Age of Mythology
by Microsoft
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List Price: Category: Video Games See more product details |
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Video Game Reviews of Age of Mythology
Customer Review: Just want to add something
Summary: 5 Stars
I just wanted to say that when I first got this, I thought it was horrible. The reason was that the default setting for the graphics makes it look grainy and lifeless. Try changing everything to "high," and it'll look much better.Customer Review: A nearly flawless game
Summary: 5 Stars
Age of Mythology is an incredibly great game. Everything, from the fluid jogging of the Greek Hoplites to the pounding of the Norse Mountain Giants, is perfectly done. Because describing this game in prose will take years, I'm forced to resort to a "facet list."Graphics: 9.5/10. Graphics are incredible. Everything is perfectly fluid and natural. One thing I really like about this game as opposed to Warcraft III is that it really uses its 3-d engine to let you do cool things like zooming in/rotating the camera. I do have two complaints, though: when units stop moving, the instantly snap back into the "stand" animation; there's no transition. Also, buildings look really dumb when they are destroyed; they just sink into the ground quickly with a cloud of smoke and a crash.
Sound: 8/10. Sound is great. As in the AOE games, the units all respond in their native langauges. I find myself saying "Vulome" (bear with me on the spelling, I am no Greek) which is one of the things Greek villagers/soldiers saywhen you give them a command. I also obsessively hum the music quite a bit. It's good, but there aren't many tracks, which is why Sound only got 8/10.
Gameplay: 10/10. Gameplay is flawless. Again, as in AOE, all the cool unit tricks are there: there are formations, and they automatically line up by range (archers at the back, then foot soldiers, then cavalry). The AI, I am ashamed to admit, I have only beaten once on Moderate mode, the second-to-easiest. In Easy mode, it's really hard to lose. People who are not bad at RTS's (I love them but I can't play them for my life!) will I'm sure be very challenged by Titan mode, the hardest. Now comes the real difference between AOE and AOM: the races. In AOM, there were 13 races, with an additional 5 in the expansion. They were pretty much identical; the buildings looked somewhat different, and they each had a Civilization Bonus and a unique unit. In AOM, however, there are 3 races, with an additional one in the expansion (see my review of AOM: The Titans for more info): Greek, Egyptian and Norse. Like Starcraft, they are all completely different. For example, Greeks build Military Academies (which train infantry), Stables (which train cavalry) and Archery Ranges (you figure it out). Egyptians, though, have just one building for all 3 types, and Norse don't technically have any archers at all, only Throwing Axemen, which are different. Another new addition that wasn't in AOE is myth units, which I probably should have discussed earlier. Every race has different ones, and they all have special abilities. The Norse Einherjar, for example, can blow his horn to grant nearby friendly units a damage bonus. The Greek Cyclops can pick up enemy units and throw them. The Egyptian Sphinx can become a whirlwind, which is devastating to buildings. AOM also has God Powers, abilities you can use once and which vary depending on which gods you worship (my, my, what a terribly polytheistic game). For example, the Greeks can have a god power called Plenty, which creates an indestructible (but capturable) vault that gives you a steady stream of Food, Gold and Wood. The Norse can use Fimulwinter, which is a real pain to other players: it makes a pack of wolves attack up to 4 enemy town centers. The Egyptians have a power called Citadel, which turns a friendly town center of your choice into a massive fortress that is very hard to destroy. These are just a tiny few of the many god powers and myth units available.
Anyway, you should definitely buy this game. You can't go wrong.
Customer Review: Its Fun...For A While...
Summary: 3 Stars
If you can stand being in a game for a while and building up your army then this is your game.This game doesn't require much thinking besides thinking what to get to counter your enemys army.It runs on a rock-paper-scissors type of gameplay as in if someone has say melee you would counter them with range or something.Then the range would be countered by say A fast type of monster.The only good part about this game is the God powers.They are simply awesome! I loved watching fireballs drop down on a army.Besides that there aren't a lot of people online and it has some bugs.Customer Review: Enter Age of Empires 3...
Summary: 5 Stars
We'll it might as well be called that. This game follows the tried and true gameplay of Age of Empires and add's a few more twists to it such as god favor(a resource to manage) and god powers(abilities to help your civilization grow). The single player is long enough and very fun. Each civilization is very varied, however, there are only a few civilizations like in Warcraft 3. Still this is a great spiritual successor to age of empires and a great rts.Customer Review: Addicting
Summary: 5 Stars
Age of Mythology is one of the best RTS (real time strategy) games I have ever played. The game hooks you with the good single player campaign and then keeps you hooked with the insanely addicting multiplayer.The single player campaign consists of about 30 missions where you must guide Arkantos around the ancient world. The single player game is really a big tutorial, getting you ready to test your skills online. It teaches you how to use all of the civilaztions, how to use god powers efectively, etc. Still, it is very engrossing and much better than the "campaigns" in the previous Age of Empires games.
The civilaztions are very well balanced. There are only 3- Egyptians, Norse, and Greek. Each civ. has their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. For example: The norse can create mobile resource drop points, the egyptians have the best god powers, and the greeks get siege weapons the earliest. Also, there are 3 major gods under each civ. that give you further advantages. The game really encourages you to choose your Civ and major god wisely.
The units are also very interesting. The new myth units all have various skills and unique attributes. The units in the game are wonderfully detailed and are very well balanced. For every unit there is a counter unit that can easily kill it. Strategy, strategy, strategy - without careful planning you will certainly lose (offline or on). This is not the typical "build a huge army and conquer the world" RTS. The population cap and counter units make sure of that.
Forget about single player random map games against the computer (they suck). Instead, head into the online realm and test your skills worldwide. It's very fun and the people online are very good. This really strengthens the replay value of Age of Mythology. Without the multiplayer the game gets 3 stars- but w/ the multiplayer it is easily 5 stars. You can easily play for months online without getting bored. If you are a fan of RTS games (like warcraft, starcraft, age of empires) then get Age of Mythology. You will not be disapointed.