Reviews / previews
Ensemble Studios, creator of the fabulous Age of Empires and Age of Kings games, hopes to put you in a more whimsical state of mind with Age of Mythology. Youll choose from among the Norse, the Greeks, and the Egyptians, each with their own building types, unit types, and mythologies to plunder. Youll plan sieges with archers and swordsmen standing alongside griffons, giants, or giant scarabs as you fight for dominance over a mythical world and choose mythological gods to help you on your campaign.
-- 0 / GamePro
The time of the gods will soon be upon us! Age of Mythology is evolving nicely into another fine RTS, cruisin through time with Ensemble Studios new 3D Age of Empiresinspired engine.
The intuitive controls (already nicely tuned in the preview version) will make you feel like a god as you build a civilization from scratch. Youll choose from nine civilizations based on one of three cultures: Egyptian, Norse, or Greek. Using a familiar point-and-click interface, youll construct villages and cities, fight invaders and monsters, wage war, and otherwise survive to flourish.
Playing with the mythologies through 36 scenarios endows this AOE spinoff with its unique kick. Each culture will have its own gods and special demigods. The Norse cultures, for example, will seek the favor of Odin, Thor, or Loki; and theyll command the Troll and the Frost Giant, among others. The gods will assist your development and fight at your side if you earn their favor.
Age of Mythology already looks like an excellent and entertaining jaunt through alternative historymake no myth-take about it.-- The Man in Black / GamePro
Point. Click. Build. Harvest. Reinforce. Deploy. Tis the rhythm of the Ages, and Ensemble Studios latest RTS is tuned directly in.
A Peon by Any Other Name
Real-time strategy games have been stuck on repeat for years. Villagers collect resources so they can build buildings that build more buildings; factories churn out units; eventually you go to war until someone quits. While several games have thrown some nifty concepts (like spaceships, heroes, or resource mucus) into the mix, theyve all basically been copies of an old, old Westwood Studios game called Dune II, the first RTS to ever garner mainstream attention.
That being said, Age of Mythology may be the most elegant copy of Dune II ever made, refined through years of experimentation to be fun, intuitive, and exceedingly well balanced; the number of units at your disposal feels vast without ever feeling overwhelming. And commanding a Cyclopswell, thats just plain fun.
Rise of Nations
One of the big things that separates Age of Mythology from the rest is inclusion of a new resourceFavorthat exists separate from the usual trio of food/lumber/gold. While the three nations (Greek, Egyptian, Norse) dont quite display the distinction of races in Blizzards titles (StarCrafts Zerg and Protoss seemed like they existed in different games), the way they gain Favor changes drastically from nation to nation.
Ensembles also done a fine job in balancing unit typestheres more to the interaction between Myth, Hero, and regular units than the simple archers are good against horses system youre used to, and good players will be forced to balance their armies in order to succeed. The Campaign mode features a dozen missions for each race, but the story doesnt quite have StarCraft-style single-player pull, despite being based on some of the finest tales ever told.
A Timeless Tale Well Told
Age of Mythology is one of the best RTS games ever made, perfect for people still into the genre and great for those who are just jumping in. But if youre already sick to death of all the Rises of Nations and Crafts of Wars, Age of Mythology will still seem like a tired old tale.-- 0 / GamePro
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