cmspeedwagon: Hi guys. I want to buy ONE of the AoW games on sale now, but I'm not sure which one to pick up.
I'm new to this kind of games; I've been playing CivV and I really like it, while I found the latest Heroes of Might and Magic far too hard, even on easy setting :/.
Any suggestion?
I haven't played HoMM VI because of DRM, but I know all other Heroes games very well. Comparing them with Age of Wonders I wouldn't say that Age of Wonders is easier.
How difficult a scenario or campaign turns out, depends on playstyle and on how good you know the game.
There are some very hard campaign settings in both series (usually you will find help on how to master them with google).
Which game to buy? That's a hard decision, they are all quite good.
WIzards's Throne and Shadow Magic are very similar, with a bit more of everything in Shadow Magic. AoW 1 stands out a bit, beeing the first part of the series and also because it is considerable older. It has some unique features, but overall I'd value the tactical battles as a bit tedious, compared with WT and SM.
Try Shadow Magic, it's a great game after all (it has some very easy tutorial campaigns which are a good introduction into the gameplay).