"Overall a good game."

This is my first review, I have not played the first AOW, and havent really played a turn based game since MoM. So take that into consideration when reading my review.

Gameplay: 9/10
I really love how battles are protrayed in this game. With group of units that are ''next'' to your attacking/defending group, they are also positioned on the battle map, thus leading to some really huge battle possibilities. The AI seems quite smart, and even on the easy level can be quite a challenge.

Story: 4/10
The only part I really did not like about the game. A very, very linear story line which does not seem to follow what you actually do in the game. Two examples are, in certain scenarios you ally up with opposite wizards, if you happen to kill these wizards (which is totally possible), the storyline still continues on as if you allied with them. The 2nd example is ''trigger'' points on the map that try to move the story along, whether or not they make sense at the time you trigger them. eg, in one of the scenarios, there was an evil wizard in the underground, I managed to go in, and kill her. About 20 turns later, I happened to land on a trigger point underground that said something to the effect: ''This is the underground, the domain of 'wizards name'', we should be careful around here''.. umm, the wizard was already dead. :) Maybe Im being nitpicky, but I found it sort of lame. :)

Graphics: 9.5/10
Turn based games arent generally known for having the latest/greatest graphics, but the graphics in this game are very well done. With very nicely drawn units, and lots of special effects, definitely worth a 9.5.

Sound & Music: 7/10
Nothing special really here. Some half descent unit sounds, and some music that got on my nerves after a while. Seems the music is in mp3 format, so probably could just replace the music with your own.

Replay Value: 8/10
As of this writing, I do not believe there is a random map generator, so that takes some of the replay value out of it. But with a pretty big community making their own maps, and with tons of multiplayer modes, you are not going to get bored too soon of this one. (would get 10/10 if there was a random map generator)

Overall: 8/10
This is not an average score. If you like turn based games (like MoM), then I would definitely grab this one.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/13/02, Updated 08/13/02