Age of Wonders 3 Review

Explore. Expand. Exploit. Exterminate. Explore your environment, expand your empire, exploit your power and exterminate your enemies. These empire building strategies are not for the casual or fast paced gamer. Only the most hardcore and patient can comprehend, let alone master a game of this genre. But for those that do, awaits one of the most entertaining and fulfilling game genres there is.

One of the new all-stars of this niche genre is "Age of Wonders 3," the newest in a series of games that is often considered a contender for best 4X strategy game ever. This new installment comes out of it's original developer: Triumph Studios. After many development road bumps, financial crisis and ten longs years, the messiah of turn based, empire building RPG games has returned. And it does not disappoint.

"Age of Wonders 3" offers an epic fantasy setting, inspiring soundtrack and some of the most solid game-play of the series so far.

The game's customization options are tremendous and offer plenty of options for a huge array of play styles. There are six classes, six races and over a dozen different schools of magic your leader can choose from making for some very interesting combinations; each of which offers a unique experience. For example you could decide to play as a rouge, but depending on what race you choose can dramatically alter the units you end up with. If you prefer a more straightforward playstyle, you might play a Warlord and focus on building your armies. If you're into political subterfuge you could play a rogue and focus on creating discord in your enemy's empires. The different races also play a factor since each race will vary in stats. For example, A dwarf rogue would like snowy terrain and have more resistance to magic based attacks, but move slower and hate tropical environments. An orc rogue on the other hand would like tropical terrain and do more damage, but hate snowy terrain and be more susceptible to magic damage. Both have noticeably different strengths and weaknesses that may make or break your strategies. 

The game has a large over-world with many different types of terrain and structures to explore. When you enter combat you can either auto-resolve or take control of the battle yourself, commanding each of your individual units in a turn based battle. There are a huge variety of units with a huge amount of different skills and abilities, many of which are tied to what race and class you decide to play.

One of the best aspects of the game is the depth and detail you can use to customize the hero and leader units. There is an expansive selection of abilities and items you can use to soup up your important units and make them extremely powerful. In later stages of the game you can even create and name your own items making for an immersive and exciting experience, as you come up with new combinations and assemble an arsenal.

There is also quite a variety in game modes as well. You can choose one of the two massive campaigns, engage in one of the challenging premade scenarios or create your own randomly generated world fit to whatever style of play you enjoy. Though the story I for the main campaign is good, the game really shines in the custom play. Its all about having that big open world to explore and being able to experience your own adventures and then tell your own stories.

One of the games few drawbacks is that it can eventually become overwhelming. As you and your enemies empires grows turns will take longer and longer and eventually the sheer number of things you have to micromanage, like your troops and economy can get rather monotonous. Some of the later levels of the campaign involved the enemy having so many units I had to wait nearly ten minutes for him to finish his turn so over and over again.

Luckily Triumph Studios is very connected to it's fan base and most of these issues have already been addressed or are being worked on as we speak. The studio stays connected to it's fan-base via it's website and forum and offers a lot of information on whats going on behind the scenes on it's website. We can expect constant updates, potential DLC and possibly even expansion packs in this games futures.

The game has also reached out to various internet personalities who are well known fans of the series for support. Markus Persson (Notch), creator of Minecraft and long time fan of the series helped the studio when they were in a desperate financial situation. Another personality John Bane (Totalbiscuit), a First Impressions game reviewer also helped the game gain significant exposure shortly after release.

All in all this game is great, its one of the most unique and enjoyable games you will ever play and is expected to have a huge lifespan with extra content and modding support. My recommendation: buy this game now, you will not regret it.

 Age of Wonders 3
Developer: Triumph Studios
Publisher: Triumph Studios
Genre: 4X, Turn Based Strategy
Released: March 31st, 2014
Rated: T for Teen
Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8

More Information
First Impression Review by Totalbscuit (John Baine)
IGN's Review
Age of Wonders Official Website

LBCC's Open Weight Room

From down the hall you can hear the crash of the weights, the whir of the machinery and the hum of the treadmills. You enter the room and immediately notice the smell of rubber and the cool air conditioning. The room is filled with all kinds of machinery and metal weights of all shapes and sizes.

Having a solid workout routine is one of the most highly recommended methods to staying in shape and relieving stress. There's nothing quite like sweating your problems away as you exhaust yourself lifting weights, working your core or just doing some cardio.

People of all ages enjoy working out and LBCC students are no exception and thanks to some recent changes in school policy, any and all students can now enjoy the use the school's exercise facility without having to sign up for a class.

Starting last fall LBCC has opened it's weight facilities for use on weekdays from 4 p.m. 5:45 p.m. Students have been asking for an open weight room for a long time and for the first time since the 90's they are free to come and work out on their own accord thanks to the combined effort of the Leadership Council and Athletic Department.

“The students have, for a long time, wanted access to the weight room without a class.” Says Leslie Hammond, Assistant Dean of Student Engagement. “Its promising that the students care about their wellness.”

Opening the weight room for all the school to use was no simple task. Not only did finding qualified staff members become a challenge, but concern about how an open weight room would effect the attendance of the school's weight lifting classes was also a concern.

To fix these problems the faculty turned to the students themselves to help staff the open weight room. Talent grants were offered for qualified students to earn credits by monitoring the weight room for the purpose of safety and assist students who have any questions about activities.

One such student, David Obando, a dual-enrolled OSU student, receives a talent grant for his time as a supervisor for weight room. Obando's Main job is to insure a safe and friendly environment during open weight room hours. Though his primary job is ensuring the safety of the students Obando is more than willing to answer any questions students might have about exercising. With nearly eight years of sports medicine studies and four years coaching athletes, Obando is capable of assisting anyone from regular students to potential OSU athletes.

Overall the open weight room has been a huge success according to Hammond. Student attendance is high and so far there has been no affect on the attendance school's weight lifting classes, both of which were large concerns about the endeavor.

Whether you are training to be a an athlete at a larger college, trying to stay in shape or just need to relieve some stress, all students and staff are welcome to attend.

Upwards of thirty students attend the open weight room daily and so far numbers are only going up according to Hammond. Many students have been asking for morning hours for the weight room as well, but scheduling around classes is an issue. Overall curricular use will take precedence, but with the weight room's current success, expanding the hours seems likely.

For students interested in using the open weight room all you need to do is sign in with your X number and you can start working out. The hours for the open weight room are 4 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. Monday through Friday.

At a Glance

Open weight room
Free for LBCC Students and Staff.
4 p.m. - 5:45 p.m. weekdays
LBCC campus Activities Center, Weight room.
Providing an environment where students can exercise for free.

Additional Information

More information about LBCC
LBCC Albany Campus Map