Customer Reviews

Age of Mythology

5 star:		(117)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(30)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

The first computer game I ever purchased was the original Age of Empires, way back in 1998. It would be impossible for me to relate in words what a thrill this game was to me. I was completely immersed in it for months, and over the years bought and became equally engrossed with the three follow ups. It is with some reluctance therefore, that I must comment on this game with less than outright exuberance.

The big difference between this game and its predecessors are the units. Along with the usual archers, cavalry and infantry, you now get god powers, myth units, and heroes. These are quite fun. God powers, for example, include such devastating attacks as earthquakes, lightning storms, and even pounding your opponent with meteors. They can also be benign, however, such as those that provide rain for your farms, or those that heal wounded soldiers. You must be careful when you use them, though, because you can only use them once.

The myth units are also a blast. Unlike other units, they are created at the temple, but basically they are like other units only with lots of attack and hit points. The Greeks have Minotaurs, Cyclops, and Centaurs; the Norse have giants and trolls; the Egyptians have sphinxes and mummies; but there are many, many others, and they are all unique to their civilization. What is really fun is the way they attack their enemy. The Norse frost giant blows a cold wind at his foe, freezing it in place, then bashes it with its club. The hill giant not only swings his club, but every once in a while hauls back his foot and gives his enemy a mighty kick. The Medusa myth unit, as you would expect, turns the enemy into stone, and the graphic is superbly done. The attacked unit's movement grinds slowly to a halt, then freezes in place and turns gray. There are literally a dozen more I could describe, but suffice to say, they are ingeniously done, and a joy to watch.

But for that, though, any A of E fan will be familiar with this. You still have to have villagers collect food, gold and wood. They still build buildings, and you must create and upgrade your units with the available resources. Which is fine. I never minded this aspect of the game--in fact, enjoyed it--and really, it's an integral part of the strategy. You must protect your own supply and a good way to defeat your enemy is to attack his.

My first disappointment with the game is with the 32 scenario campaign. Oh, don't get me wrong, many of them were a lot of fun. But it doesn't have that specialness, that extra intellectual challenge that most of the earlier A of E games provided. I remember actually lying awake nights wracking my mind to find some new way to end an ever increasing string of failures. What a thrill it was to come up with a new angle, try it the next day, and discover that it worked! (And what a thrill--a truly visceral thrill--to maul and smash the enemy after suffering so many disappointments.)

But this doesn't happen here. For one thing, many of the scenarios are very short, some only twenty to thirty minutes. This is far short of the epic length that I crave. And secondly, even the longer ones often end abruptly. A good example would be one of the later scenarios, playing in the Norse aspect. You are told that you will be attacked. You have five minutes to build your town and its defenses, and you have fifteen minutes to defend it from the enemy. This was a blast, with furious, non-stop attacks from several areas. After the fifteen minutes, you are told that you must then find and destroy the enemy. Yes! This will be where it gets good, I thought. So I sent what remained of my battered forces north, simply to scout out the enemy's strength. I fully expected them to be destroyed, and instead concentrated on my area, replacing dead villagers, repairing or rebuilding smashed buildings, etc. Imagine my surprise when, a mere thirty seconds later, I was told that I was victorious! I looked up to where they had gone and sure enough, there was a huge enemy army up there, but apparently, all I had to do was get to it! Man, what a drag. What a disappointment! And there are at least a few like this.

The random map aspect also leaves a lot to be desired. For one thing, there are only two sizes, and the large one is much too small. You can scout out the entire thing in three minutes. And although I've only played it a half-dozen times, I've already begun to notice a depressing similarity in the enemy AI, which can be counted on to attack early, often, with the same units and at the same place. This was not the case in A of E, where from game to game and even within games, strategy and tactics changed and you could never know what to expect.

Lastly and most disappointing is the game's bugginess. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but I have a big, powerful computer, and I have never had problems with any Microsoft game like I am having with this one. First, I couldn't get the cursor to appear. Then the game would crash, or the screen would go blank. Now, I will say that Microsoft, through the internet, has been very helpful, but who wants to go through all of this?

Look, this is not a bad game. I have enjoyed it. It's just that I have come to expect so much more from this series. I guess I've been spoiled.

I've just acquired AOM this weekend and I got glued to the seat until 3 AM.
It's difficult to indicate precisely which are the features I like most, but I'll try to mention almost all of them.

Graphics: the 3D design is awesome. The buildings & units are so well designed that you can see small details on them. Another feature is the 360 degree rotation, enabling to see units and terrain from every corner. The game is eye-candy completely.

