The second game wasn't the best, or so a lot of players agree. The final one, Shadow Magic, is considered the best by a lot of people. Others, myself included, prefer the original. AoW2 just didn't quite have that special something; the first game had the atmosphere, the third had the best set of features. Still a good title IMO, and I think it gets unfairly panned by many series fans.

Might do something more in-depth about these games later. AoW is similar yet different to its sequels, and Shadow Magic is similar yet different to AoW2.

Hehe, I remember that when I first played the fancy dragon menu with slowed my PC to a crawl each time I clicked on it. It was an amazing menu.

Quote Originally Posted by Martok
Gah! I'd forgotten about that. You just *had* to remind me, didn't you?
I was so upset when they didn't make it into AoW2 and AoW:SM.

The goblin bombers used to be funny too. Not so much in the modern world. There were a lot of whimsical things in these games.

Quote Originally Posted by Meneldil
I have the last one, and I have to say I never got into it, despite being a hardcore HoM&M fan. [cut for length]
I found each race had its own feel, strengths and weaknesses, and each unit had its uses however narrow in scope they may be. The abilities can have massive impact; the right set can make a unit effectively invincible. It's something you have to experiment with more than something which is hugely obvious; it's possible to get along using a select few units from each race.

What the series is not so good at is balance. Some abilities, races and units are way overpowered. Others are weak, or very weak. I believe that is intentional; it fits the mythology of the world Triumph built. Some players like it, some don't. Myself, I mostly like it. It's good to play an underdog and win sometimes, or to play a powerhouse and stomp people. Some of the units forced me to adapt my play in directions I wouldn't normally try. On the other hand the campaigns made you play as set races and it could really hurt being forced to play a race you didn't get on with.

The big problem I had with them was the economy. I always seemed to be scraping by with the bare minimum of units and teetering on the verge of bankrupcy. Don't know why, as I've always seen others playing in the same manner but with double the units and so much cash that they're complaining money is too easy to get.