Age of Mythology

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: This game is the best and should be bought right away. This collectors edition includes the regular game and an extra book with some myth stories. This AOM is a big improvement from the last AOE. There are more sophisticated game play and an improved AI machine. Great. Great. Great. I'd give this a ten if I could.

Rating:
Summary: best ever
Review: I was one of the 10000 gamers who received the alpha version of AOM. i have played it many times and it is great. the graphics are superior, the gameplay is perfect and the god powers are amazing to see. my favorite is the meteor god power, which rains fire on an enemy town. there are also myth units that you use favor to get. the myth units are great against human units but can easily be taken down by hero units. so in this game you can't just have masses of one type of unit, you must have a well-balanced, huge army. I think this game will surpass any strategy game ever made. i am going to buy this game the day it comes out, and i hope everyone else will too.

Rating:
Summary: Alpha Version...
Review: This game is great for any ages fans. The alpha version was released to 10,000 gamers, and I received one. It's great! Plays 3D! The three races don't have the same strategy at all. If you're greeks and you try playing with Norse strategies, you'd get about as far as you would walking into a brick wall. It makes it really interesting. One of the really cool things is all the special god powers. By far mine is in Loki's (Norse god of the dead) last age. He can call up an 1800 hp fire-breathing dragon. Now play this and tell me it ain't cool.

Rating:
Summary: Age of Empires was the best!!
Review: I've have played a demo version and have seen seen many screenshots for Age Of Mythology. The graphics are incredible to say the least. This one of the very best games ever, certainly not to be outdone for years to come. It's incredible to have a game like AOE but with the ability to release the rath of the Gods and mother nature on the primitive inhabitants of Earth. The learning curve will be lengthy for those who have not played AOE, but don't let that discourage you, in time all who play will become addicted. For those who have come to love AOE as I have it will be all fun and games getting used to this game. Plan on spending a fair amount of time on your computer.

Rating:
Summary: That's real ancient Greek, people
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Expansion
Review: The Titans Expansion is the add-on to Age of Mythology. It provides a load of new features, including a fantastic campaign featuring the Titans of Tartarus. You play as Kastor, the son of Arkantos, (hero of the Age of Mythology campaign), to rid the world of the Titans escaping from Tartarus. Throughout the campaign, you have to use strategy to defeat the large, hulking Titans with massive HP and attack numbers.

There is also a new civilization introduced in the Titans, the Atlanteans. The Atlanteans are different from the rest of the civilizations in many ways. For example, the Atlanteans gain favor from their Town Centers, quite like how the Egyptians gain favor from building monuments. Also, their villagers gather and build much more quickly than other civilizations, but at a cost. They are more expensive and require a longer period of time to train. However, citizens can be transformed into Heroes by the click of a button, (and quite a bit of resources). When you choose the Atlanteans, you worship one of three gods, Kronos, Gaia, or Oranos. Each of them have unique powers that greatly benefit your civilization. Kronos has a power that lets you Time Shift your buildings, literally uproot one from the ground and transport it to another place within your line of sight. Oranos lets you build Sky Passages that can transport your troops and citizens across all sorts of terrain. And finally, Gaia creates Lush around all of her buildings, making it so that no enemy can build there. Also, some Atlantean god powers can be used more than once such as Shockwave. Shockwave stuns enemy units in a certain area and can be used three times. However, to use it again, you must wait for a certain period of time, which varies which each god power.
A few reasons I like this expansion is because of the new campaign, the new random maps it introduces, the changes to the Scenario Editor, the new god powers, and the Titans. Yes, the Titans. The Titans are the massive creatures that can win or lose a game. First, you must advance to the Titan Age and build a Titan Gate, which takes a very long time to build. Then, your mighty Titan will be summoned to wreak havoc on your enemy. Overall, I believe that the Titans Expansion is an excellent addition to Age of Mythology.

Rating:
Summary: Mythology should be spelled "Empire"
Review: While at the mall, I was pretty bored of most strategic games. So I picked up Age of Mythology thinking I would be treated to a great gift. But now I have mixed feelings for the game.

It is just like ages of empires. The resources are the same and gathering them are the same. But there is a new one called favor. To buy myth units or certain upgrades you need favor. For the Greeks you pray at a temple, Egyptians build monuments, and Norse fight. The Greeks are basically the regular race. The main one in the game. They are okay, but kinda boring after a while. The Egyptians have cool god powers, and do not really need to chop wood for any reason. The Norse are the best, they have the best units and can build quickly with their army. While playing online, Norse always dominate because they build several fortresses right outside your town then attack. Because Norse build buildings with their infantry, they have a huge advantage. But their godpowers are not that great compared to the other races.

