As a Mac user I do not enjoy so many games, therefore I was happy when I saw this indie title from my favorite genre and I have bought it on spot.
After finishing both campaigns and spending several hours in skirmish battles, I can say the game gives lot of fun for 10 pounds. Graphics and sound are fine for an indie title, but the gameplay is where Age of Fear really shines. There are three army sets with dozen distinctive units each and every single unit with its own unique skills - that's impressive, especially the game is balanced quite well! Nevertheless, do not worry about the complexity - campaigns are doing good job introducing all units in good pace and you will learn the system in short time. I wish there were more games like this.
After playing for a week (single and multi-player), I have few points I want to make. Pluses: AI is smart and does not cheat, perfect battle system (shielding artillery, flanking, formations, etc.), interesting and varied units, three armies with unique strategies (undead, human, orcs), well balanced for multi-player, good fantasy story, novel magic system. Cons:graphic & sound are 2D, no voice for story, uninteresting demo (tutorial-like, gets better later). Overall: 8/10 (+1 if you like being evil necromancer).
Age of Fear is definitive throwback to old times when game developers were focused more on game content than flashy graphics. I have bought this game on BeamDog's promotional sale and I later on also bought it from developer site for my Linux box.
The game starts small with barely 4-5 creatures in player's army, but it quickly grows to dozen and more units and that's where game becomes very interesting. There are three races available (humans, undead and orcs), each with its own unique characters and magic. On the single player side - story is surprisingly good! I found myself playing yet another level just to find out what happens to Krill (necromancer) or Edward (knight).
Cons: game starts small in tutorial-like fashion, simple graphic; Pros: good story, nice music, interesting armies, you can play as necromancer, Linux and Mac OS are supported natively
Don't be fooled by lack of 3D and fancy cutscenes - this game is sound and well-polished strategy, which requires deep thinking and tactical planning.
You start small with just a couple of units (necromancer, zombie, skeletons in Krill's campaign or few soldiers and a knight in Edward's campaign), but it quickly grows to 12-15 men (or monsters) team.
Every unit has it's own special skills and battles are generally played in HOMM style (but you really have to protect your archers and mages)
AI is also worth mentioning - as far as I know there is no scripting in game and during campaign I felt like I was fighting human. I like this game and I encourage anyone to try demo at least.
This game is very interesting. Graphics are simple yet beautifully designed and the developers effort and passion can be felt within.
Playability is quite good and the background story is linear yet provides a good level of immersion.
This is one of those games that captivated me and attached me to the characters, wanting to play the next battle to see how the story would unfold.
If you like strategy games then give this game a chance, you might be positively surprised.
I have to say, I really enjoyed this. It reminds me very very much of "Fantasy Wars," so if you enjoyed that game, you'll probably like this one.
There are some balance issues, but mostly in the player's favor, which is ok.
Age of Fear is innovative game - there is no grid and units can move freely to any location on map. The unit positioning is important - it's not just enough to keep artillery behind. Computer player will easily find the holes in your defense.
Actually it's first game where keeping soldiers in formations is so important.
Aside from that - the game is standard fantasy war between good and evil. However, you can also play as dark necromancer and the story is quite high standard. Aof delivers a mixed bag of graphics. On the bright side, the units are very detailed and style is interesting, however there is little animation in game. That's said, the music is very nice and sounds are fine too.
Another plus is the game supports all three main architectures (Windows, Linux, Mac) and the same key can be used to play all of them. In my opinion - any strategy fan should try it.
SummaryAge of Fear: The Undead King is a fantasy turn-based strategy. The game features a novel battle system, two campaigns with solid fantasy stories and very flexible multi-player (recently added!) and skirmish modes.