The Shiny Side

Welcome to the first post in a blossoming series called For Old Time’s Sake. Here, I will proudly review games that aren’t the “hot, new game” on the shelf, but rather one that you will have to dive through some discount bins to find. Heck, you might even have to pay twice the original price on EBay, who knows? We’ll kick things off with a personal favorite of mine, one that currently has been rekindled as the “multiplayer game of choice” among some of my friends: Age of Mythology.

Hit the jump for the rundown.

Game: Age of Mythology Gold
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Mac
Developer: Ensemble Studios
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios (PC), MacSoft (Mac)
Genre: Real Time Strategy
Release Date: November 1, 2002 (Vanilla); September 30, 2003 (The Titans Expansion)

Age of Mythology is, first a foremost, a spin-off from the Age of Empires series of games. The similarities in design, both graphically and mechanically, leave its roots unquestionable. However, Age of Mythology chooses to forgo the historical accuracy of its predecessors in exchange for a wild environment full of warring Gods and mythological beings. That simple change creates a charm that not only brings new scenarios, but a whole new world of possibilities.

The single-player vanilla campaign focuses on Arkantos, an Atlantean hero tasked with tracking down enemies that have sided with Posiedon in an effort to destroy Atlantis. As with most Real Time Strategy games, the game does a good job of easing you into the mechanics (such as pre-selecting your Major Gods, etc) through the plot. Age of Mythology, however, also keeps you on your toes as you’re learning. You get a fair deal of time to build, attack, etc. but take too long, and you might just end up having to restart a level. Even on the easy setting, the AI is smart enough to keep it interesting: from sending in raiding parties to creative uses of God Powers.

‘God Powers?’ you say? Why, yes, my friend! Where Mythology breaks away from the other Age games is in your choice not only of a civilization to play, but also of what Gods to worship as you progress through the ages. Each civilization (Greek, Egyptian, Norse, and Atlantean added in the expansion) has three Major Gods that you must choose from when you start your game. That brings a total of 12 different starting “factions” to the playing field. Not only do these Major Gods have different bonuses and powers that they grant, but they also have different worship trees that you can follow, with two Minor Gods available every age for you to choose between. These choices affect things like your special upgrades, which Myth units you can command, and even which supernatural powers you have at your disposal.

This is where the God Powers come into play. Each Deity grants you a one-time-use power associated with them. For instance, Zeus grants you a lightning bolt that can instantly kill any unit, except a Titan. Set allows you to tame animals for your own use. Thor can summon a special Dwarven Gold Mine that provides more gold depending on the age you summon it. The exception is that the Atlanteans are granted lesser powers that can be used several times, such as the ability to create a small forest (via Gaia). These powers can instantly turn the tide of a game if used correctly. Just image a growing army completely wiped off the map by a well-placed Tornado, or a well-garrisoned citadel that suddenly is bombarded by Meteors. It is all within the realm of possibility in Age of Mythology!

The combat in Age of Mythology follows a very basic Rock/Paper/Scissors format at its base. Infantry is good against Calvary. Cavalry is good against Archers. Archers, in turn, are good against Infantry. It is this basic structure that allows you to mix-and-match your armies to best counter that of your opponent. An interesting wrench in the proverbial cogs is that you can train “anti-” units. Egyptians, for example, get an Anti-Infantry unit called the Axeman. This unit is considered Infantry as well, but also is specifically designed to take down its own kind. This adds in another level of army-building if you have special bonuses to a certain type of unit (example: the Gods have blessed your Infantry with greater armor), then you can amass both the traditional and counter units that fit the description.

The multiplayer maps in Age of Mythology are quite cutting-edge for the time. Each map is randomly generated based on number of players, teams, and map choice. This means that if you play a Large map with just three players, it will be significantly smaller than a map with the same settings with 12 players. The level creation will also adjust the layout to accommodate teams of varying size. If you’re playing a map where a mountain range separates opposing teams, a team of 5 will have most of the map on their side, while a team of 2 may only have a small section of the map. The land surrounding each player is the same, but there isn’t any wasted space due to pre-designed maps that are meant for X many players.

With multiplayer battles that support up to 12 players, a variety of land, sea, air, and myth units, not to mention player customization via worship trees, it’s easy to see that Age of Mythology is a completely different beast than its predecessors. Even the now-outdated graphics seem to work very well, and don’t show the age of the game as harshly as some other six-year-old titles. All-in-all I’d say that this is one of the best long-standing games on the market at this time. Looking for some exciting, fast-pased multiplayer that allow for a variety of options (”rushing” and “turtling” are just as viable) that help to support all play styles? Go out and pick up this game. It’ll be one of the best uses of $20 in the market today.

Final Score: 7.5
This game has withstood the test of time and, despite aging graphics, still offers the classic gameplay that made it so successful when it first launched.