God powers are given to you when you advance an age. If you advance to a new age you get to pick a minor god to worship, and each god has its own god power. Most of the god powers are kinda lame, and you can just waste. Zeus has a lighting bolt which kills one unit, but does not kill main units in the story, so it has no point. The only good ones are meteor, tornado, plenty vault, and earthquake. Meteor and tornado are the best Egyptian god powers, because they decimate areas of buildings. Earthquake and plenty vault rock. Earthquake belongs to the Greek and totally destroys every building in an area. Plenty vault also belongs to the Greek and provides a steady resource flow.

But the fighting gets old. The unit selection is awesome, but still, norse will win. Norse have the best units and just rock. Egyptian do not need alot of wood, so they can be good. Greek needs everything and the only rewarding experience is the 2 god powers I mentioned above. If you truly love ages of empire you can like this game. Most missions result in you killing one unit, then going on to the next mission and rebuilding your base all over. So the campaign gets really frustrating. Especially on moderate where the attacks are constant. In all seriousness, if you want to buy this game go ahead, but please wait till it is on sale.

Rating:
Summary: Decent enough game
Review: I got the Gold Edition about 2 years after the original AOM came out. I played the storyline editions for both the original and the Titan expansion, as well as a few random maps.

The random map play is not all that. Most of these games are expectedly of the ilk "amass, upgrade, overwhelm" and this game does have a lot of cool units, but it was missing something in the random map game.

The storylines, I found entertaining, and they would be more challenging on harder levels. I wish they had come out with more, for those were the really entertaining parts of the game. Now that I have completed them, I don't know if I will continue to play.

Overall, i recommend getting it on the cheap if you are a fan of the genre.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting game - hope the producers fix these flaws...
Review: After recovering from the sluggish "Civilization III" - a single game there will last you 14 hours and bore you after 6 - I went back to the fast paced "Age of Mythology" and its "Titans" expansion pack. The differences are stark, with truly evocative visuals, a constantly appealing non-obnoxious soundtrack, and some very special God powers. I would like to point out some flaws - maybe someone at Ensemble/Microsoft Games is reading?

1. Every player would want a massive crushing Titan, but there's little point in bothering when you're using any map of archipelagos and islands. None of these Titans can get across the water, so you're basically spending resources time and energy to create a hundred-ton defensive paper-weight for your island.

2. Unlike the original "Age of Empires", I could not change diplomacy with any of the computer's players. It was fun to double-cross my allies in the past - now I'm stuck with them till we win.

3. The maps are not randomly generated, so after about a week of playing you figure out VERY quickly exactly where you are and what the terrain looks like. This is repetitive. I tried to use the Editor to create my own landscapes, but couldn't get any of the other CPU teams to do anything. Way too complicated.

4. The voices of characters in the actual storyline campaigns are very cheesy - dialogue is also pretty kid stuff.

5. Worst flaw of all - a big one. You must have at least one ally to have a chance of winning any games that have more than 4 CPU teams. When your allies are attacked, they always ask you for aid or troops. But they never help you do anything. Sometimes an Ally builds a Titan and it stays perched in another town until the game ends - which it will as your own civilization is demolished. I miss the old "Give Me Your Extra Resourses" or "Attack An Enemy Now" or "Help! The Enemy Is In My City!" option. Some allies.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Game, But Gets old
Review: I am very picky when it comes to investing my time in a game. This is one of the very few games that has kept my interest and it has provided many hours of enjoyment.

I enjoyed Age Of Empires (AOE), the predecessor to this game. I have tried other games as well, however, always seem to come back to AOE or some variant.

My one major complaint, is the lack of built in campaigns. If I was the designer of a game that allowed you to command armies in different time periods, I would have built in all of the major battles of that era. If you can command armies in Greece, why didn't they have the Battle at Marathon pre-loaded into the game? Since you can also play the gods, why not Troy? The trials of Hercules? The voyage of Odysseus? There is a lot of historical/mythological material they could have used.

Overall, it's a great game that is limited only by your imagination. Being able to pit one civilization against another is a blast, and the graphics are incredible. The addition of the Titans makes it challenging, especially if the other guys get a Titan before you do.

Buy it. You'll like it.