
The game was released in 2003 and was developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft. Based in a fictional mythological world, it pits the Ancient Egyptians, the Norse and Ancient Greeks against each other in a struggle for total conquest. Follow us Facebook and on Google+.Age of Mythology is a Real Time Strategy game by Microsoft.Īge of Mythology is an off-shoot of the highly successful Age of Empires series. Sound Card: Direct X Compatible Sound Cardįollow Marshall Honorof and on Google+. Whether you worship Poseidon, Freya, Set or Gaia, be sure to leave an appropriate offering for your deity "Age of Mythology" is still a gift from the gods. Everything that made the game great more than a decade ago is still present and accounted for, and a few welcome tweaks here and there help streamline the game for modern computers. In spite of very little new content, "Age of Mythology: Extended Edition" is still a hard title to pass up. Whether this will really happen is hard to say, though the multiplayer servers were unpopulated during our review process. Otherwise, the most compelling reason to pick up the Extended Edition is the promise of a Steam-based online community with new players, better matchmaking and the possibility of new maps and scenarios. Given how popular the online game-streaming platform has become, hardcore users should get a lot of enjoyment out of this feature, as well as the improved interface for the multiplayer's spectator mode. One exciting feature of the Extended Edition is integrated streaming to Twitch. Some special effects, like the ray of light fired by the crocodilian petsuchos unit, have also been totally replaced, but they don't look substantially better or worse. The graphics look a little better, especially when it comes to lightning. If you've already played "Age of Mythology" to your heart's content, the Extended Edition does not provide too many reasons to come back. The dialogue is hardly award-winning, but each actor attacks his or her role with a nice mix of gravitas and humor.


The sound effects are imaginative, considering that the designers had no basis for what a real kraken or einherjar (resurrected Norse warrior) sounds like, and the voice acting is over-the-top, but fun. It's the kind of music that fades into the background as you play, but you may find yourself whistling it while walking down the street. With melodic strings, ambient flutes and pulsing drums, the music manages to feel simultaneously Greek, Egyptian and Norse. Music and soundĮxcellent soundtracks have been a hallmark of the "Age of Empires" series, and "Age of Mythology" is no exception. The game's overall art style is phenomenal, but the graphics barely did justice to it back in 2002 and fall far short by today's standards. Although the Extended Edition supports higher resolutions and features improved lighting, better particle effects and day/night cycles, this does little to address how blocky and indistinct the characters and buildings look up close. The visuals in "Age of Mythology" have not aged as well as the rest of the game. A Cyclops named Gargarensis is willing to move heaven and earth to become immortal, and to stop him, Arkantos and his ragtag band of heroes must fight in the Trojan War, revive a dead god in Egypt and match wits with Loki himself in the Norselands. A message from Athena, goddess of wisdom, suggests otherwise. StoryĪfter spending years fighting pirates and bandits, Atlantean admiral Arkantos believes his best days are behind him. No single strategy works against every opponent, but adaptable, open-minded players will find a use for every soldier at their disposal.
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The combination of these two game-balancing systems, plus variables such as siege weapons, counter-units and the inherent inequality of all four races, makes "Age of Mythology" anyone's game. Myth units excel against traditional soldiers, heroes can destroy myth units with ease and regular human soldiers can take down heroes.

This time, however, there's a new element: myth units and heroes.īy cashing in favor, players can call upon mythological beasts such as frost giants and sphinxes as well as demigods such as Heracles and pharaohs.
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These powers can change a match's outcome in an instant, and force players to make interesting decisions about which god to worship and how to best use that god's awesome power.īeyond that, "Age of Mythology" embraces the traditional "Age of Empires" rock-paper-scissors strategy: infantry beats cavalry, cavalry beats archers, archers beat infantry. Players also receive potentially game-changing god powers: one-time use abilities that include devastating meteor strikes, rains that increase farms' food production or teleporting whole armies across the map. Thor supplies dwarves who excel in gold mining, while you can get cheaper technology upgrades from Isis.