Buildings & units: mythological units such as Krakens, Cyclops, Hippocampus, Pegasus, Colossus (and many more) can be summoned to your side if your villagers pray enough to grant you enough favor from your gods. You can choose which god to adorate and be on your side. Besides, you can count on heroes to lead your armies such as Jason, Ajax, Odyseeus or Hippolita.

Civilizations: 3 different civilization types. Egyptians, Norse and Greek with a full pantheon of gods, special units and buildings.

Campaigns: want to share the siege of Troy and take part of the horse? Want to live mythical adventures in the North? The campaigns are totally interactive and with 4 different play levels.

Wrapping up, this is a game RTS players and fans would not like to miss. It's a brand new game with hours of assured fun.

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!

If you already like AOE type of real-time strategy game, you already know how good this game is so I don't have to explain any further to you. For those who haven't played many real-time strategy games, AOM is much more fun than War Craft III "if" you actually want to use some brain. Both AOM and WC3 have pretty 3D graphics but AOM is far better if you actually like to apply strategy. WC3 emphasizes brawling and the only real strategy involved is to churn out more military units than your opponents and launch massive and relentless attacks. Sure you get hero units but they're just another beefed up soldiers with lame powers. In AOM, you can actually counter-strategize depending on your terraine, civilization, and opponents. That's because different units get bonuses when attacking against certain units (e.g. archers have advantage against slower infantry at distance but are weak against calvary. Myth units also have similar advantages and disadvantages). So you can constantly scout what your opponent is doing and readjust your military and civilization. In older AOE games, you could defeat your opponents easily by flushing or advancing faster than your opponents because all civilizations shared somewhat similar mechanics, gameplay, and looks. So the game would become rather dull and repetitive after a while due to the same flushing or crushing tactics and countering those tactics. In AOM, the designers made significant improvement by making each civilization a lot more unique, and made flushing more difficult. Hence, you now have to use more strategy to defeat your opponents. These all add to longevity and replay value of the game. The civilizations are now more varied in looks and gameplay, and because you have to pick between 2 different minor-gods to advance at each stage (3 stages to advance), two players starting with the same civilization and same major-god can actually turn out quite different as the game progresses. Each major-god and mini-god gives you different upgrades, god powers, Myth units, and bonuses. There are 3 civilizations, each with 3 major-gods and 9 minor-gods, and 3 Ages to advance, making for a total of 72 unique civilizations by the 4th Mythic Age (assuming I did my math right). Some major-gods share same minor-gods so you can have similar upgrades and Myth units but still get different god-powers and bonuses. Heroes in AOM are also more interesting, fun, and versatile than the ones in WC3. For example, Pharaoh hero can empower buildings to speed up resource gathering and can be transformed to a super demi-god with lightning bolts later on in the game. Despite so many variety found in the game, the game is simple to learn (1hr learning curve) and easy to play. And with all the civilizations you will be trying out, AOM will give you more than your money worth of gameplay. So my verdict: If you just want to brawl, get WC3 but if you actually like using some brain, get AOM. With either game, you will get plenty of fighting but I must say, AOM kicks WC3's!

CONS (after playing the game for a while): Although you have to choose between different Minor Gods at each Age, the differences between Minor Gods are NOT so varied as to make your civilization truly unique. Let's say you play Zeus and the your friend plays Poseidon, and then select completely different minor gods along the way (in multi-player mode). Even then, your civilization won't be too different from your friend's civilization because Greek civilizations play similarly. True you get different myth units and upgrades but the strategy and gameplay is very similar. That means that instead of offering truly 72 unique civilizations, this game offers only 3 civilizations with minor variations. The 3 civilizations are unique enough to make you apply different gameplay and strategy but it's still only 3 civilizations. AOM is essentially an improved AOE2 but with less number of civilizations. So the replay value may be less than AOE2. I wish AOM had 2-3 more civilizations but I guess we will have to wait for expansion.

Comparing to AOE2, Greeks are like balanced Byzantines with Infantry-advantage, Egyptians are like Teutons/Turks with archer-advantage, and Nords are like Goths/Celts/Vikings. So if you liked playing Goths in AOE2, you will pick up Nords pretty quickly in AOM.

