When comparing X-COM: UFO Defense vs Age of Wonders III, the Slant community recommends Age of Wonders III for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Steam with turn-based combat?” Age of Wonders III is ranked 6th while X-COM: UFO Defense is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Age of Wonders III is:
throughout the game players troops are leveling as long as they are being used. This adds to each's pool of abilities. There are also points one can earn in battle that can be used to unlock new abilities. Both of these systems add up to a competent way to always be leveling and give a feeling of advancement in the game.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Very deep strategy
Keeping track of more than a dozen soldiers with 10 skills, their inventories (including ammo count and weight), dynamic visibility, line of sight, destructible terrain, consequences of missed shots (like friendly fire or destroyed loot), etc. quickly overwhelms noobies, putting the real strategy masters in the limelight. And this is just a battle out of many, with base building, personell management, logistics, reconnaissance, research and manufacturing between them.
Pro Active open source clone
The openxcom team have re-implemented the entire game and fixed many of the longstanding bugs in the original. It allows you to play on modern machines and in much higher resolution. A copy of the original game is still required for the assets.
Pro Dark humor
Seems to have started the "evil aliens" trend.
Pro Worthwhile leveling system
throughout the game players troops are leveling as long as they are being used. This adds to each's pool of abilities. There are also points one can earn in battle that can be used to unlock new abilities. Both of these systems add up to a competent way to always be leveling and give a feeling of advancement in the game.
Pro Intuitive tactical battles
The tactical battles in the game play out in a way that feels different depending on what enemies are being fought , which makes for a good way to differentiate play. The battles also play out in a fast fashion that is easy to understand making for an experience that feels well made due to how the player can pick up the play.
Cons
Con Artwork
The artwork is not to everyone's liking.
Con Some areas are too easy
At certain points of the game decision need to be made, which would normally mean something is lost when choosing, but sadly things like buildings are too easy to build meaning there is no loss when choosing what to do, which makes the choices meaningless.