If you ever wanted to take part in your favorite epic fantasy sage here's your chance.

Have you ever connected with a novel so much that you could predict where the plot was heading and how the characters would develop? I'm not talking about a predictable story. No, what I'm referring to is that unique occurrence when it feels like you were the one who wrote the book, and that connection you experience with the author -- almost as if you were both of one mind. While it's rare to find in novels it's even rarer to find in a computer game. The last game for me that I "connected" with was Half-Life, and even then I lost the association when Valve took us to Xen. Well, I can now say that there is a game that I feel truly connected to throughout playing; Age of Wonders.

Age of Wonders is a turn based fantasy game comparable to the Warlords and Heroes of Might and Magic series. In fact, there's really no way you can talk about Age of Wonders without mentioning those two series. Furthermore, if you really want to make some comparisons, don't forget to mention Lords of Magic, Master of Magic, Fantasy General and about a dozen wargames. In the hands of a team that didn't care, such a mixture would surely yield at best, an awful conglomeration, and at worst a Frankenstein-like clone. It's therefore obvious that Triumph and Epic had a clear vision of what they wanted, and like a well trained gourmet chef, they've taken a mixture of ingredients and blended them together to create a rich fantasy feast.

The basic game revolves around a branching campaign that (and I'm sure I'll hear a few cries of 'heresy' from rabid Tolkien fans when I say this) feels a lot like something the grand master himself, J.R.R. Tolkien, would have created. Once you had the Elves who lived in the Valley of Wonders until those pesky Humans showed up. The Elven ruler was slain, the kingdom torn asunder, and the survivors split into two groups: the Keepers and the Cult of Storms. As the campaign opens everyone's favorite fantasy omen, a bright star, shines down upon the ruined Valley of Wonder. The Keepers and the Cult wish to reclaim the throne and it's up to you to lead your side to victory by capturing cities, building an army, and scouring dungeons.

Though you swear allegiance to an Elven group you actually get to play a variety of the twelve races. Begin with the good Keepers and your first mission revolves around the furry-footed Halflings. Going with the dark side will start you with Goblins. Your progress through the campaign is shown on a continental map of the game world, divided up into regions based on the race that predominantly resides there. Often you will have a choice between two different missions, with each mission having a different consequence on the following missions. Do you help the Dwarves who have suffered a cave in, or try to win over the Lizardmen?

In a change of pace from other like games you are actually represented by a hero, which for once isn't simply a disposable hero. Heroes accumulate experience points slowly turn to turn, but the quickest way to boost your level is through combat. If you hero dies in combat though your game is over, so you'll need to take extra care of your hero, knowing when to fight or flee. The flip side is that defeating an opposing race can be achieved in a single combat. This is probably the first turn based game that "rush" tactics work as an early strategy.

You can play with a pre-generated hero or create your own, which is of course more enjoyable. Heroes in Age of Wonders are made up of a number of stats and skills. Unlike the Heroes series, you are free to assign experience points as you see fit instead of being forced down a narrow path. You can even save them from level to level so that you can afford the more powerful skills. All heroes automatically wield magic, choosing from seven spheres of casting. Your hero begins with a number of slots to apply the spheres to, and like Master of Magic, you are free to choose one type of magic or vary the type when picking out your spheres. How much you can cast in a given turn depends on your casting ability, and the number of mana points you have. Mana is computed like the flow of gold, with certain units and locations adding to your pool each turn.

There are a total of one hundred spells, divided into global and unit castings, with a majority being extremely unique. Unit spells are fairly mundane, and you'll find the usual suspects like spells that heal your units or remove magical effects. The global spells are far more interesting, giving you the power to raise or lower terrain, create a flood, or protect one of your cities with an anti-magic shell. A lot of these have a major impact on the game and give the player a level of strategic possibilities never seen before. For example, you can create a patch of holy woods that damage any evil units that pass through them. Sounds like a great spell to protect your cities, but why not be cruel and use it on the offensive to surround an evil city!

Thanks to some gorgeous spell effects the actual act of casting a spell will surely put a smile on your face. Unlike the Heroes series, which usually represents spell casting with some sort of on-screen symbol, in Age of Wonders the majority of spells are accompanied with a brilliant light show.

The graphics overall are quite good, with a style that will remind you of a painting come to life. Various structures on the map have minor, but pleasing, animation (such as the flickering torchlight coming from the mine entrances) and all units are fully animated. Each race has their own particular style of architecture, making it easy to see at a glance who owns what city.

