Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne

Last updated
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne
Age of Wonders II - The Wizard's Throne Coverart.png
Developer(s) Triumph Studios
Publisher(s) Gathering of Developers
Producer(s) Chris Lacey
Designer(s) Lennart Sas
Programmer(s) Arno van Wingerden
Artist(s) Mao-lin Liao
Lennart Sas
Martijn Holtkamp
Writer(s) Raymond Bingham
Josh Farley
Composer(s) Mason B. Fisher
Series Age of Wonders
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s) Turn-based strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne is a turn-based strategy video game in a fantasy setting. The sequel to Age of Wonders , it was developed by Dutch video game developer Triumph Studios.

Contents

Gameplay

Unlike in Age of Wonders, where the player has the option of removing their leader from the map, players in Age of Wonders II take the role of an immortal spell-casting Wizard, who cannot be upgraded, but in certain circumstances can survive being killed.

A war party preparing to attack a city defended by Nimue. Age of Wonder 2 screencap1.jpg
A war party preparing to attack a city defended by Nimue.

In contrast to Age of Wonders, the maps for tactical battles are now much smaller. This led to faster combat and less maneuvering of units. Also in contrast to its predecessor, when gaining new levels Heroes can no longer choose new skills from a list of all available skills; instead, the player is forced to choose one of three offered skills, depending on the Hero's class.

In Age of Wonders, magic is used via the spell casting abilities of leaders and heroes, and global spells can be cast some distance away from the hero; use of spells in combat is restricted to battles where a hero with spell casting is present.

Magic use in Age of Wonders II uses a "domain" system; spells can only be cast within the domain of the casting wizard, or the domain of an allied wizard. Magic domains can overlap with each other, and in the simple case, are centered on the Wizard. When a Wizard is present in a Wizard's Tower, the radius of the domain increases significantly, and in addition is radiated by other Wizard's Towers, Magic Relays and Heroes under the control of the player. Global spells can only be cast by the Wizard, via a spell book located in the main user interface; spells can be cast in combat by either Heroes involved in the battle, or (provided the battle takes place inside their domain) the Wizard who controls any party which entered the battle.

Development

AoW II kept the same 2D artistic style as the original, but uses a then newly developed Direct3D enhanced engine with 32 Bit color, 1280x1024 max resolution and a 3D special effects system. [4]

Reception

Improved audio quality and graphics, sub-quests from various gods, more races and build options as well as two large single-player campaigns made most of the large fanbase of Age of Wonders migrating to Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne[ citation needed ]; this was aided by the involvement of members of the HeavenGames community in suggestions, testing and development of the game.[ citation needed ]

GameSpot named Age of Wonders II a runner-up for its June 2002 "PC Game of the Month" award. [9]

Age of Wonders II was a nominee for PC Gamer US 's "2002 Best Turn-Based Strategy Game" award, which ultimately went to Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin . [10] It was also a finalist for The Electric Playground 's 2002 "Best Strategy Game for PC" prize, but lost to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos . [11] It was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Most Improved Sequel on PC" and "Best Game No One Played on PC" awards. [12]

Related Research Articles

Heroes of Might and Magic, known as Might & Magic Heroes since 2011, is a series of video games originally created and developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing.

<i>Rise of Nations</i> Real-time strategy video game by Big Huge Games

Rise of Nations is a real-time strategy video game developed by Big Huge Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios in May 2003. Designed as a fusion of concepts from turn-based strategy games with the real-time strategy genre, the game's development was led by Brian Reynolds, who founded Big Huge Games following his involvement in the development of the turn-based strategy games Civilization II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. In contrast to previous historical real-time strategy games, Rise of Nations is based on the entirety of history, taking place from the ancient era to the modern age, and features eighteen civilizations, playable across eight ages of world history. The game features several innovations on the real-time strategy genre, introducing novel features such as territory and attrition influenced by the turn-based strategy genre.

<i>Dominions II: The Ascension Wars</i> 2003 video game

Dominions II: The Ascension Wars is a 4X turn-based, computer strategy game. It was developed by Illwinter Game Design and published by Shrapnel Games. The game was released on November 14, 2003 in North America for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

<i>Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne</i> 2003 video game expansion

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne is the expansion pack for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a real-time strategy video game by Blizzard Entertainment. It was released worldwide on July 1, 2003, for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The Frozen Throne builds upon the story of Reign of Chaos and depicts the events after the main game's conclusion. The single-player unfolds from the perspective of two new protagonists—the Night Elf warden Maiev Shadowsong and the Blood Elf prince Kael'Thas—as well as returning protagonist Arthas Menethil. Additionally, the expansion contains Act I of a separate Horde campaign that is independent from the main storyline with Blizzard releasing Acts II and III via patch in December 2003, taking in player feedback of Act I when developing these chapters.

<i>Age of Wonders</i> 1999 video game

Age of Wonders is a 1999 turn-based strategy game co-developed by Triumph Studios and Epic MegaGames, and published by Gathering of Developers.

<i>Master of Magic</i> 1994 video game

Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game in which the player plays as a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells, growing an empire and fighting the other wizards.

<i>Dungeon Keeper 2</i> 1999 video game

Dungeon Keeper 2 is a strategy game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1999 for Microsoft Windows. The sequel to Dungeon Keeper, the player takes the role of a 'dungeon keeper', building and defending an underground dungeon from the would-be heroes that invade it, as well as from other keepers. In the campaign mode, the player is charged with recovering the portal gems from each area in order to open a portal to the surface. The player can also construct a dungeon without strict objectives, and multiplayer is supported over a network.

