This wildly anticipated sequel to the extremely successful Age of Empires franchise, Age of Mythology brings plenty new life to its family, although grandpa and daddy Age probably aren’t too proud. I remember when I was so excited to get this game, in fact everybody was, I received it for Christmas, a fact I proudly showed off to my awed pals at school. There were almost no copies left at my local gaming store, or anywhere else for that matter. Ordering online was the only way to go, so that was where Santa went.
Gameplay
Starting with the most important factor, the gameplay is where Age of Mythology may, arguably, be weakest. Sure, the game is fun for the first few weeks after you purchase it, as you test out the new features, the god powers, the rotatable 3D camera, the flashy new graphics engine, but after you beat the main campaign and check out the multiplayer mode, you don’t really have much motivation to play much longer. Easily my favourite part of the game, the spectacular campaign following a young hero – Arkantos – and his attempt to save his homeland of Atlantis (they don’t call it Age of Mythology for nothing do they?) from raiders attempting to invade the not-so-lost city. The long, 30+-hour journey takes you all the way from the gates of Troy itself -as one of the lucky men selected to be in the legendary Trojan Horse- to the banks of the River Styx, in Hell itself. What the developers have gently incorporated into the game is the gradual change between the different civilizations you will play, as you travel throughout Greece, Egypt, and Scandinavia, playing and testing the extreme differences between the Greeks, Egyptians, and the Norse people. This can be extremely useful when you play the random map games or the multiplayer games that ensue after you complete the campaign. Rather than forcing you to test out the varied civilizations for yourselves, the developers have made it easy for you. The entire campaign is fraught with peril, and also some welcome help, as you meet heroes you may or may not have heard of –such as Ajax, the warrior- that assist you in your quest. I will talk more about the story below.
Random map games are a hit or miss attempt, depending on how you like your RTS games. For the new RTS player, there is an extremely easy difficulty setting, forcing your enemies to never (in my experience) attack, although they do offer quite a fight when you step onto their land. Okay, so the noobies are covered as far as difficulty settings go, but what about those casual gamers, who like their games to be an easy ride, with low stress level gameplay. Wait a minute, there isn’t a difficulty setting for you! Who, I might add, the majority of gamers are. The next level up from easy to moderate is quite a learning curve from the easy setting. The enemy attacks you with full force, using very difficult and smart AI. A difficulty setting in between here might settle my taste, and make it a little, or more likely a lot, more fun. For the truly hardcore player, you have three settings to choose from. Lucky you!
The game offers a simple tutorial at the start of the campaign, for those who need it, showing the basic of basics to those new to the genre. The interface is no stellar change from the Age of Empires series, but as the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” stands true for this series, so nothing to really complain about there.
For those of you who liked the varied races and there entirely different technologies in Starcraft, you will absolutely go crazy when you find out AoM has not just three, but nine extremely different races to choose from. I suppose you could say there are more, as you choose different gods to follow throughout the game, which greatly affect your future by giving you different buildings, powers, and technologies to choose from. The Greeks are for those of you used to past AoE games, with many of the same basic technologies and units. One of the fun new additions to the game are the many mythological creatures you can call upon to aid your quest. Need to scout the enemy but can’t find a way to get around blocking terrain? Create a Pegasus, and be amazed at how easy it is to see now! There are giant squids to pull down boats from the water, or giant Cyclops to crush enemy’s villages with. Every mythological creature you have read, or even dreamed about are here for your malicious war effort. My favourite has to be the Nidhogg, a giant Norse dragon that breathes fiery death upon enemy troops from the sky. If you notice an enemy army does not have any ranged units, such as archers, send in the old Nidhogg to teach them a lesson, if they live to tell about it! Well I’ve talked enough about gameplay, now I will move on.
Plot
The plot in the campaign is easy to follow, while maintaining a complexity that keeps you guessing at every turn. As mentioned before, you are Arkantos, a Greek warrior and hero who has proven he can defend his country when it calls. You have chosen yourself to find out where these too-well-organized pirates have come from, perhaps just pawns in a godly chessboard of warfare. You will travel to the sands of Egypt, the snows of Scandinavia, and the pits of Hell, meeting many memorable heroes along the way. When some heroes die, you feel you have emotionally lost a loved one! Accompanying the campaign is spectacular voice acting and lengthy cut scenes before and after every mission, in case you don’t know why you just wasted two hours of your life.
Sound
This may be the strongest, and most unique part of Age of Mythology, as the developers obviously mustered a ton of effort to create unique noises to signify each passing event in the game, and also for some excellent menu and game music. Whether you just created a worker or a Greek trireme, there is a unique noise to accompany it, and over time you consciously memorize these noises. The menu music is memorable, and extremely well done. Music also occurs in the game at certain high points in the plot, or when unbelievable twists occur. Little sounds such as the metallic clink of the pick meeting the stone, or the axe meeting the wood and felling the tree, sound as realistic as if you just stepped into the world outside. Ha, like any gamer would do that!
Graphics
Age of Mythology is nothing special graphics wise, unless you are a huge fan of the AoE series and have been biting your nails waiting for the new 3D graphics and rotatable camera. This is practically a must in RTS games in this day and age, so once again nothing special. Zooming in on the action can reveal believable body movements, such as villagers struggling to carry heavy loads, or wearily lifting picks to mine gold. Also, little things such as trees falling down with cracking noises to gather more wood, whereas in past Age games the trees just magically turned into stumps. AoM is a huge new step in the franchise, but nothing new in this RTS world.
Fun Factor
Age of Mythology is a blast for the first couple months after you purchased it, especially if you are an RTS fan, as this game takes many new turns for the genre. After that, the game slowly dwindles off, unless you are interested in playing the decent multiplayer mode. I would have to say that this is like caramel: heaven in the first few bites, but after a while you get sick of it!
Gameplay: 79%
Plot: 95%
Graphics: 89%
Sound: 98%
Fun: 85%
89%