Well, Master of Magic is one of my favorite Microprose games, and I've been looking for the "truest" successor since Microprose died.

Some years ago I tried the first Age of Wonders. It seems to more resemble Master of Magic than Heroes of Might and Magic, but there are things that keep it from being as enjoyable as Master of Magic:

(1) In MoM, you can have spell-casting heroes, but you can also cast spell yourself, which is generally more powerful. In AoW, the only way to cast spell is having your heroes to cast them.

(2) Magic is more limited. It doesn't matter if you have hundreds of mana points in reserve, since the mana you can spend in a turn is severely limited by your heroes' spellcasting skill.

(3) Magic is more expensive. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I always get the impression that mana-generating structures is way more scarce in AoW than in MoM. I read many cool spells in the AoW manual. Alas, the scenario ends before I can even try those spells.

(4) Everything is slower in AoW; research, mana accumulation, everything. Probably because everything is more costly, or because resource is more scarce, or both. Nonetheless, I read people complaining about many uneventful turns in MoM. Well, it is much worse in AoW. At least in MoM I could have powerful, summoned creatures in reasonable time frame. On the other hand, I found myself many times winning AoW scenarios with standard creatures. Or maybe I'm not just patient enough. Nonetheless, I've never felt the need of patience in MoM, while AoW really tests my patience. 😵

(5) Does magic actually matter in AoW? Despite it has the look of Master of Magic, it plays more like Heroes of Might and Magic when building armies is waaay more important than researching magic (especially HOMM III), to the point that I abandoned research most of the time. Heck, it sometimes feels like playing Civilization minus technological advancements.

(6) I want randomly generated maps instead of scenarios. Nuff said!

If AoW has redeeming quality, it is probably its tactical combat, which gives you more tactical freedom and is more complex. But then again, AoW tactical combat is more tedious compared to the "quick-and-dirty" tactical combat in MoM.

The first time AoW: Shadow Magic came around, I was already too much cynical. However, I'm asking for second opinion here: is Shadow Magic closer to Master of Magic than the first AoW? And if it's not, is it less tedious than its predecessor? I don't know about you guys, but to me, playing the first AoW is like playing Heroes of Might and Magic with more work and less excitement.