purist out there who didn't care for the changes made in AOW2. I'm not one of them. I loved it.


Just RPG's review of Shadow Magic.

The one I replay the most is AOW Shadow Magic and IMO it beats the pants of HOMM. Homm has tons of units. In that I mean you keep recruiting the same units over and over again to make them more effective. AOW focuses on quality over quantity of units.

Don't get me wrong, I love Homm games. AOW just gets rid of the "horde" and replaces it with specialized units. Plus you can attack from multiple directions and be attacked as well

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
AOW : SM has a tutorial. The others don't.

Hey, I just started playing AOW 1 this week, and the first thing I did was play its tutorial scenario.

Originally Posted by skavenhorde
Just RPG's Review AOW 2.

Just RPG's review of Shadow Magic.

Those both link to Shadow Magic…

Everyone above has a better-informed opinion than mine. I've only played Shadow Magic, but I dig it. The tutorial is quite good. Story aside, I had no problems understanding the mechanics of the game after playing the tutorial. The randomly generated games, a la Civilization, are the draw for me anyway.

Thanks Thrasher. Good thing I didn't do that in the actual news post

Just RPG's Age of Wonders Review

Actiontrip's Age of Wonders II review

i thought the randomly generated maps for Master of Magic and Master of Orion were pretty fun. I like the IDEA of a story based campaign in AoW 1, and it taking me through the use of different races I may not try out on my own. But I hated the second mission, because it had a timed deadline forcing you to forgo exploration. Why do they do that shit? grrrrrr.

I like the art and hero leveling of AoWI best of the series.
I like the re-playability of SM best of the series.
You really can't go wrong with any of the 3.

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Hey, I just started playing AOW 1 this week, and the first thing I did was play its tutorial scenario.

Yes, but AOW: SM has real pointing arrows in it.

I'll wait until they get AoW 2 Shadow magic and make a special package with the whole enchilada discounted

You can get all three in one package, with soundtrack music at ImpulseDriven for $19.99

http://www.impulsedriven.com/aowmusic

Don't know about manuals, though. I wouldn't come near these games without their manuals.