A recent archaeological find of a prehistoric elephant skull has led some researchers to speculate on the origins of stories about the mythological Cyclops. The skull has a large hole in the center, right about where eyes would be on a human one. In reality, this was where a tusk would have fit, but it is interesting to consider that similar finds made in ancient times may have led to such a fantastic creation (no offense to the fascinating giant prehistoric elephants, of course). Belief in what we call mythology was an impalpable yet vigorous belief system that, like religion today, often decided the course of events. It was a way of explaining the world. But as we all know, monotheism is never as fun as a bunch of gods and goddesses battling it out. Thus, Age of Mythology transports us back into another age, and blurs the line between fact and fiction.
The game tells the story of Atlantis' leader, Arkantos. The intro beautifully sets the stage for the action to come-
centaur archers, minotaurs, and human legions all slaughtering each other on the battlefield. The story is told through 32 missions that take you to locations all over the ancient world, real and imagined. These travels allow you to experience the three civilizations that comprise the game's "
sides"
-
Egypt, Greece, and Norse. Three societies steeped in mythological lore.
Ensemble Studios has used the tried and true gameplay of real time strategy to bring the world of these civilizations to life. No one can fault them for doing so. After all, for better or for worse they helped to mold the genre into what it is today. That said, players will be familiar with the game's mechanics and interface-
especially if you are an Age of Empires veteran. You gather resources that let you build structures, train more troops and creatures, research upgrades, and eventually reach the mission objectives. To avoid sounding like a broken record, however, I'll simply lay out the key features that give Age of Mythology its distinct flavor.
A hallmark of this series is the ability to upgrade your civilization's "Age"
, representing its development over time. Build a few prerequisites and gather enough resources and you can not only change the visual style of the structures you build, but have access to new units and upgrades. In AOM, each Age-
Archaic, Classical, Heroic, and Mythic-
lets you choose one of two different gods or goddesses to worship. Selecting the right one depends on your playing style, as each one allows distinct units and upgrades. The most important choice is your major god, as this one determines the minor gods from which to select your remaining three. For instance, the Egyptian god Set focuses on archers, so a minor god you can worship later on will have significant upgrades for long range units. Loki, the Norse god of mischief, has a focus on myth units, giving you access to a greater variety at less of a cost (kind of like a mythological flea market). With a total of about a dozen gods per civilization, the choices are numerous to say the least. This lends a great deal of variety to the game and helps keep things surprisingly fresh. You are not relegated to the same units and upgrades game after game, but rather choose your own course.
The choice of each major and minor god is made doubly important by the fact that each grants you a distinct "
God Power"
. These god powers are basically ancient super weapons. Limited to one use, they can often turn the tide of battle, to which one of my recent multiplayer games will attest. There I was, at the edge of victory-
OK, maybe not, but I was still in the running-
when the Egyptian god Horus unleashed a tornado and sent my army in five different directions. God powers are not always so violently showy. They range from powers of pure destruction to other benefits such as giving your army bronze skin or creating a passage to the underworld that lets you travel between any two points on the map.
The myth units I touched upon are not to be understated. They literally make Age of Mythology the game it is. Each player will discover his or her own favorites to use, but all of them are incredibly fun to wield and distinct in their abilities. Minotaurs make excellent frontline assault infantry, though they are slow and lumbering, while Anubites (half human, half dog) have the ability to leap upon the enemy, making them excellent for setting up ambushes. Suffice to say, weighing in at about one dozen per civ, the choices are numerous.
Of course, where would all these fantastic creatures be without a little backup from the mortals? Nowhere, and Age of Mythology contains an array of historical units, Spearmen, Norse Axemen, Greek Hoplites etc. that make up the backbone of your army. Unlike in Age of Empires, which had each civilization sharing most of the units, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Norse soldiers are very different. Of course, each one falls into one of three categories-
infantry, archers, or cavalry. In addition, there are siege units for taking down fortifications and a few naval units per side. The decision to include naval combat is a welcome one since recent RTS games seem to be neglecting it (Warcraft III and Command and Conquer Generals come to mind). Throughout my time spent with the game, all of the units seemed nicely balanced. There is no unit that a good player will be unable to encounter, but using certain strategies you can make some units virtually unstoppable-
a sign of great strategy design. Ensemble has already released a few updates which further tweak game balance, and I'm sure this will be ongoing. Let us hope, however, that a future patch fixes one major imbalance-
the strength of buildings. Simply put, they are way too fragile. Watchtowers, walls, and barracks alike can crumble in seconds. This is especially troublesome for defense structures, since it can render them useless. Why build a row of watchtowers if a few Scarab units can quickly knock them down while taking minimal damage? This will certainly bother some more than others.
Of course, all these units are for naught if you have not the dough, and Age of Mythology requires you to gather four resources. There is the obligatory food (gathered from farms or hunting), gold, and wood, but a new addition is faith. I would hesitate to call it the most important resource, but it is the most critical for an interesting game. Without faith, you cannot summon myth units from your temple. Each civilization acquires faith differently. The Greeks assign workers to worship directly at temples, the Egyptians must construct monuments, and the Norse acquires faith by engaging in battle. In my opinion, this makes the Norse the most challenging side to play since you must be aggressive to stand a chance. They do have a few advantages to offset this, however. While the Greek and Egyptian workers must bring resources to a stationed storehouse, the Norse build ox-carts that can travel with their workers. Their infantry can also build structures, saving you resources. Again, this just goes to show how many differing strategies are available in this title, great stuff.
But enough gushing about the gameplay, let me gush about the graphics and sound. The composers have crafted a fine soundtrack. It is very reminiscent of the two Age of Empires soundtracks while still capturing the flavor of Age of Mythology's distinct time period. I ended up purchasing the collector's edition of the game, and I've listened to the included soundtrack CD on numerous occasions. In terms of sound, the myth units let out an appropriate grunt, hiss, or screech depending on its nature, but since all mortal units have the same responses to your orders, they get repetitive. Overall, the sound effects are handled nicely.
Graphically, Age of Mythology is top notch. The switch to a 3D engine adds the ability to rotate and zoom in and out. Although I found the zoom range to be a bit limited. The effects for god powers and myth units make them very exciting to watch. Age of Mythology contains plenty of nice touches, such as some myth units being able to send a human soldier flying through the air,which will literally make you smile with glee. Also, even though the units are now polygons instead of sprites, they don't look at all blocky, and Age of Mythology can safely lay claim to having the most fluid looking human units. If you've ever cringed at Empire Earth's rag-doll infantry, you'll know what I mean. The game's landscapes are visually lush, and range from snowy mountain peaks to harsh deserts. Of course, the 3D terrain allows for more interesting map design.
The Age of Empires games continue to draw thousands of players for online matches, and Age of Mythology will be no exception. You can easily log on to the game's dedicated servers to start up an online match. Most times I logged on there were hundreds and hundreds of people playing, and all of my matches were quite smooth with minimal lag. Of course, in addition to the campaign and multiplayer there is a full skirmish mode with the option to play on random maps against AI opponents, which I found to be a good challenge on the higher difficulty levels.
The Age of Mythology Collector's Edition comes with an excellent book by Edmund Filler titled "Bulfinch's Mythology"
. A primary source for the game's designers, this text is a fascinating look at the subject. Calling Age of Mythology an electronic version of this text would not be far off, as they have managed to inject a level of atmosphere that can propel a game from mediocrity into greatness. Age of Mythology is simply a great game.
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Reviewed by Anthony Micari.
