Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne Demo

Turn-based strategy games have a long history on the PC, especially when it comes to classics like King’s Bounty, Masters of Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic. Age of Wonders takes its inspiration from these titles as well, but it also comes with a few original ideas and blends it all together into a unique experience, which should make every fantasy TBS fan happy.

Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne is the second entry in the series and it improves a lot on the original game, especially when it comes to graphics, content and the gameplay itself. The user interface has also received a lot of improvements, which makes it even simpler and intuitive for everyone to pick up the basics of the game and learn how to make use of the interesting tools put at their disposal.

Story-wise, the events are not as memorable as they might have been in other games, but the plot is interesting enough to keep you attentive all the way to the end. Naturally, wizards and the end of the world is involved, otherwise the ‘fantasy’ label would not apply in this case. The Circle of Evermore is at the heart of the events and you must join them in order to help protect the realm from the forces of darkness.

The Age of Wonders series is a bit different from HoMM, in the sense that there is more to it than just collecting every shiny item on the map and killing everyone that stands in your way. As your primary hero moves, your kingdom’s territory increases with him, which in turn provides you with more resources. Obviously, this holds up for the enemies as well, so you must keep an eye on their movement too.

Moreover, the units can move on their own on the map and you can create separate parties, without having to move your hero at all. This has the advantage of keeping him safe, but your army might lack the necessary strength without a leader at their helm. Spells, on the other hand, are the salt and pepper of the game, since you can witness some truly astonishing magic if you put enough work into your wizardly knowledge.

Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne does have its share of flaws, but the overall product is about as good as it gets in the genre. Maybe there are other titles out there that do a better job, but none of them provide you with quite the same experience and atmosphere as Age of Wonders does.