Dominions 2: The Ascension Wars 2.08 review

Dominions 2: The Ascension Wars is an epic turn-based fantasy strategy game unlike any other fantasy strategy title that you’ve ever played.

License: Demo OS: Mac OS X File size: 0K Developer: Illwinter Game Design Buy Now Price: $42.00 Updated: 29 Mar 2006

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Dominions 2: The Ascension Wars is an epic turn-based fantasy strategy game unlike any other fantasy strategy title that you’ve ever played. On the surface it may seem familiar; after all you’re raising armies, conquering enemy lands, and wielding powerful spells. Scratch deeper though and you’ll soon find that Dominions 2 introduces a depth that will satisfy even the most hardcore strategy gamer.

Acting as a pretender god leading one of seventeen different nations, players will strive to become the one true god through the power of spell and steel. As  both the grand leader of your nation and their god you will seek to spread your dominions across the known world with divinely inspired priests, with masters of the arcane, mages, and of course with armies that grind your foes to dust before them. Use awe-inspiring magical items or craft your own, create new prophets to spread your gospel, and build up your defenses with new castles. On the field of battle you’ll fight with legions of bizarre creatures and truly heroic heroes, as the best in the world will be rewarded for their deeds with newfound powers.

You will find yourself waging war against the intelligent and challenging computer or up to sixteen human opponents. Designed from the ground up for such huge multiplayer games in mind, Dominions 2 effortlessly handles such worldwide mayhem. With a simultaneous turn structure downtime is kept to a minimum, even with a large group playing.

A strategy game like no other, in Dominions 2 if you can think of it as a player, you can probably do it within the game. Destined to become a classic, and one that will surely remain on your hard drive long after most games have been uninstalled!

Here are some key features of "Dominions 2 The Ascension Wars":
Epic turn-based fantasy gameplay. Up to seventeen people can play at once thanks to the simultaneous turn structure. For those who would rather play solo the computer opponents put up fierce competition for those 3 AM gaming sessions.
All new graphics in the sequel. The interface has been overhauled and streamlined, the map looks like it could be found in the front of your favorite fantasy novel, and the battle scenes are now in three-dimensional glory.
New map filters that help players instantly assess the world situation. Easily locate fortress locations, temples, or how far your dominion stretches. Additionally, the map is zoomable.
A nice twist on mercenaries: mercs up for recruitment are available to all players and will only end up fighting for the cause of the highest bidder.
While every fantasy strategy game has the concept of heroes in Dominions 2 heroes really need to depend on being heroic. The top ten commanders will enter into the Hall of Fame, where they will be bestowed various heroic abilities. The longer they can stay in the Hall of Fame, the more kudos are awarded.
Taking the sword to your opponents is similar to a good wargame. Morale losses can lead to routs and assassinating the enemy commander is a nicely proven formula for success. Magic and the power of your would-be god also plays a huge part in battle and you can even commit battlefield summonings.
A cornucopia of creatures, items, and spells. The item manual weighs in at 71 pages, while the spell book is a massive 88 pages long.
The amount one can do in one turn is staggering. Just check out these phases in the turn: recruit, research, empowerment, forge, rituals, magic battles, search, prayers, blood hunt, luck, assassinations, friendly movement, movement, storm castle, enchantments, magic items, sneak, build, special orders, income, starvation, upkeep, dominion, site effects, heal, mercs, and scouting.
More nations to play than the original Dominions! More units, more monsters, and more spells!
Less micromanagment than the original and helpful pop-ups that describe the various gameplay mechanics makes Dominions 2 an easy game for new players to get involved with.
Easy to grasp, gamers will enjoy creating new maps for the game with the included map editor.
Playable on all the major operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Solaris.