Slight multiplayer IP address bug but nothing to worry about
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
As I start to write this op the cat for Age Of Mythology isn’t even on Ciao! yet but still I am so blown away by this game I just have to begin writing as not more than 5 minutes ago I finally completed the game and am in awe as to how extremely good this game actually is.
Therefore it is my intention to sit here and write an op of mythological proportions in the hopes that at least one person out there who reads this will heed my advice and go and buy, borrow or steal this game. Okay maybe not steal but as long as you get a copy okay !!
Now it is no surprise that in light of the two previous ops about Age of Empires ( Ageless Empires Part I and II ) in which I spent many hours toiling over the keyboard praising these games that I was severely looking forward to getting a copy of Age Of Mythology. I knew that the same game design company was behind AOM ( Age Of Mythology ) as were behind AOE ( Age Of Empires ) I and II.
Ensemble the company we all have to thank for this game have done gaming community proud by releasing yet another quality game and seeing as I have played it all the way through I can honestly say that there isn’t a single bug in the entire single player game whatsoever !!
There are a lot of software companies that should take a leaf from Ensemble’s book !!
Anyway lets talking about the game. I am going to do this in several parts as I don’t want to leave any part out !!
THE INSTALLATION ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The game comes on two discs and both are needed to install the game although you only need one to actually play the game.
So in went the first CD and I choose to install it in my “ Games “ directory where I install all my games, simple enough. Now being me I knew that I had enough room in my “ D “ drive to handle more than what this game required of disc space but if you are unsure it is best to look as AOM will take up just over 900 Meg of hard drive space in total.
Now while the game install it shows you all these pictures of various units and buildings all of which look pretty nice and also it gives you hints as to how good certain units are against other units so if you have never played a RTS ( Real Time Strategy ) game or RM ( Resource Management ) game you should take notice here as these tips and advice can be of great help to you in the game.
PRE-GAME CINEMATICS ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
One of the great things about a new game is the PGC ( Pre-Game Cinematics ) that you know awaits you as soon as you start the game and AOM offer a pretty good show at that. The quality of the FMV ( Full Motion Video ) is actually pretty astounding so sit back and relax as you watch this part.
Now I will point out however that even on some pretty fast systems this PGC is pretty big and will sap your system so for the first time at least it is a good idea to make sure you have nothing else running and your system is fresh from a shutdown reboot so it has all it’s resources free.
Now I could sit here and write about what happens in the PGC but that would somewhat spoil it for you when you get to watch it yourself so instead all I will say it that it is worth watching and then watching again as there is so much happening most of the time through it there are many little bits that are very amusing in it that you may miss.
DESIGN ~*~*~*~*~
Okay this bit left me with mixed feelings to begin with. Once the PGC is over and done with the menu system opens up which is where you can play the actual game, a single player skirmish, multiplayer, build you own maps and scenarios etc but this isn’t what I want to tell you about. Behind the menu bar is a beautifully 3D rendered and animated scene that comes in two different designs. There were several things that I want to mention here. Firstly the environmental animations which were outstanding and far superior to AOE and AOE II and well pretty much everything I have ever seen. Also the sheer brightness and colourful images that were used were breathtaking. However this left me with the idea that after showing me all this amazing 3D rendering and design the actual game would pale in comparison. So I was more than happy as I started the game but for now lets talk about the game.
GAMEPLAY ~*~*~*~*~*~
Well if you have ever played AOE or AOE II you will pick this is real easy, the control methods used are exactly the same. Left click selects a unit or building, right click moves the unit to the desired place. Pretty simple huh. Now just like AOE and AOE II villagers are highly important as it is these ( for the most part ) that gather all your resources and build your buildings that allow you to advance in technology and make new units. However a lot has changed since AOE II even though the basics of the game have remained the same.
The resources are slightly different in AOM. Although there are the familiar Wood, Gold and Food they have removed Stone from the game and replaced it with Favour !! This is something you get from the Gods and there are three ways of gaining Favour although only one is needed depending on what ancient civilisation you happen to be.
Greeks gain Favour by having villagers worshipping at Temples.
Egyptians gain Favour by having villagers build statues to the Gods.
Vikings gain Favour by fighting.
Favour is extremely important here in AOM, maybe even moreso than the other resources as this is how you build your Myth units.
Myth units are built in the temples and are awesome compared to normal archers, soldiers and cavalry units. Often towering above the other units you can make and control armies of Minotaurs, Cyclops, Manticore, Chimera, Colossus, Medusa, Mountain, Frost and Fire Giants, Hydra and Phoenix just to name a few of the mythological units that you will see in the game.
There are also Heroes such as Ajax, Perseus, Herecles and so on which I have nick named Myth Killers as these special units all do a lot of damage to Myth units more than a normal unit would.