Combat is particularly fun to watch, with blood flying liberally from wounded combatants. Individual unit portraits are good, though a few are rough enough that you have to wonder if they were done the morning the game was going gold. I do have two complaints about the graphics. Firstly, at the higher resolutions (640x480 is the default) everything gets really small. 800x600 is great for the text windows, but units on the main map look the size of Command and Conquer infantry, if not smaller. Secondly, in combat some of the units blend into the terrain too much, even with the health bars hovering over their heads. Countless times I lost track of halfling units when fighting on a lush green field.

Speaking of carnage Age of Wonders takes an interesting approach to the violent way to solve conflicts. Like the Warlords series the most important terrain is cities, coming in three flavors: one, two, or three hex sized. Since only eight units can occupy one hex, the larger the city, the more easily it can be defended. Scattered about the map are minor structures (mines, builder's guilds, mana nodes, et cetera) which will help you to victory, granting you more gold per turn or more of a magical income. Unlike Heroes, armies are more important than heroes. In truth, most games will only have one or two heroes per race.

When armies clash you are given a choice between automatic (like Warlords) or tactical (like Heroes) combat. If you have the slightest hesitation in the upcoming battle don't go with the automatic mode of resolution. I've found that even a weak force can triumph over a strong one with the proper use of tactics. If you go with the tactical mode you are taken to a representation of the hex, or hexes, where the battle takes place. In a nod to traditional wargames if there are units in adjacent hexes they too will participate in combat, which is a good thing since laying siege to a three hex city with twenty-four units defending would be a heck of a challenge with only eight friendlies. In a very cool design decision line of fire comes into play during the battles and friendly fire is a very real possibility. The AI at first seems rather unimpressive, both globally and in combat, but the more you play the more you'll see that it's actually not that bad. When the AI is set to the lower end of the skill spectrum it will act like a novice, and as the skill level is raised the AI gets better and better.

I found the battles interesting but I was just as intrigued with the diplomacy found in the game. In Age of Wonders diplomacy plays a major part of the game, as it should. I've always found it strange that most fantasy computer games totally neglect diplomacy and yet how well the various races get along plays a huge role in any fantasy novel you read. At the basic level Age of Wonders handles diplomacy with a typical Sid Meier slant. You can contact an opponent to make peace, give tribute to, or declare war on. Digging deeper you'll find that there are a great deal of gameplay options which yield a number of diplomatic ramifications. Razing a city will have a huge impact on your standing, while fortifying a city owned by you but populated by another race will make them view you more favorably. The coolest thing you can do to hike your standing with another race is to migrate cities. When you capture an enemy city the population is usually chomping at the bit for a revolt. In order to prevent a rebellion you'll need to garrison the city, tying down your troops. But you can kick out the unruly citizens and bring in your friends, thus turning that Orc city on the verge of anarchy into a Halfling city full of laughter.

While the diplomacy in Age of Wonders is well thought out there are a few problems with it. One, you need to download a PDF file from the manual's design group to see all the possible modifiers in the system. That table, along with the movement point cost of terrain (a very basic table for any strategy game), was completely left out of the manual. Two, for some reason when it's not your turn and an opponent makes a diplomatic action towards you the diplomacy screen will not close until it's your turn again. A minor annoyance, but an annoyance nevertheless. Finally, achieving a bloodless victory is not possible. In one game I was charged with destroying three opponents, two of whom started off evil and one began as neutral. After wiping out the two evil races I began to court the neutral race who finally agreed to peace with me. I thought for sure that achieving peace would count just as much as wiping them out, but it didn't. I ended up having to stab them in the back to win.

Once you get done with the campaign (the majority of maps are very big, and with some comprised of three levels, can take quite some time to complete) there are a number of single scenarios to play along with an editor to create your own that looks like it's ripped straight from Heroes of Might and Magic III. It also goes without saying that there are several multiplayer options, including a useful PBEM mode of play.

There is simply so much to like in Age of Wonders that it's impossible to cover everything. A few more highlights which should pique your interest include the ability to transport units by air (something that was supposed to be in Heroes III but never made it in), a construction unit which allows you to rebuild razed cities, units that tunnel, a great musical score that sets the mood, and true dungeoncrawls. Just when you think you won't be impressed anymore, something else pops up in the game that causes you to let out a "Wow!"

Age of Wonders is a game of details and thoughtfulness. It's a game that is aimed at everyone who has ever played Warlords III or Heroes III and wished they had been the producer. It's a game that is also directed at anyone who has enjoyed an epic fantasy novel and wished someone would truly capture that tingling feel you get when you get to the big battle scenes. This is a game that will sweep you away. Forgive me, my dear Heroes of Might and Magic III, but I've found another one who understands my needs. Don't worry, we'll still be friends.

Reviewed by Scott R Krol.