Whenever a strategy game gives me the option to choose between several distinct factions, I'm always faced with a petrifying dilemma. Do I choose the stalwart mech-using humans known as the Vanguard that are always reliable and familiar? Do I change things up and go exotic with a race of bug-like aliens called the Kir’ko that are eager to defend their newfound freedom after centuries of enslavement? Wait a minute — is that a faction comprised of undying dumpster divers who meld whatever tech they can find or kill for and graft it onto their bodies? Yes please!

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Age of Wonders: Planetfall First Look 18 IMAGES

That's right, in my hands-on demo with Age of Wonders: Planetfall , I got some time in with the faction known as The Assembly. True to their name, they love manufacturing: slapping together pieces of people and machinery, engineering virulent diseases — you name it. Somehow, they feel right at home next to the dinosaur-riding Amazons and insectoid aliens all vying for a slice of planetary conquest. So far, each faction I've seen is more than just eye candy, as they all have their compelling backstories in a world reeling from the collapse of an imperious galactic civilization. Even the tech trees and upgrades tell a story of your faction's desire to stand apart and evolve, and you'll have a major role in choosing how they grow each time you play.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. Expanding through the hexagon-tiled planets allow you to amass an army, indulge in diplomacy, or set off some real doomsday weaponry. 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.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. 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. 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. I also got a demonstration of their "Doomsday Tech", whereupon the developers triggered a planet-wide bombardment of lethal parasites. If my faction survived for 10 turns, I would win the game. Predictably, diplomatic relations took an immediate nosedive, and suddenly every other faction wanted me dead. Fair reaction, but what the hell did you people expect forming an alliance with trash zombies who tinker with biological weapons on the side!?The rest of my demo was spent fighting off one such angry faction, the Vanguard,. Again, there was a lot to take in since I was being dropped into battle with a fairly advanced squad of troops. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.Another fun mechanic I got to play around with the use of battlefield operations that could be enacted outside of my troops movement. They weren't exactly free to use, but I had enough resources allocated to try out a few of them. 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. One special operation sent down a plagued spore pod from orbit to detonate in an area of effect — hitting several targets with deadly biological damage, and also creating a gross looking pustule that was able to sprint across the battlefield on the next turn and trigger a kamikaze detonation to sow even more chaos. As the enemy forces scattered and started to fall, I enacted another operation to trigger lightning strikes that would hit random targets each turn. This turned into a fairly satisfying conclusion as I beat the enemy leader within an inch of his life, only to let him get zapped to death the moment his turn started.It may have only been one battle in a larger war, but it felt exhilarating enough to have been its own main mission in any turn-based strategy game. If I had enough time to get a feel for all the options, customization, and tech available to my adorable cyborg zombie crew, I have the feeling those last 10 turns until world domination would have been extremely fun.

Brendan Graeber is a Guides Editor at IGN. He's also pretty sure nobody's ever played his favorite and forgotten 4X-style game, Lords of Magic. Please tell him he's wrong at @Ragga_Fragga