The game has 32 chapters and what is unusual about AOM compared to AOE and AOE II is that the story line is complete and carries through from the beginning right to the final level working itself around the world. And where better for a game of Mythology and God to start than in Alantis itself, which according to the world map was situated south east of Spain, just so you know should be looking for the lost Island.
This isn’t just a game where killing is everything as the overall story line is incredibly intriguing and I found myself wanting to get to the next level not so I could complete the game but rather so I could find out more about what was happening in the story. It really was that engrossing. In the end I played far more often than I normally do and finished the game rather quickly for me solely because I was impatient to know what happened next.
All other games were left un-played while I played AOM as I could just not tear myself away from it. One of the main reasons other than the story why this was so was the graphics.
THE GRAPHICS ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now here I was shocked as the animated scenes that were shown on the menu page were amazing and I thought that the in-game environments were never going to live up to this. I was wrong … these WERE the in-game environments. Seas that had tides, waves and fish and whales and sharks swimming in them. Animals that roamed the country side and waterfalls and snow and rainbows and … oh the list is endless !!
Please believe me when I say that these graphics were by far the best in-game graphics I have ever seen and I mean that totally and honestly and if I had a hat I would take it off to the design department at Ensemble and congratulate them for their amazing work. The attention to detail is almost beyond words and not just in the environmental graphics either, the units and buildings all look spectacular
What was even better still was that there were no flaws here at all, everything moved without issues and no matter how you viewed the units they all remained flawless and just plainly beautiful. The colours were vibrant and full of life and it was a genuine delight to see such work.
THE SOUND ~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Can everything in the game be perfect ?? I bet you are expecting me to say the sound was a downfall of the game !! WRONG !! It was great and just as vibrant and lively as the graphics. All the time there is something going on whether it be Myth units making the noises that mythological creatures did or villagers going about their work or even the waves lapping at the shore the sounds were everywhere and made immersing yourself in the game and environment a whole lot easier.
Never found a single flaw here !!
SINGLE PLAYER NON SCENARIO BASED GAME ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now even when you have finished the game it isn’t over yet as Ensemble has once again given us the three things that made AOE and AOE II great for after game play. First of all there are the skirmish games you can play where you play against the computer or more than one enemy controlled by the computer. The only difference here is there is no overall story line but you can play these to your hearts content and each time you do the game will be completely different as the maps are all randomly made upon the start of each game.
MULTIPLAYER ONLINE OR LAN BASED GAME ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Perfect if you happen to have friends with PC’s and network cards or a semi decent Internet connection. I have not tried playing online yet but I have played multiplayer on the LAN here at home which brings the added aspect of playing against a real opponent as well as adding in a couple of AI ( Artificial Intelligence ) players to make the game more of a challenge. The only bug I found here was that in order to see a LAN game I had to be off line as the game took my online IP Address for the game where it should have taken my Network IP Address. Still turning off the Internet for a couple of hours was sure worth it.
MAP AND SCENARIO EDITOR ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Once again we are treated to all the tools needed to build our own maps from scratch as well as complex story lines of our own devices and all at the touch of button. Now I had a look at this and was surprised to find out that all the snazzy and brilliant 3D environmental animations and effects are all here and can be placed by the builder of the map making maps as amazing to look at as the ones in the game where. What’s more the entire thing had been given an overhaul making it far more user friendly than its previous incarnations. Truly a work of art in it’s own right.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Now taking into account how amazing this game looks I was more than a little shocked when I read the system requirements. All this game needs to run is a PII 450 Mhz system with 128 Meg of Ram and a 16 Meg Graphics Card. These specs are well below industry standard so unless you have a system more than say 3 years old you are not going to have a problem running this game
PRICE ~*~*~*~
Right now expect to pay £29.99 for this game. This price will of course decrease the older the game gets but why wait. It is sure as hell worth thirty quid of anyone cash, like I said buy, beg, borrow or steal a copy, just get a copy, get it NOW !!
OVERALL AND RECOMMENDATION ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Well if all that wasn’t enough for you what more can I say ?? This is the best game I have ever played to date with the best graphics, overall story line and game play not to mention extras. If I lost or broke my copy I would instantly get another and let me also say that this is a game that will never be uninstalled from my system as with multiplayer and single play skirmish and map editor options this will keep me entertained for many months to come. That is until Ensemble make something better as they have a tendency to do but this time they really have their work cut out for them as to reiterate THIS GAME IS AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Recommended to anyone with a pulse !!
More details
Addictiveness
Very hard to stop playing
Originality
Excellent - very original
Value for money
Excellent value
Longevity/Expected Longevity
ongoing
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