Age of Wonders II impressions

Age of Wonders II is the sequel to the Award-Winning Age of Wonders®. Delivering an invigorating mix of Empire Building, Role-playing, and Warfare, AGE OF WONDERS II offers the ultimate in fantasy turn-based strategy. Explore a world full of mythical creatures and mysterious lands. Build an impressive force as an all-powerful Wizard through dangerous perils and exhilarating challenges. Now is your time to embrace your destiny and take your rightful place at the head of the Circle, forever.

Age of Wonders II makes good use of its 32-bit color palette; the difference between the sequel's darker, richer color tones and the original game's simpler 16-bit color scheme is immediately obvious. However, the game's overland map areas are just as colorful as ever--more so, in fact, thanks to the sequel's larger number of tilesets, which include undead swamplands and burning grasslands (the latter is home to the game's two fire-wizard characters), as well as plenty of colorful animated objects spaced evenly on the maps, such as windmills, swaying trees, and flowing water, which help make the maps look more interesting without being cluttered. The sequel also has much-improved music over the simpler soundtrack of the original game; the music is still synthetic orchestral music, but it's considerably better than that in Age of Wonders.

News source: GameSpot