Long, complex battles are challenging and exciting, although you always have the option to auto-resolve a battle if you prefer.

Hostile marauders and independent pirates will provide plenty of action, whether they’re attacking your colonies or simply occupying a resource you really, really want. It’s definitely for the best, then, that even taking the most peaceful route through a scenario will likely see quite a few encounters taking place. Combat is definitely the most fun part of the game. These can vary hugely in scale, from small woodland skirmishes to enormous city sieges. Rather than simply battering away at the health bar of an army or city, this game invites the player to take part in XCOM-style tactical combat. The other half of the game, that which gives Age of Wonders its unique flavour, is in the combat. You’ll need to manage your need for resources with the territorial boundaries of your neighbours, making and breaking alliances as they suit your needs. Here, the land is divided into sectors, each of which contains particular points of interest that boost a colony’s production, research, food or energy levels. Colony management should be fairly familiar to any players of Civilization and the like, as will the diplomatic options available for your interactions with other factions.

On the one hand, there’s the familiar Civilization-style 4X layer, in which there’s hex-based land to explore, colonies to expand, resources to exploi… you get the point. This really is a game of two halves, although they complement each other nicely.

Luckily, Officer Planetfall is on the case. Looks like Civilisation and XCOM are about to collide. Do you remember that Family Guy sketch with the car crash? Y’know, the one where the two drivers accidentally mix chocolate and peanut butter right before Officer Reese’s turns up, discovers their fatal creation and shoots them both dead?

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