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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
That's real ancient Greek, people, June 19, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Age of Mythology (CD-ROM)
I must say, I am thoroughly impressed with Age of Mythology. Though it's certainly not revolutionary to the RTS genre (it plays very similarly to Age of Empires I & II), it is an addictive game that's accessible to amateurs but still rewarding to those that master it. What really stands out about it though, is how polished it is. Age of Mythology is all about the details. While Age of Empires I & II had very simlar looking units for their many "races", this game really gives the varying units a different look. There are only so many ways you can depict a 0.5 inch spearman on screen, but the developers have nevertheless defined each unit visually. It gets even more impressive with the plethora of colorful myth units. Who knew that a manticore and a chimera would look so very, very different? Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that at least the Greeks actually speak their ancient language (though the single player mode understandably narrates the story in English). Take it from the classics major (I even verified the phrases I didn't know in my lexicon.....yeah....I'm a loser), Ensemble Studios did their homework. We're not talking Thucydides; the statements are really simple phrases basically translating to "that is my purpose" and "especially" and "yes". I have no idea how accurate the Egyptian or Norse game language is, but I have to imagine that they did their best to base them off their ancient languages. On top of being polished, Age of Mythology is a lot of fun. For fans of the Age of Empires games, you'll be pleased to know you'll still be having a blast with powerful siege weapons and legions of infantry, archers and cavalry. The addition of myth and hero units and of course the wonderful "god powers" does wonders for the gameplay. The old and the new are boiled down into one familiar, intuitive interface. My largest complaint about Age of Mythology is that the variety between the races. I was nurtured by Starcraft in the beginning of my RTS days, so I have long been accustomed to different "races" holding different advantages. Though there are certainly variety in the "races" strengths as well as units' abilities and look, they are pretty similar (i.e. Greeks have more types of archer units, Norse have the best melee fighters, Egyptians build stronger walls, but all races have archers, melee fighters and as walls). This does tend to force players to strategize more, but I would have liked to see more variety. Overall, this is a really good game that is really detailed and just a hoot to play. If you're considering getting Age of Empires I or II, waste not your money and get this one instead.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent game, September 26, 2007
= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Age of Mythology (CD-ROM)
We bought this game for my son's birthday. It was not expensive and sort of a whim purchase. The game out of the box requires Rosetta (it's not a Universal binary), but if you apply the free patch from their website, it will upgrade the game to a Universal binary. This makes the game much more stable and enjoyable to play.
We had purchased Civ IV: Warlords and this game; my son has hardly even touched Civ IV since we bought this.
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22 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Age of Mythology for Mac Review, December 30, 2003
This review is from: Age of Mythology (CD-ROM)
Please note: Amazon combines reviews for this basic game, the Titans expansion, the Collector's Edition, and the various operating systems all together. This review concerns only the Mac version. It specifically does NOT address the any of the Windows versions, which may indeed be spectacular. In fact, the Mac version might well be spectacular, but after spending time and money, I really can't say since it won't load correctly. I'd love to play Age of Mythology--it looks fantastic, and I'm an addict for Age of Empires. But after convincing my loved ones to shell out relatively big bucks for it, and opening it with great joy at Christmas, and installing it with wide-eyed anticipation, I was met not with centaurs and pyramids, but only heart-rending despair. Textures didn't load, so I got odd looking polygon characters and buildings in blue and white instead of Gods and Goddesses. Oddly enough, palm tress came out okay. Must be a faulty install, right? So I de-installed and re-installed...no luck. Surely there's information in the booklet or on the web page? Nope...but there is contact information, only on the web page. After a short flurry of e-mail--and I must admit, MacSoft's promptness was greatly to be admired--I was told that there's a driver problem with OS 10.2.8, and since it's a driver problem, there's no fix available. MacSoft's suggestion was that I should upgrade my OS to Panther. Of course, that may play havoc with all the other software I currently use. My suggestion to MacSoft is that they clearly label the fact that Age of Mythology doesn't work with OS 10.2.8 on the product box itself, in the Read-Me file with the installer, and on their webpage. Since OS 10.2.8 is one of the most common upgrades for OS X, to do otherwise treats the customer most poorly. I'm extremely disappointed.
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