Age of Wonders III
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.
Game Discussion
Steam User 50
Well to fair. I have not played this game too much.
The game holds up and is fun to play. I think most mechanics and in the game starts to makes sense when you get into the tactical game and the strategic decisions you make around your cities. It can take time so don't quite after 1000 hours.
All things considered the only downside is the 32 bit engine. It's hampers the memory of many games. The workshop is what keeps this game alive with the great community and still some developers sneaking around observing from the shadows to provide support.
However is it still worth playing today?
Well...with Age of Wonders 4 around the corner it may still be worth trying from a story perspective or comparison. I played Age of Wonders Planetfall and I returned to Aow3 since it was the superior game in all aspects.
Since it's a game from 2014:
* Graphics may be rough
* Campaign is challenging if you turtle
* Cheese is always an option
* It's not Civilization
* It's not Heroes of Might magic 3
* Flying units can be hit with melee
* Stacks are only 6
* Expansions improve game in every way
* Community expansions also improve
* Game rarely crashes
* Borderless will burn up your cpu
* XL maps eats memory
* Simultaneous turns also eats memory
* Story may look cheesy
* Multiplayer and pbem is alive online
* Hotseat! <1995!!!
If you can cope with the list above you're fine.
Steam User 23
Easily one of the best 4X games ever made although it does have some annoying quirks, massively OP strategies and occasional clunky interface and mechanics.
However, it is a wonderful example of asymmetric game design where you play your strengths and counteract your weaknesses. It also has distinct race/culture/magic combinations that force you to branch away from turtle / rush styles. Another wonderful element is that you can go from doing really well to an actual crushing defeat in a few turns if you over extend or try a risky attack without protecting your capital. It also has make or break battles that will test your tactical ability that can ultimately turn the tide of an entire game.
On the downside, the AI is a tad weak so cranking up the difficult will be a must although this just stacks up economic bonuses for the AI players rather than better play. The end game can also become a grind so just quit when you absolutely know that you have won (you will know!) and try another combination.
The combinations of race, cultures, magic are pretty varied. And replay-ability is further enhanced by the efforts of the modding community that have made this game stand out from a similar pack. For all its faults, it is still a must play for any fan of the genre in a similar vain to Master of Magic series or HoMM. It is showing its age in terms of visuals but great sound track and it is generally pretty stable.
One major annoyance is that most mods require the DLC so this decade old game ends up pretty pricey... Of course Triumph need to to earn a crust so maybe check it out at the next inevitable Steam sale......
And one final tip... there is a Mod that turns off the Lucky Trait... thank me later!
Steam User 22
It brings back good memories............ when we did pirate all the things. Bought the game for support, but i really think all DLC`S should come free for a ten year old game.
They were charging more for the DLC than for the game. So i pirated once again.
AND FGS.... ignore this dumb comments... you can log as a guest and play.
Steam User 16
Yep, 1000 hrs in this.
And after a degree of disappointment with planetfall and the state of AOW4, I'm back here to write this, as neither of those games will ever reach the playtime I got out of this.
Neither of those games has a real proper campaign with characters that you can get any sort of attachment to. This one does. And with the modding support you can have so much variety
Steam User 15
Mix of Heroes of Might and Magic + Civilization
Steam User 11
My gameplay stats speak for themselves - this is a fantastic game which I keep coming back to, over and above Age of Wonders Planetfall (haven't yet tried AoW4). I felt compelled to write a review as, having recently become a father, this game is extremely respectful of your time, and you can play it one-handed (whilst my 'strategic advisor' naps in the other).
Steam User 17
One of my favorite games. Looking forward to AOW 4.