I am a big Age of Empires fan, and I think it is a great improvement going to 3D images in Age of Mythology. The basic idea is that you can choose one of three civilizations; Egyptian, Greek, and Norse. Each civilization has a choice to worship one of three main gods, and as you progress through the ages you can choose a minor deity to worship. Each god and deity gives your civilization technologies, unique units, and one god power. This can make the gameplay more diverse, even if two people are fighting with the same civilization.
A resource called "favor" has replaced stone, it is generated in different ways among the civilizations. Mythological units such as Minotaurs, Valkyries, and Giant Scarabs can be trained, provided you have a good amount of favor. There are so many differences between AOM and AOE, it would take a while to tell them all. Gameplay should be easy players to get used to, and even easier for AOE veterans. Bottom line: This game looks like it's going to be a hit! I recommend that anybody who likes strategy buy it.

If there is one thing the Age of Empires series achieved that almost no previous strategy games have, it's longevity. Games come and games go, but Age of Empires has remained installed on my computer for 3+ years and it still gets played regularly. This longevity has been achieved through supreme game balance, great variety, and amazing depth and complexity.

In this vein, Age fans welcome Age of Mythology, Ensemble Studios' latest strategy game that uses the core principles behind their previous games, but spices up the mix with ancient lore and mythology and adds all of the trimmings that go along with it. Greek heroes like Jason and Heracles join the fray against fierce medusas and enormous golden colossus beasts. Egyptian pharoahs fend off giant scarabs and powerful Avengers of Horus. Norse Valkyries and frost giants march into battle against mummies and war elephants. And this is just a taste of what the game has to offer.

Having taken part in the pre-release Alpha Test for this game, I can attest that the graphics are very nice. While maybe not as visually spectacular as Unreal Tournament 2003, Age of Mythology uses a very advanced engine where translucent waves gently wash upon the beach, units have detailed animations, snowflakes fall from the sky, sunsets bathe the world in an orange hue, and herds of animals go about their daily lives.

To sum up: if you enjoyed the Age of Empires series, or if you enjoy real-time strategy games in general, Age of Mythology is a must-buy. Just on time for the holidays too! This game will easily outlast all the other one-shot games that have been retired to your shelf to gather dust.

Wow!!! This is an all around great game. For those who never played Age of Empires, it puts you in control to create an empire with real ancient civilization. You must either create an army and destroy you enemy, or you can build wonders and collect relics to win. Age of Mythology has much better graphics then Age of Empires. Age of Mythology has a feel of Age of Empires but is different in so many ways. In stead of collecting stone,one of the resources youe gathered in Age of Empires, you collect the favor of the gods. Anyway, Age of Mythology requires alot more thought and planning. The new addition of units makes it much harder. Besides regular soldiers, You now summon myth units which can easily conquer soldiers, but then there are heroes which can go through myth units with ease. The last difference is that when you advance through the ages you choose gods which can greatly change the odds. You can destroy towns with earthquakes, destroy armies with electical storms, summon the mighty norse dragon, casting eclipses over the world and making myth units grow stronger,or something more peaceful like enchanting farms and making them grow faster. Anyway enough said. Brilliant campaign, great new units, buildings, and options. Great game overall. 5 stars. A++++++.

This game is fun, but it does not offer anything new compared to the old Age of Empires series. I've played all four of the Age of Empires titles, and this game offers nothing very new. In fact, it has regresses in certain areas.

Graphics- unbeatable, they are in stunning 3D and are near-perfect. No complaints here.

Sound- This is one of my major gripes. While the battle sounds are decent, the music is ismply abhorrable. Listen to the original, epic AOE music, and then listen to this .... You will see how much the Ensemble Studios music department has regressed since 1997. It is pathetic- the music is random bits of notes strung together into something that can barely even be called a soundtrack. And the opening musical theme- I don't know how to express my dismay about it. The composers were proud at being able to use a "real orchestra" to create this "music" but that didn't help.

Gameplay- It gets a B+, because while the exotic myth units and "god powers" are fun, you will have to think to much about balancing the units and creating counter-units to the enemy's units, and making sure that cavalry don't come up against infantry, and infantry don't fall under the fire of archers, and archers avoid cavalry, and human units avoid myth units but still attack heroes, and myth units about heroes but deliberately try to attack human units, and heroes stay away from human units and focus on myth units... you get the idea.

Playability (how addictive and fun is this game?)- The single-player campaign is VERY good, and it is well written and will give you hours, if not days, of fun. As for multiplayer, Ensemble Studios has set up an elaborate (albeit cumbersome and confusing) system where you can find opponents who are equal to you in skill. This allows you both to improve, and prevents you from unknowingly being crushed by experts. There is also a rating system so that you will know how you rank, in skill, compared to all of the other players in the world. The multiplayer connection also allows you to download free "patches" that fix bugs and errors in the game.

