so i guess the three are really different creatures, while AoW and MoM are a bit similar. Thanks

Really? I admit that it's some time since I've played Shadow Magic (or MoM), but I didn't recall that. The only items I remember were from special locations or quests.

Everything you wanted to know about Dominions 3 is in my review:

WWW Link

Actually I think the descriptions and stories of Dom3 are more in-depth than AoW. It also comes with one of the best game manuals I've ever seen (wire-o, 300+ pages, detailed game mechanics and just about any useful reference table you could conceive. And some you couldn't but are vital nonetheless.)

Also, you can't judge Dom3 on it's demo. The demo ends more or less before the real fun begins.

Hard to compare, but all 3 are very good games.

Master of Magic was the absolute classic for its time. Great game, innovative and absolutely captivating portrayal of a 4x TBS fantasy game. The player-vs-environment aspect of MoM was perhaps the best of any game I've ever played. The varied schools of magic and racial bonuses gave it great replay value.

Age of Wonders was a very promising system, but it only really reached its fruition after multiple patches to Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. AoW: SM was a great game system, but the game play wasn't really that different from a number of similar predecessors--just smoother and more satisfying. I made it a good chunk of the way through the campaign, but found each scenario seemed to be playing itself out in a very similar way and eventually moved on to other games.

The Dominions series is an entirely different type of game. It really represents a clean break from the "tried and true" 4x strategy genre, and in that sense, it's a very worthy investment. Being developed almost exclusively by 2 Swedish brothers, it doesn't have the graphics or polish of the other games, but the "one more turn" effect is outstanding.

The game is so open-ended, there's a bit of a learning curve. But once you learn to master all the competing demands and opportunities, it's a GREAT game system. The various different types of "gods", the dramatically different schools of magic, and the wide divergence of strengths and weaknesses for all the various factions gave it great replay value, even as a single-player game.

The MP following for MP completely dwarfs the MP following of any of the other games mentioned here.

So long as we're discussing Master of Magic and it's successors, I will throw out one other recommendation that has captivated my attention for the last 3 months or so and still seems to be going strong. It's the free Civilization 4 mod, "Fall From Heaven 2".

Best darn mod I've ever run across, and it revived a once-favored game that had been sitting inert on my hard drive for about 2 years! If you have either the original Civ IV game, or if you have the expansion, "Beyond the Sword", check out FfH2 at http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171398.

How's the AI in Dom 3? In Dom 2 it was a bit on the weak side, and once you finally got past the "playing against the game mechanics" thing and really understood the game (which took eons, incidentally) it largely lost its appeal.

Probably still not worth it, I guess. $50 for a game that's strongest in MP is always a bad investment, as I never play MP.

Dom3 is available in Europe. At least in Germany, through ixsoft. Granted, it's still 55 Euros, but for me it was well worth it. And I'm a SP player almost exclusively.

They're also still working on it, patching and adding new nations.

I have played all three.

Master of Magic is like a sequel to the original Civilisation, by Sid Meier. But it has a fantasy setting, loads of spells and units, and tactical combat. It is really good. Gameplay a lot like any of the Civ games. Looks a bit dated now ... it was very low resolution.

Age of Wonders is like Master of Magic only with hexagons instead of squares. The most recent game in the series is Age of Wonders - Shadow Magic. I really liked Shadow Magic but it is still not quite so much fun as MoM.

Dominions 3 is like really complicated fantasy Risk. It's good fun, and I like it, but it is a very different game from the first two.

MoM is the oldest so has an awful AI.

Dom3 interface is a killer, it requires so much unnesesary micro. It should have been ok for a 10-15 years old game, but for a one year old game it's unacceptable. AI plays ok but it's too simple. This game should be very simple for an AI so i guess they made some simple set of rules how AI should behave but i didn't see something intelligent in it's actions.

AoW felt like a simplified MoM to me so i didn't really like it.

Overall, i prefer MoM.

I just started playing Dom3 and am enjoying myself. Haven't tried MP yet, but will as soon as I can.

I think Dom3 has something in common with Nethack, oddly enough: underneath the admittedly unimpressive aesthetics is a very complex game. It's not pretty, but there's a lot to it!