Dominions 3: The Awakening PC

They are returning. Awakening from a slumber beyond comprehension to mortals. Awakening to a world they once tried to claim. They promise much to their followers, and to their enemies they will deliver blood, fire, and death.

The coming chaos is a rebirth of a fire long thought quenched. The Akashic records recall the Age when the world was ripe with pretenders, a legion claiming divinity. Then the antokrator ascended to true godhood. Bearing dominion over all, from the Heavens down to the deepest recesses of the ocean, the Pantokrator hunted down the false pretenders, casting them into eternal imprisonment. Not all pretenders were vanquished though; indeed, a great many managed to hide away and bide their time.

Now a new Age has dawned. The Pantokrator is gone. And now the pretenders who cowered beneath the Pantokrator's rule all those long years dare to show themselves again. Moreso, their newly remembered hubris has led once more to a war for true ascension to godhood. But they are not alone.

The ancient ones banished by the Pantokrator have broken their shackles. They are awakening.

There can only be one. A new chapter in the Akashic records is about to be written in the tattered flesh of the fallen...

Dominions 3: The Awakening, is the follow up to the acclaimed fantasy strategy game, Dominions 2: The Ascension Wars. While that game set the bar for rich, engrossing turn-based fantasy strategy gaming, Dominions 3: The Awakening seeks to raise it once more.

Leading one of over fifty possible nations in three different Ages, it is your goal to ascend to true godhood using all the power at your disposal. In a world of magic and steel the options to attain victory are as numerous as the cries of mercy from your vanquished foes. Whether you use military might, eldritch power, or subterfuge (or more likely, a combination of all three) every turn is about options. Recruit troops (more than 1500 units found in the game), assassinate the enemy, scout territory, research magic (600+ spells and 300+ magic items), perform rituals, do a blood hunt, storm a castle, construct, pray, forge - the list goes on.

New pop-ups, an in-depth manual written by industry veteran Bruce Geryk, and less micromanagement all makes Dominions 3: The Awakening easy to get into. Lush maps, vividly depicted battles, and an ethereal musical score by Erik Ask Uppmark and Anna Rynefors, both awarded the title of Musicians of the Realm by the Swedish Zornmärkeskommité, contribute to turning the fantasy on the screen into your reality. Up to twenty-one players can participate in a single game, and with a simultaneous turn structure even a large game never gets unwieldy.

Dominions 3: The Awakening is very mod friendly, and in fact has been designed from the very beginning with mod-making in mind. Any image can be turned into a map, opening up a wealth of possibilities. Even use your favorite Dominions 2 maps!

For many games ultimate is nothing more than hyperbole. For Dominions 3: The Awakening it may very well be an understatement. With hundreds of gameplay combinations, a challenging AI, strong multiplayer capabilities, mod-friendliness, this is very well the ultimate turn-based fantasy title for any platform.

Features:

♦ Turn-based fantasy 4X gaming with up to twenty-one (AI or human) players using simultaneous turns.

♦ Still an amazing amount of player choices in one turn: recruit, research, empowerment, forge, rituals, magic battles, search, prayers, blood hunt, luck, assassinations, friendly movement, movement, storm castle, enchantments, magic items, sneak, build, special orders, income, starvation, upkeep, dominion, site effects, heal, mercs, and scouting.

♦ Three different eras: Early Magical Era, Middle Era, and Late Era. The Early Magical Era boasts many new nations, the Middle Era features most of the nations from Dominions 2, and the Late Era features an emphasis on more conventional warfare and less magic.

♦ Fifty different playable nations. Some of the new nations include Ermor, New Faith, based on the early Republic of Rome. Marverni, inspired by Gallic tribes. Kailasa, Rise of the Ape Kings, inspired from Indian and Hindu mythology. Jomon, Human Daimyos, born from ancient Japan.

♦ Brand new graphics, with an overhauled and streamlined interface. Transparent mechanics decreases the learning curve.

♦ Less micromanagement than previous Dominions titles.

♦ Random map creation.

♦ Players can design and save gods for later play.

♦ Nation specific spells and summons. More than 600 spells and 300 magic items, all with evocative descriptions, are found in the game.

♦ Rebalanced rates for income, supply, and resources enable larger conventional armies.

♦ 1500+ units to wage war with. A deep combat model encompasses everything from battlefield morale to the use of magic.

♦ An already challenging AI made even more challenging. If you can't handle the unrelenting computer player, you can always try your hand at playing against humans with Dominions 3 robust multiplayer suite.

♦ Much more powerful modding capabilities.

♦ Make and remake nations as you see fit!

♦ Still present, the cool ability to turn any image into a map! Battle across Faerún or Middle Earth!

♦ Choose if your pretending god is dormant or awake when the game begins.

♦ A 300 page printed manual that will remind you of the early days of computer gaming. The manual is more of a reference guide that includes a play-along tutorial, spells reference, nations info and so much more.

♦ New music from Erik Ask Uppmark and Anna Rynefors, the duo behind Dominion 2's lilting musical score.

♦ Taxes and unrest automatically checked through the autotax function, streamlining play.

♦ Playable on most major operating systems. Play it on a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine.

♦ Dominions 3: The Awakening could very easily be the last fantasy 4X game you ever need.

Last updated on 10 December 2007