Age of Wonders III PC

Age of Wonders III for PC is the fourth installment of a popular turn-based strategy game series by the Dutch studio, Triumph. The production process lasted for over three years. The developers were financially supported by one of the biggest fans of the series – Markus Persson, the creator of Minecraft.

Story

Age of Wonders III yet again takes the players to a fantasy world where different races and groups fight for dominance. The main campaign allows the players to pick a side of one of the two warring factions – the Empire of the Community, or the Court of the High Elves, created after the unification of dark and forest elves. Several popular characters from the series play an important role in the story, including Merlin.

Mechanics

The gameplay of Age of Wonders III combines elements of strategy and role-playing games. The players explore a sizable maps, discover new locations, meet NPCs, and fight exciting battles. At the same time, they direct the development of their kingdom, including the transformation of the area and the climate to suit the needs of the nation chosen. The developers took care of the multitude of races and cultures which can be lead in the fantastic world.

Starting the game, we choose our leader which represents our nation. The leaders available represent the archetypical classes of roleplaying games such as a priest, warrior, mage, or scout. Each monarch has its own unique abilities and units. At the same time, he or she starts the campaign as a neutral figure, and only our own decisions and governance will determine whether he or she stays this way or turn to the side of good or evil.

The gameplay in Age of Wonders III is aggressive and focused on the war. The only way to win a campaign is to defeat your opponents’ army and conquer their lands. Battles are played on three-dimensional maps covered with a grid of hexes. The developers prepared an extensive system of skirmishes which rewards a proper use of the terrain or attacking enemies from the flank. In addition to standard battles in the open field, there are also sieges and naval battles available.

Game modes

The game offers single player and multiplayer mode. In addition to the campaign, there is an option to test oneself on singular, randomly generated maps, and compete with the computer AI or a live opponent. Multiplayer can be played over the Internet, the mail system (PBEM), via a local area network (LAN), or in the hot chair mode (hotseat).

Technical aspects

In contrast to earlier installments in the series, in Age of Wonders III on PC the developers decided to use an engine that generates three-dimensional graphic environment. It made adjusting the quality of visuals to modern standards in this type of productions possible.

Last updated on 21 November 2014