Publisher: Microsoft, www.microsoft.com
Ages: nine and up.
Parental Advisory: None
Editor's
Choice
Compared to most video and computer games that rely on hand-eye coordination
and precise timing, real-time strategy games effectively challenge one's management
and strategy skills. In these games, you collect and manage resources that
include food, raw materials, and more, research technologies to improve a
civilization, and ultimately control and maneuver armies to take over the
world. Real-time strategy (RTS) games are much like action-packed chess games.
Among the best RTS games in the past few years has been Microsoft's Age of Empires. The company's newest real-time strategy game, Age of Mythology, builds on past successes and adds mythological gods and creatures to the mix. And the result is compelling entertainment.
The game offers Greek, Norse and Egyptian cultures, warriors, and gods and some 40 mythological creatures that include cyclopes, minotaurs, and more. While Age of Mythology looks and feels a lot like Age of Empires II, its predecessor, it's got far more options. Gods can grant powers during games, mythological units add welcome abilities to armies, and there are new ways to advance civilizations. Those who have played Age of Empires will find that Age of Mythology pretty much preserves the same approach to resource gathering, empire building, wonders, civilization bonuses, and technology trees.
As before, you need to farm, hunt, and gather lots of food to build units and evolve a civilization. You have to collect wood, which forms the basis of buildings and units, as well as mine gold, which funds research that develops cutting-edge technologies. A new aspect, favor, represents a civilization's relationship with its gods and ability to summon and use mythological units.
The game looks great with its rolling terrain, water and waves, sunlight, and lush forests. And the units feature good detail and fluid animations. Special effects include eclipses, tornados, and meteors. The game's interface is intuitive to learn and use. And because real-time strategy games are rather complicated, Age of Mythology offers a great tutorial.
Age of Mythology offers enough to keep anyone busy. There are 36 scenarios in the single-player campaign, 15 random map types, nine well-differentiated civilizations, multiple difficulty levels to allow players of any skill level to have an enjoyable and challenging game, and a scenario editor. And the multi-player games are an absolute blast.
Age of Mythology will appeal to experienced real-time strategy players, and entice those who have never before experienced the joys of gathering and managing resources and controlling armies. While Age of Mythology is a war game, we highly recommend it as a title that family members will enjoy.
01/16/2003 www.daytrum.com Editorial Staff
