Age of Mythology (Mac)

Rating:
Summary: This series keeps getting better & better!
Review: The original AGE OF EMPIRES was one of the very first CD Rom games that I bought. I bought some other similar games, but AE was by far & away the best. It brought countless hours of addictive enjoyment. Then came along the Roman expansion & the midieval versions and those were smashes as well.

Continuing on in the series is AGE OF MYTHOLOGY and it does not disappoint. The basic premise is the same: you build cities to defend & armies to go out and beat up on other civilizations. The twist is that, in addition to human combat units, you also get all sorts of myth units to play with as well.

There are three mythological paradigms represented in the game: Greek, Norse & Egyptian. Within the 3 paradigms you have 3 major gods to choose from and several minor gods. The choice you make in your deity accounts for which combination of mythological units & godlike powers that you get.

My favorite myth unit would be the cyclops as they like to throw things, be it people, cavarly or even war elephants! It's pretty hilarious to watch them throw an elephant across the screen & have it take out a patch of trees. The roar of the Numean Lion is quite impressive as well.

In addition to myth units you also get hero units. If you are Greek you get characters such as Jason, Odysseous, Ajax, Achilles, etc. These are especially effective against myth units of the enemy army.

One would think that w/all the myth units & heroes that human units would be obsolete, but they're not. You still need lots & lots of human units as, unlike myth units, they can be mass produced.

Which leads me to another point. In the previous AE series your population limit was set @ a certain number. Your enemy could not have more overall units than you, and vice versa. In AM this changes. There are only certain places where you can build town centers. Each one that you build adds to your population limit - up to a few hundred or so. Capturing these locales is crucial to your survival in the game. Failure to do so means you will be overrun by the superior numbers of the enemy army.

One aspect I particularly like about this game is the symmetry. Being relatively familiar with Greek mythology (moreso than Egyptian or Norse), it was good to see the myth units appropriately assigned to individual gods.

For example: if you worship Poseidon you're able to get cyclops units. That works because Poseidon was supposed to be the father of the race. Another creature of Poseidon's is the Scylla, which is appropriate as Poseidon is the god of the sea.

Unlike the "flat" ends of the screen that you get w/previous games in the AE series, AM looks like it has been carved out of a fantastic dream. It's difficult to describe this aspect, but I liked the touch.

If you like previous games in the AE series, you're more than likely to enjoy this one as well. If you've not ever played AE but are interested in mythology, this one is highly recommended as an introduction to the series. It's everything you would want it to be: fun, surreal & very very addictive!

Rating:
Summary: finally a game good to be called Mythology
Review: This game is so cool! The human soldiers are neat but, those monster things are really great (but slow.) Some giant creatures can also throw other enemy units and kills them instantly. This game is sort of like Age of Empires II: the Age of Kings. And the videos inbetween are set up like Warcraft III's. The codes for the games are good (but i would like the fog of war removed, but thats ok.) Also, instead of being forsed with the heroes you all ready have, you can train a new one every age! If one of your heroes fall, they will come alive again (but not at full health.) Not to mention all the magic powers your heroes can perform, like meters, lightning, and bronze armor! This game is da BOMB! If you like Warcraft III, Age of Empires II, or other games like that you'll love this game!

Rating:
Summary: Good game, well worth the price
Review: If you've played Age of Empires II, you won't be too surprised by anything this game has to offer; it's more or less the same game, with a few tweaks here and there to make it more interesting and fun.

First, the reasons I pegged it a star:

The game is now a fully-rendered 3D game, instead of the 2D bitmaps like AOE2 used. On the one hand, it's kind of need to be able to zoom in and out at will and check out different angles of gameplay, but that's about all you get. 99% of the time, the 3D engine hasn't added anything that the 2D engine didn't do just fine with, but it's bumped up the video requirements SIGNIFICANTLY (i.e. make sure BEFORE you buy the game that your video card will support it), and causes the gameplay to periodically pause and grind on my machine, which, though not exactly the latest state-of-the-art, is not exactly a wimpy either. In my opinion, this was a bad call on Ensemble's part; they should have either stuck with 2D so that everyone could play it or given us more reason to have used 3D, or better yet, given us a choice of how we want to play.

They've also taken away one feature that I REALLY liked in AOE2: the ability to record a game and go back and watch it at will. I used to play people who were better than me, study their strategies, develop as a player, and eventually (a lot of times) beat them by mercilessly exploiting their weaknesses. It's kind of like watching football tapes before the big game. Can't do it in Age of Mythology. I was hoping they'd add a "rewind" feature to AOM, but instead, they took the whole feature out completely.

Now a few notes on why I like the game:

First and foremost, it's more AOE2, which is a game that I really like to begin with.

Also, I really like the idea that there are significantly more differences between civilizations now than just what special unit they get. Fundamental rules between the three major civilizations have now changed so much so that one must use drastically different strategies both playing AS different civilizations and play AGAINST different civilizations. The result is that there is FAR more variety and flexibility in how you play, which, in my book, is always a very good thing.

There are also more different TYPES of units. In AOE2, you basically had six types of units: infantry, archers, cavalry, monks, siege weapons, and naval vessels. AOM has taken away monks, but given us two new types: heores and myth units, and given us a way to affect the game completely outside of the units at all: god powers. Yet more ways to tweak strategies and find new and inventive ways to win. Very cool.

The campaign is very useful. Yes, there is only one, but there are thirty separate missions which walk you, step-by-step, through how to play the Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Norse (the three major civilizations) and give you a great feel for what kinds of strategies work and what kind don't.

