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Addicting

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First, let me lay down the basics of the game. AoM is a real time strategy game. You choose which civilization you want to be: Greek, Norse or Egyptian (and Atlanteans with the Titan's expansion). You build up an empire using villagers, who gather rescources. You need these rescources to build military buildings, fortresses and economic buildings. These buildings will let you train more villagers, military units and give you acess to upgrades if you have the rescources to "pay" for them. You march your military units to your opponent's town and tear down his or her town to pieces. Or you expand and take over the land, giving you acess to more gold mines and forests, which is very crucial. You also worship certain gods over the course of the game, and they will grant you certain powers, like the ability to turn your enemy's soldiers into pigs.

AoM is very pleasing to the eye. It's fun to see a cyclops pick up a war elephant and chuck it across the screen. When a player casts an earthquake, the whole terrain actually rolls. The more subtler details--like the rocks barely visible beneath the ocean's surface--add a new layer of aesthetic depth as well. The graphics are stunning IF YOU HAVE ALL THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. So before you buy the game, make sure you do.

Single player is very predictable: the AI will mindlessly throw armies at you at the same place over and over again. However, you can control the difficulty level of the game you play against the AI. You will defintely see a difference between the difficulty levels--easy, moderate, hard and titan-- and this will make single player games more compelling.

Once you start multiplayer games, you will see that the game has an ungodly learning curve. The basics are easy to get down, but thats because its the basics: and of course everything goes beyond the basics. The multiplayer games are brutally agressive and fast paced. Wave after wave of armies come and batter your town--and unlike single player games, you have to deal with the unpredictability of humans. You have to defend, attack, expand, manage your villagers, manage your military, manage your rescources, make upgrades, replenish soldiers and lost buildings, all at the same time. Its not all that easy, but its fun. Also, time matters a lot (its called REAL TIME STRATEGY). Even a minute's delay can literally lose you the enitre game. To become an intermediate or expert player, you need to be willing to take an incredible amount of abuse and losses. It can get frustrating, but the good news is that you'll always have a solid challenge.

That's real ancient Greek, people

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: June 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

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.

Great Game! Good Special Features! Dumb Minotaur

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First of all I simply must start by saying that this game is the best RTS i've ever played. To sum up this review i'll put it into sections:

- The first thing I always do when i first buy a game is play the sngle player missions. From these I go on to figure out if the game is good enough for online play. I played the first mission and was amazed at the detaild put into the cinematics and game. Even the story was impressive. The second mission only provided me with more excitement. The fact that the "Myth Units" are not only extremely mythologicly acurate is good enough. But the special attacks for each one is the coolest thing I've seen in a RTS game since Star Craft. An example of this is the cyclops picks up an enemy soldier and throws him. If you love a good storyline in single player missions (or just like killing Trojans) this is the game to get.

- The next great thing about this game is the multiplayer. ESO has done a great job of providing gamers with an easy yet effective console. The only problem that I can see with it is that the ladder games take too long to search for a non 1 vs. 1 game. But I am sure that will be fixed in time.

- The last thing is perhaps the best. The contents of the special edition box! One item is the DVD. The DVD contains making of features on Age of Myth. The 2nd item is the poster, signed by everyone at Ensamble Studios (the problem with this is that it's massive.) The 3rd item is a nice picture of the "non- evil gods" they're cool but they should have packed all the gods since the evil ones look the coolest. Another item is the Collectors book. This is very useful since it gives you more information than the normal book. The 2nd to last item is the Bulfinch's Mythology Book. I find it exteremely interesting. And finnaly, the worst item, a dumb plastic Minotaur figure. It's made of cheap plastic and is put in a plastic bag. So, basicly, if you want the Minotaur only don't buy the game. Otherwise it's well worth the money to buy the Special Edition.

Titanic battles

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: October 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The Titans expansion adds the Atlantean civilization to Age of Mythology along with its gods, heroes, myth units and their Titan. Titans are an incredibly powerful myth unit, capable of destroying entire cities. Each civilization has the capability of researching the Titan gate, which will allow them to unleash their own Titan upon the world. While Titans can be defeated, it usually takes another Titan. So, you'll need to play like Nathan Bedford Forest, "Get there firstis, with the mostis", before an enemy opens their gate.

All in all, this game is a definite keeper.

Not what I really expected

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: April 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The expansion really surprises me. 12 scenarios in the campagn was very disapointing. Also there was almost no storyline in the campagn. The Atlanteans were almost the same as the Greeks. The Titans all have the same animations. The Titans really unbalances the game. The new units were not really interesting. But all the graphics and AI were good at least. I did not expect there were only 6 new random maps. (I think)

I honestly believe that the original game was better.

