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Paradox Interactive brings the 4X Age Of Wonders strategy game to PS4 and Xbox One, and it's not for sensitive souls.
Game Review: Oxygen Not Included is a survival game in deep space
Whenever we look at a strategy game – and for no obvious reason, there was a lot of it this summer – we always emphasize how accessible and fast they can be, to ensure that people who think they can are not for them that they are as fun and exciting as any other genre. Although this is true for Age of Wonders: Planetfall, we would be lying if we said that accessibility was high on its list of achievements. But fortunately, there are many other things to do instead.
If you're wondering what an Age of Wonders is, it's a series of computer strategies from Dutch developer Triumph Studios, launched since 1999. It began as a spiritual successor to Master Of Magic, the sister series of the most famous Master Of Orion. . The first three games were all based on fantasy and PC only, but this new entry is science fiction and the first to be released on consoles.
Age of Wonders is what we know (although we have never heard that Americans use this term) in the form of a 4X game, a strange genre title that means "explore, develop, exploit and exterminate "and whose most famous example is Sid Meier. Civilization. So it makes sense that the simplest way to describe Age Of Wonders: Planetfall is: Civilization: Beyond the Earth meets XCOM. And, overall, it's as entertaining as it sounds … and twice as complicated.
The other thing we want to say about strategy games on consoles is the quality of their operation with a standard joypad, except that it's not really true here either. Triumph does its best, but the controls are initially confusing and the amount of information on the screen, all illustrated by tiny text and icons, is enough to discourage the most courageous players. And then begins the tutorial, of which only half is done by voice and is completely confusing and not really useful at all.
Although the plot becomes more complex, the more you read about the notes of the game, the basics are very simple. The main intergalactic government recently separated and you play the leader of one of the six factions trying to create a new status quo, invariably involving the colonization of every planet on which they are located.
The turn-based battle takes place on a hexagonal grid and works very well as the more introverted brother of XCOM. As with everything else, you get used to the controls, but it's interesting to see how everything seems difficult and not very intuitive compared to XCOM on consoles. Even though most systems, like sheltering and preparing the overwatch to shoot enemies during their turn, are very similar, it still seems like you just have to press two more buttons to start working.
Once you have some battles under your belt, it does not really matter and you can start to appreciate the differences of XCOM, which include a wider variety of units, including vehicles, and mechanics like being able to stagger an enemy stop them using a special attack or do even less damage with a miss shot. The game also thinks it's smart by allowing up to 42 units (spot the nerd's reference) in a battle, but it's too much and the biggest fights get bogged down and lost.
Although fighting is a bigger part of Planetfall than anything like Civilization, you can also engage in many of the game's high-level strategy elements. Each process-generated planet is divided into sectors, each with two habitable zones. can be used for food, energy, research and production.
Securing more and more sectors allows you to expand your capabilities. You can just go there and steal somebody else's resources. Although there is a fairly complex set of diplomacy and spy options offering a more subtle approach to galactic conquest, or at least they do so when artificial intelligence does not make illogical or seemingly random decisions .
There are a lot of things to watch out for, especially given the complexity of the skill tree and the fact that, as is almost always the case in sci-fi games, it's hard to understand what many things you build do before you start. actually get to use them. Everything about research seems unnecessarily complex, although the biggest problem is probably the amount of micromanagement at all levels, which becomes particularly tedious when you try to customize military units for a fight.
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You can also complain about the generic setting of the game's science fiction, which never manages to give the impression that amazons and cyborg zombies are as exciting as they should be. It is largely the fault of writing and bland visuals, and the differences in play between the different factions, all of which have their own specialties, are extremely varied.
Age Of Wonders: Planetfall is not short of defects, but is not short of ambition. It takes a lot too much at once, but if you're ready to make up for it, it's surprisingly easy to have fun. You can argue that it's not the player's job to correct a game's fouls, that's true, but if you go the extra mile, you may find yourself cracking for the game.
Age Of Wonders: The Planet
In short: A complex strategy game with serious accessibility issues, especially on consoles, but give it a chance and it's a rewarding and deep science fiction experience.
Advantages: A huge amount of depth, variety and customization possibilities for almost anything you do and as obscure as possible: everything makes sense once you've learned what's going on. Different factions are fun.
The inconvenients: The controls would not be intuitive on a PC, but would be as much on the console, especially on a lower resolution TV. Too much micromanagement and a questionable AI. Great battles last too long.
Goal: 7/10
Formats: PlayStation 4 (tested), Xbox One and PC
Price: £ 44.99
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: Triumph Studios
Release date: August 6, 2019
Age clbadification: 16
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