All in all, I highly recommend this game. If you've played and liked AOE2, it's a no-brainer whether or not you should buy this game. If you like AOE2, you'll like AOM. If you haven't played AOE2 but you like real-time strategy games, this one is currently the standard by which others are judged.

Rating:
Summary: Age of mythology, the great RPG of 2002-2003
Review: IF you like the fantasy of great fighters and old mythology with men and different creaters? then you will love this game. THis is a very fun RPG that is very lengthly and fun in the process. IF i were you i would be go buy this game right now because its so awesome! so go and have a great time playing it

Rating:
Summary: Gamer
Review: I play this game online over eso and it is awsom. If you loved the Age of Empire Series you will love this game. Better graphics and changes. Now instead of civilizations you will be a god, ... as Zeus, Hades, Thor, Ra, Isis and others... I give it a perfect 5 and would give it a 10 if could!!!

Rating:
Summary: Age of Mythology by Microsoft
Review: A change from the ususual hum-drum of average computer games. Mythological powers a pleasant suprise to unleash upon enemies. Interesting storyline, but several months later it's glory begins to pall leaving a satisfactory and enjoyable aftertaste. The ability to train mythological and human soldiers alike, is extremely useful and downright fun!!! God and goddess powers have convinent effects, such as Zues's thunderbolt, Hel's Nidhogg dragon, and Hemes' secret tunnel/passage way. Strongly recommended for the sightly expierenced and above gamers.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Game
Review: I have played through CnC Generals, Warcraft 3, and Rise of Nations... some of the leading RTS titles today, yet Age Of Mythology has the right blend of depth and simplicity that makes it so much fun to play the single player. However, Warcraft 3 will likely beat it in the multiplayer easily because depth and balance become lot more important than simplicity and fun in that field. Overall, this is a refreshing title for casual and avid gamers alike.

For a quick comparison to the other two titles... Cnc Generals is a resource hog while AoM is smooth. Rise of Nations is tedious and a rehash of Empire Earth... or maybe Empire Earth was a rehash of Rise of Nations, only earlier in time. Whatever, AoM is better than both.

Rating:
Summary: cool
Review: FIRST OF ALL I HAVE NOT HAD THE GAME VERY LONG BUT ANYWAY...
THIS IS A GREAT GAME AND WILL KEEP YOU GAMERS OUT THEIR ENTERTAINED FOR HOURS.AS SOME OF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHERE I LIVE SCHOOL HAS BEEN LET OUT AND YOU CANT BE ENTERTAINED BY GOING OUTSIDE {like grown-ups think} FOR THE WHOLE SUMMER.
BUT THIS GAME WILL HELP YOUR BORDNESS LEAVE YOU RIGHT AWAY.IN THIS GAME THE GODS AND THE MONSTERS WILL FIGHT FOR YOU.BUT JUST BE CAREFUL OF WHICH GODS YOU PICK BECAUSE ALTHOUGH SOME MAY HELP YOUR OFFENSE YOU WILL HAVE A POOR DEFENSE.AND IF SOME HELP YOUR DEFENCE YOU WILL HAVE A POOR OFFENCE.BUT OF COURSE IF YOU HAVE THE CHEATS YOU CAN BUILD ANYTHING ANYWAY AS FAR AS HAVING THE WRIGHT SUPPLIES GOES.
AS YOU MORE-THAN-LIKALY KNOW SUPPLIES CAN BE A PAIN-IN-THE-... TO KEEP UP WITH BECAUSE IT TAKES MORE PEOPLE THAN YOU CAN COUNT IN ORDER TO GATHER A WEALTH SUPPLY OF WOOD,GOLD,STONE, ETC.BUT THATS WHERE THE GREAT CODES COME IN.
IF YOU ARE THE TYPE OF PERSON WHO IS INPACENT THEN YOU WILL WANT TO VIST WWW.CHEATPLANET.COM FOR CODES ON ANY GAME IMAGENABLE.ALTHOUGH THIS GAME IS FUN SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY IT IS MORE FUN WITH THE CHEATS.

Rating:
Summary: ~AGE~OF~MYTHOLOGY~
Review: This is a good game to get. You can do alot. The campain mode is fun but can be hard at times. You can even make your own map. One of the best parts is the online play. There is Quick setup (the games you play are rated.) And there are Advance setup (the games you play are not rated.) I think you should do the advance setup first to get up your skills then try quick setup when you think your ready. If you press the F4 key it will show you who may be doing better in the game. There are codes to this game but i'll not tell you in my review.
This is a fun game to have.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Game, missing a few features....
Review: Let me start off by saying that you WILL love this game. It has so much depth, and more diversity among the different cultures (9 of them) than any other RTS game. If you choose one god to worship, such as Zeus, you'll find playing as Poseidon or Loki to be much more different. In addition, the creation of myth units is just a fun add on that makes the whole entire game better. There's nothing more fun than being in the Mythic Age and watch three fire giants obliterate your enemy's Fortress. Best of all, however, is that this game is VERY accurate historically. It has it's own little encyclopedia in which you can find detailed information about EVERY unit that appears in the game, and there is also a historical description of that unit as well. It is very obvious that ES put a lot of work into this game.

The one downside however is the scenario editor. I would hold off until the X-Pack or the next patch to get this game if you're purely interested in creating scenarios/campaigns. This is because ES lacks one of the most important aspects of an editor, a unit editor, and it is likely that this will not be added until the X-Pack. The scenario editor also does not allow you to edit pitch and the zooming out is horrible.

If you're not into creating scenarios however, by all means get this game. There are so many different things that you can do the first time you play that you will not be able to make up your mind. Do I play as Set and create a massive defensive military of animals? Or should I be Loki and get free myth units just for destroying an enemy tower? Trust me, this game will keep you hooked for months.