Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic is an excellent turn-based strategy RPG. Brought to us by developer Triumph Studios and publisher Gathering, old and new fans will find much to like in the continuation of this much beloved series. It’s billed as being more than a simple expansion pack but not a direct sequel to Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard’s Throne released last year. You will find that Shadow Magic addresses many of the complaints that were made in the past games in the series while adding many exciting new features.

Danger awaits you on your path in the form of demons that have emerged from the Shadow Realm to ravage the world and an Emperor bent on abolishing all forms of magic in his thirst for power. Even worse is news that the great wizard Merlin has been imprisoned within the Shadow Realm. You must quest to not only save Merlin, but deal with the threats posed by the Shadow Demons and the vile Emperor Phobius.

Many new features are included: an exciting 16 scenario campaign that chronicles the new threats facing the lands, three new races, the Nomads, Syrons and Shadow Demons, a random map generator, new spells, skills and more. As I played Shadow Magic I was amazed by how much was improved upon from the last game. The inclusion of an excellent tutorial in Shadow Magic as well as a better storyline were improvements I enjoyed seeing. The tutorial does an excellent job in helping you understand the gameplay mechanics in Shadow Magic. It is quite detailed and helpful for someone that may be new to the series or that may have some confusion on a certain area of the game. I especially appreciated how the writers had fun with the dialogue within the tutorial areas as well as the scenarios in the campaign.

The story in Shadow Magic is so much better than in the last game and is complemented by some very nice cutscenes and great voice acting. It is obvious that time was well spent in creating the cutscenes, quests, story and dialogue that all make for a masterful and very enjoyable campaign. The story in the 16 scenario campaign focuses on each of the new races, and the different wizards that lead their armies into battle against the Shadow Demons and the power hungry Emperor. Quests are exciting and intriguing to undertake, like one in which you must save a forest that has been ravaged by Orcs, to another where an evil Shaman plots your demise and yet another where Lady Julia attempts to protect the ancient wood elves. The interface is also a plus in the game as it is easy to understand and use. The beautiful graphics and excellent music in Shadow Magic also go very far in creating the feel of a unique and special fantasy world.

Once you finish the 16 scenario campaign, you still have 19 stand-alone scenarios as well as the much requested random map generator. Although the maps produced by the random map generator can’t compare to the quality of handcrafted maps, it still produces some very interesting maps that always give you something to play. You have many options for creating these random maps from epic ones that are long and varied to battle oriented ones which are shorter in length. Speaking of battles, they are much improved due to the better story, refinements made to old units and spells as well as the addition of new ones. I especially liked that wizards can cast spells from the relative safety of their towers when their armies engage in battle. Excellent RPG elements are also evident in many parts of the game such as the unique experience system employed for units and wizards in the game.

Triumph Studios has succeeded in providing many needed improvements, new additions and features requested by the fans. With the extreme dedication given to Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic it is easy to recommend this game as one of the best turn-based strategy RPG games currently released!

Pros:

• Beautiful graphics and music
• Interesting quests and exciting story within the 16 scenario campaign
• An excellent tutorial for understanding the basic gameplay mechanics
• Unit descriptions are back!
• A powerful Random Map Generator that creates some very interesting maps
• Excellent editing tools for creating your own special handcrafted maps and campaigns
• Three exciting new races: Nomads, Syrons, and Shadow Demons
• A special new playing area - the Shadow Realm
• Many new units, spells and skills that make battles even more exciting than before
• An Item Forge that allows you to create custom magic items

Cons:

• No voice for events that occur within the campaign scenarios
• A better variety of sound effects would have been appreciated
• Unit and spell charts should have been included in the manual instead of as a PDF file on the game CD

Final Grade: 90%
Just RPG Recommended Game!

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic Official Website

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic Interview

Minimum System Requirements:
(This is a stand-alone game and does not require the original Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard’s Throne to run.)

• Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• 450 Mhz or greater
• 128 MB RAM
• 900 MB Hard drive space
• Direct X 8 compatible 16 MB 3D video card
• Direct X 8 compatible sound card

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