Evaluation of the Collector's Edition, not the game itself.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Age of Mythology (AoM) was highly anticipated by many Age of Empires (AoE) fans. When it came out, it really did satisfy many AoE fans. Like its competitor, Warcarft 3, it released a Collector's Edition with the regular version.

The Collector's Edition Box:
The box of the collector's edition is nice. It sports some nice art and the color is great. It's really attractive. However, its durability is low. When compared to the Neverwinter Nights and Warcraft 3 Collector's Edition box, the durability totally loses. Both those boxes have a thick cardboard. The AoM box does not. Compare it to a Diablo Battle Chest box and there you have the AoM Box. However for art, it wins against WC3 Col. Ed.

The Extras:

Soundtrack- the AoM soundtrack is superior to Warcrafts in my opinion. But I am just comparing the cd's. Against the other collector's editons, Icewind Dale 2, Neverwinter Nights, Warcraft 3, AoM's soundtrack tops all the others. It gives catchy tunes that are not all 0:50 long. I believe there are about 20 tracks if i remember correctly, compared to Icewind Dale 2's 40.

Making of DVD- though not as long and as interactive as the Warcraft Making of DVD, it actually shows the developers talking and you get to see them working on the actual game. For Warcraft, all you saw were the cut scenes, and a commentary and trailers of other Blizzard games. You actually get to see people working in this one.

Lithographs- The collector's edition that offers this is Icewind Dale 2 and Warcraft. The art on all 3 were excellent, and i believe that the IWD2 and the AoM ones were laminated.

Action Figure- only AoM Offered this. However i was offended to see that the paint job was poorly done and the axe in the minotar's hand was bent for me. The plastic is only so-so quality. With the price, they should have included a lead-free pewter enlarged miniature, like those used in D&D play.

Movie-Sized Poster- kinda funny, cause no other collector's edition featured this. It is a huge poster that has the names of the developers, but the game and the developer's names are put kinda like how movies and their director's are named on it.

The thing i saw missing was an artbook. But that was just about all.. make sure you like the game, cause the extras provide a more rich experience, like all collector's editons.

Another great game in the Age of Empires series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: October 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game is sure to be a hit with any RTS fan. It is much like Age of Empires II, but the edition of powers and the base on mythology gives the game an interesting twist. You can choose from three diferent types of mythology: Greek, Egypt, or Norse. Each civ has units from the myths from that culture. For example you have the hydra from Greek mythology, or Anubis from Egyptian mythology. And with global powers you can cast a variety of plauges or disaters on your enemies. This game is sure to be amazing.

AOM Vs Warcraft III

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 19
Date: November 02, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Warcraft 3 is more about unit control. Every unit is important in Warcraft III while AOM is more about building large army and letting them loose.
I'd say for the regular player AOM is easier, you develop, attack and have nice powers as bonus.
While Warcraft III is a much more active game, where you have at the same to develop your hero, your city, all this at the same time. You can beat a large army in WarIII with for exemple only 2 level 6 heroes, while at AOM really mainly number counts.

In WARIII all units are more specific and most of them have special powers. Of course your pop is limited to 90 while you have much larger army in AOM. Some of AOM powers are fun, though...
Graphically both games are nice. But honestly I really feel more stressed, into the game and active during a WARIII game than with AOM... Both games are fun, and I would say that AOM is a better, easier to control initiation to strategy game for the newcomer, while Warcraft III is more for the advanced player....

Buyer beware--game not compatible with many computers

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 7 / 12
Date: December 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Like other reviewers, I've been disappointed by recent Microsoft Game releases. AOM is the last straw. There are literally hundreds of video adapters that AOM does not support. My home PC is right out of the box and won't run AOM. Think twice before buying this game.

Beautiful next step for Ensemble in the Age Series

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: June 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have been a fan of the Age series ever since my best friend bought Age of Empires 2 years back. I thought it to be so cool to have a strategy game with historically realistic civilizations and the game play was really addictive. This game breaks from the mold in the realism factor, but the historical context is mostly accurate, while stepping up the game play about 10 notches

Each of the civilizations in this game provide a markedly unique game play style, and the choice of gods throughout the game allows you to mold your civilization to fit your style or combat your opponent's strengths. The Egyptians are the slow-building, defensive civilization with expensive and powerful military units. The Norse are the quick-spreading offensive civ with cheap, weaker units. The Greeks provide a happy medium between the two and are most like the civs from the Age of Empires.

The game play is so very unique, giving you the ability to make an army of Egyptian chariot archers mixed in with a legion of mummies or the legendary flying Phoenix. The graphics are beautifully crafted down to the seaweed swaying in the sea and the killer whales breaching out in the deep. The musical score is very deep, providing a unique musical backdrop when playing with each different civ.

Overall this game is a masterpiece, as shown by its numerous accolades of game of the year. Anyone who loves to think strategically or just have a love of mythology and history should own this amazing game.

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