<i>Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic</i> 2003 video game

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic is a turn-based strategy video game in a fantasy setting. Shadow Magic is the third incarnation of the Age of Wonders series, and is a direct sequel to Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne. All three games were developed by Triumph Studios. The series is the spiritual successor to Master of Magic.

<i>Baldurs Gate II: Shadows of Amn</i> 2000 video game

Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Interplay Entertainment. It is the sequel to 1998's Baldur's Gate and was released for Microsoft Windows in September 2000. Following its predecessor, the game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a fantasy campaign setting, and is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules. Powered by BioWare's Infinity Engine, Baldur's Gate II uses an isometric perspective and pausable real-time gameplay. The player controls a party of up to six characters, one of whom is the player-created protagonist; the others are certain characters recruited from the game world.

<i>Chaos: The Battle of Wizards</i> 1985 video game

Chaos: The Battle of Wizards is a turn-based tactics video game released for the ZX Spectrum in 1985. It was written by Julian Gollop and originally published by Games Workshop. Based on Gollop's 1982 design for a board game / card game hybrid, Chaos received a positive reception and went on to influence various games, including Darwinia and King's Bounty, and spawned a sequel, Lords of Chaos, in 1990.

<i>Heroes of Might and Magic III</i> 1999 video game

Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia is a turn-based strategy game developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing originally released for Microsoft Windows by The 3DO Company in 1999. Its ports to several computer and console systems followed in 1999–2000. It is the third installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series.

<i>Heroes of Might and Magic IV</i> 2002 video game

Heroes of Might and Magic IV is a turn-based strategy game developed by Gus Smedstad through New World Computing and published by the 3DO Company for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers in 2002. A Macintosh port was subsequently developed by Contraband Entertainment and released by the 3DO Company. The fourth installment of the popular Heroes of Might and Magic franchise, it is the sequel to Heroes of Might and Magic III, and was the last to be developed by New World Computing.

<i>Heroes of Might and Magic II</i> 1996 video game

Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing and published in 1996 by the 3DO Company. The game is the second installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series and is typically credited as the breakout game for the series. Heroes II was voted the sixth-best PC game of all time by PC Gamer in May 1997.

<i>Dungeon Siege II</i> 2005 video game

Dungeon Siege II is an action role-playing video game, the sequel to 2002's Dungeon Siege. It was developed by Gas Powered Games and released in 2005. The story is a continuation of the Dungeon Siege storyline. An expansion Broken World was released in 2006.

<i>Sacrifice</i> (video game) 2000 real-time strategy video game

Sacrifice is a real-time strategy video game published by Interplay Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows platform. Developed by Shiny Entertainment, the game features elements of action and other genres. Players control wizards who fight each other with spells and summoned creatures. The game was ported to Mac OS 9.2 in 2001.

<i>Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds</i> 2003 video game

Magic: The Gathering – Battlegrounds is a real time strategy video game developed by Secret Level and published by Atari It is based on Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, with many fundamental differences. The game is based on the creation of heroes and mages that summon forth powerful monsters, spells, and abilities to defeat the enemy duelist. Duelists learn new magical spells by completing the campaign, with more and more spell books becoming available as the player progresses. Each spell is separated into one of 5 colors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

<i>Magic and Mayhem</i> 1998 video game

Magic & Mayhem is a fantasy/mythology-themed real-time strategy game designed by Julian Gollop and developed by Mythos Games. It was published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in late 1998, and by Bethesda soon after in 1999. Although the game received generally positive criticisms, it met a quiet public reception.

<i>Magicka</i> 2011 video game

Magicka is an action-adventure game developed by Arrowhead Game Studios. It was released via Steam for Microsoft Windows on January 25, 2011.

<i>Age of Wonders III</i> 2014 video game

Age of Wonders III is a 2014 4X turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Dutch developer Triumph Studios. It is the fourth game in the Age of Wonders series, following Age of Wonders, Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne and Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic released in 1999, 2002, and 2003 respectively. It was released on March 31, 2014, through digital distribution, as well as through retail in select territories for Microsoft Windows. A port to Linux and OS X was released on April 14, 2015.

<i>Age of Wonders 4</i> 2023 video game

Age of Wonders 4 is a 2023 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Triumph Studios and published by Paradox Interactive. It is the sixth game in the Age of Wonders series, following Age of Wonders: Planetfall.

References

  1. "Gathering of Developers Declares "Age of Wonders II: The Wizards Throne" Now Available in Stores". GameZone. June 12, 2002. Archived from the original on May 10, 2007. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  2. "Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne". Jeuxvideo.com . Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  3. "2002 Releases". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on June 2, 2002. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  4. "Second Age of Wonders". Eurogamer. January 29, 2001. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022.
  5. McDonald, Thomas L. (September 2002). "Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne". Computer Gaming World . No. 218. pp. 86, 87.
  6. Brogger, Kristian; McNamara, Andy. "Strategy for Your Inner Nerd". Game Informer . Archived from the original on August 11, 2009.
  7. Trotter, William R. "Age of Wonders II". PC Gamer US . Archived from the original on February 13, 2008.
  8. Anderson, Chris (August 4, 2002). "Age of Wonders II: The Wizard's Throne". PC Zone . Archived from the original on December 2, 2008.
  9. The Editors of GameSpot PC (July 5, 2002). "PC Game of the Month, June 2002". GameSpot . Archived from the original on December 4, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  10. Staff (March 2003). "The Ninth Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer US . 10 (3): 48–50, 54, 58, 60, 66, 68, 70.
  11. Staff. "Blister Awards 2002". The Electric Playground . Archived from the original on 2003-03-08. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  12. GameSpot Staff (December 30, 2002). "GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002". GameSpot . Archived from the original on February 7, 2003.