Overall, this game is good, but not anywhere near perfect. The gameplay is a virtual clone of the original Age of Empires games, there is barely any sense of "newness" in AOM. The sound is pathetic, and personally I think they ought to fire the Ensemble Studios music department, or at least make them churn out better music. The gameplay is too complicated for a casual gamer to embrace quickly, but it is rather addicting (which is usually a good sign in a game). This game is, overall, nothing new or great; the designers had over 1.5 years to work on this title, and yet it still has its vital flaws, and that is why I give Age of Mythology a 3/5.

I never would have bought this game. I've been playing the AOE series for over a year now, and when I saw this coming out I thought I might enjoy it, being a mythology buff myself. Before I bought it though I came here and read reviews which said not to bother, nothing new here, etc. I HEARTILY disagree. I found this game to be very interesting and much more diverse than AOE. Even though there are only 3 races, each has a choice of 3 major gods and 9 minor gods, and each choice affects different aspects of your civilization. I haven't computed the numbers but it adds up to more than 10 different permutations of the game. Yes, you have to read everything so you know what you have and what you can do, but most of the data is available with a right-click of the mouse. I personally enjoy the myth units, and they are each different as well. How often do you get to create a Colossus that can renew itself by eating trees and gold? Also, I've had no trouble with villagers, in fact I think they are a vast improvement on AOK in that after they build any sort of resource building they will go ahead and start collecting on their own. Also, farms and fish never run out, which was a hassle before.
Just a few tips - READ READ READ about god things, myth units etc., that way you'll know what you get with each one. Easy level means just that - easy. I've not had the game that long so I haven't tried the harder levels yet. Do the tutorial - not for the controls which are almost the same as AOK, but for knowing about the changes made.
If you like AOE and you like mythology, get this game and I think you'll enjoy it.

Noone awaited the release of AOM more than me. I've played AOE and AOK for years now, and still my favorite game to play online is AOK with the expansion pack. But this game, however, left me a little disappointed. If I could rate half-stars, I'd give this a 3 1/2.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a *good* game. But it's not worlds better than AOK, and might not even be a better game at all. Indeed, after wading through each campaign mission I find myself putting back the AOK Conquerors CD to play a game or three.

What's not to like ? Well, let's start with the single player campaign. The campaign plays out a LOT like Warcraft III's campaign, down to the whole routine about 3 civilizations (races) somehow intertwining to defeat this one super-evil power. But the cut-scenes in AOM are poor compared to W3, and the voice-acting is awful. And the campaign missions are trivially easy - I'd almost say boring, even on the harder settings. I played the scenarios to halfway through the Norse civilization, then more or less quit - as someone who stayed up for a week to finish the AOE/AOK and associated expansion pack campaigns, that says something.

I found a number of bugs - for instance, when setting a patrol path it seems my waypoints are NOT where I click them, but somewhat displaced.

Contrary to what someone else here wrote, the keyboard commands are NOT the same as AOE/K. If there's a way to enable compatibility mode, someone please tell me. But the hotkeys are not the same. In AOM, to build a temple, it's "T". In AOK, it's "B-T". Small, but different, and I can't help but wonder why they'd do that to seasoned vets of their previous games. We should be rewarded, not punished.

Also, there seems to be no way to shortcut units' formations and stances. It seems that you have to mouse-click to get your units to, say, "stand ground", for instance, which is BRUTAL and nigh impossible when there's a lot of action going on. I KNOW the AOK shortcuts don't work here, and the icon for each stance does NOT suggest a shortcut. As it stands, most of my units run around willy nilly because it's prohibitively difficult to control their stances and formations. This may be an unintended boon to the beginning player but seriously screws up the advanced player.

The manual provided is pathetic. There are lots and lots of units you can build, but you can't read about them in the manual - you have to poke through the online guides. Consequently, I find myself faced with units I don't know that much about and can't look up quickly in my manual - sometimes in the heat of battle. Guys, I paid good money for this game. Please give me the things I need to play the game properly.

Now, maybe I'm just oblivious and there's a way to overcome the keyboard shortcut shortcomings. But I looked hard and could not find them, and the absence of a real manual means I can't look it up there. I think the removal of a huge number of keyboard shortcuts will in the long run leave the best strategy gamers still playing AOK with the expansion pack.