The spheres of magic have been thrown into conflict and the world is torn apart. Only one can restore the balance and bring peace to the world. Only one can wield the weapons of sorcery while balancing delicate diplomacy with the weapons of warfare. Think you’ve got what it takes?

Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne, a Triumph Studios release for the PC, is a turn-based game that delves into the world of magic, but never lets tactical combat get too far away from it.

That the world is clutched in the arms of chaos is a standard mechanism to drive strategic games such as this. But Age of Wonders turns it a bit, and not only are the seven spheres of magic ­ air, fire, earth, water, cosmos, death and life ­but your avatar can specialize in one particular area and cast spells across the map while tucked away safe at the wizard’s tower.

There are 20 scenarios in the single-player campaign (there is also a tutorial for those who have never played this type of game before), and it all begins with the sphere of fire. Your former kingdom lies in ruins, Yaka and the Cat people are running roughshod over the land, and people are scattered across the territory. Your objectives are to gather the people together, build up your kingdom and deal with Yaka.

The first step is to claim a new home, and a nearby Yaka-controlled town beckons. Initially you will be tough enough to win the day, but as the game progresses, it gets harder to achieve your goals. And there are other elements thrown in that make the game rather interesting. You may come across a glowing tree, which contains the Spirit of Nature. This spirit is adverse to anything, like the fire node, that destroys the land. Raze the structure requested and the Spirit of Nature will reward you. Fail to do it in a certain amount of time, and the spirit will snub you.

While all this is going on, you have to maintain your cities, build it up and research new spells, create units and have enough resource flow to allow you to generate what you will need to succeed. Each move is determined in the amount of gold or mana spent. You will not be able to hire units or build appropriate parties if you lack either the gold to spend on them, or the mana to create them.

All this may seem like a very complex game, but it actually is not. Age of Wonders II is player friendly, and though there is a learning curve of perhaps 30 minutes for players who have entered the genre for the first time, those who have had experience with this type of game will be able to accomplish the tasks without many problems.

There was one instance, though, that was a head-scratcher. After hiring a boat, and loading it with troops, there were problems with separating the two units ­ this after successfully doing it at a previous point in the game. Though the ship was docked, the troops wouldn’t leave. Clicking on the disband button did not separate the two units, but rather vanished the troops. The interface icon for the ship, prior to disbanding the unit, did not have individual icons for the troops and the ship, but just one icon. What happened to those troops? They were never seen or heard from again.

The player interface is well designed and the game itself uses a point and click style of game play.

Graphically the game is a little weak when it comes to the combat. This portion of the game transports players to a hexagon map which appears to be on another plane of existence. General game play treats players to lush mapboards with solid special effects. And the musical score of this program is quite well done. Special effects, of the audio nature, are well rendered.

In some regards Age of Wizards II is a typical turn/movement-based strategy game.  It does throw in a few elements, such as heroes extending wizard’s casting radius, that are different, and the game, for the most part, is visually enticing.

It will not only give newcomers to the genre a delightful introduction to the game, but will challenge veteran gamers as well. It is both enjoyable and challenging.

This game is rated for Everyone.

Gameplay: 7
This is turn-based, and can either be simultaneous or with each side of the scenario taking its turn. Each unit can only move so far on a turn, which is roughly equivalent to a day. Battle can be controlled by the player, or the outcome can be determined by the computer. This aspect is put on a hexagonal map and is, once again, turn-based. So prepare for a chess match.

Graphics: 7.5
The mapboard is lush and wonderfully rendered, as are the special effects. The game’s combat is adequate. The real gem of the game is the mapboards.

Sound: 8
The musical score of the game is wonderful, and the effects are very well rendered.

Difficulty: Medium
The player interface is somewhat intuitive, and those who have played this kind of game before should have few problems in determining what to do. The game does have several difficulty levels, which should provide challenge to most players.

Concept: 7
The spheres of magic are a nice touch in what would otherwise be an ordinary strategy game.

Mulitplayer: 7
Though this game allows numerous means of multiplayer gaming, the actual game options are typical of the genre.

Overall: 7.4
Age of Wonders II: The Wizard’s Throne is an enjoyable outing in a fantasy realm. The environments are lush and the special effects are well delivered. However, in regards to the actual game playing, this is a typical strategy game.