On top of an additional currency, it looked like I only had 10 points to spend on operations in a battle - each one costing anywhere from 1 to 7 points - which seemed like a fair way to ensure I couldn't shut down the battlefield with death from above. They weren't exactly free to use, but I had enough resources allocated to try out a few of them. Another fun mechanic I got to play around with the use of battlefield operations that could be enacted outside of my troops movement. True to the X-COM style of battle, I was able to let some units lie in wait using "overwatch" to react to incoming attackers on their turn, whereas some of my other troops would have to sacrifice their action points by closing the distance. Yay trash zombies! The plan worked, and the distracted forces found themselves flanked on their exposed sides from my long-range sniper and electrocutioners who disabled their mech and healing drone. This unit proved to be a distraction to great to ignore, and on even though I knew he'd eventually get mowed down, one of his special abilities included being resurrected after death, when the enemy least expected to deal with him again. Even though I had no idea what I was doing, I figured the logical choice was to send my juggernaut smashing into the enemy - and I was right. My hero unit led the charge with some impressive weaponry alongside a hulking brute of a man's head attached to a golem-like body of twisted metal. I was pleased to find that the effects of my doomsday tech were already taking root - everyone had already become infected with parasites, weakening my enemies to further attacks, while giving some of my units regenerating health. Again, there was a lot to take in since I was being dropped into battle with a fairly advanced squad of troops. The rest of my demo was spent fighting off one such angry faction, the Vanguard, which you can see in the video above. Fair reaction, but what the hell did you people expect forming an alliance with trash zombies who tinker with biological weapons on the side!? Predictably, diplomatic relations took an immediate nosedive, and suddenly every other faction wanted me dead. If my faction survived for 10 turns, I would win the game. I also got a demonstration of their "Doomsday Tech", whereupon the developers triggered a planet-wide bombardment of lethal parasites. From what I saw of The Assembly's tech, they thrived on scavenging the remains of those defeated in battle to bolster their research and knowledge, while also manufacturing bioweapons to poison and wither away enemies. ![]() Luckily, Age of Wonders: Planetfall features a full campaign to take you through the basics of each faction and learn the ropes of how to grow your fledgling group expand your territories, customize your troops, and build out your tech trees for both as a military force and for societal advancement. ![]() In my time with the demo, I was placed in the tail-end of a high stakes match already in progress - and it was a lot to take in. I was also happy to learn that while multiplayer will still be a thing for both PC and consoles in Age of Wonders when it arrives on August 6th, you'll be able to engage your way - either playing at the same time in the turn based format, or making your moves before stepping away from the game while your opponent is alerted to your turn, and is able to respond at their leisure, which is always a huge boon for those who don't have hours at a time to invest in their planetary domination. Expanding through the hexagon-tiled planets allow you to amass an army, indulge in diplomacy, or set off some real doomsday weaponry. For those not familiar, the Age of Wonders series has shed its fantasy skin to get crazy sci-fi in this new iteration, and blends the 4X turn-based strategy genre (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) with tense and meaty battles reminiscent of X-COM.
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