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It's been almost a year since Ensemble Studios' Age of Mythology arrived in stores and it's still as entertaining now as it was then. Age of Mythology is the consummate real-time strategy game. It combines a powerful economic game with visually stunning battles to weave a tapestry of war that is nearly unequaled in its genre. With the expansion pack on the horizon, now is a great time to go back and experience this world of mythic beasts and the power of the gods.
The game is as close to the poster child for real-time strategy as you can get. Villagers collect food, gold, wood and the intangible favor. All these can be spent in different ways on units and buildings for each of the three major gods in the game. War is waged by those dedicated to the task and not by the men and women left to tend the fields and chop wood back home. If there's a checklist out there with all the things required of one of these games, Age of Mythology follows it to the letter. That's not a bad thing either. This is a tremendous exhibition of a traditional gameplay style where you must work on your economic game to make your military game viable. Playing against the AI in either skirmish or the campaign, you can quickly familiarize yourself with the game's methods. The game rewards offensive play while defensive play can be used as a catalyst for offense. There's a metric ton of depth here for the hardcore to explore while even the weakest of players can immerse themselves in this beautifully realized world. It certainly is beautiful, too. Waves lap upon the shore. Fish swim smoothly in the briny deep. Animation abounds in this 3D gameworld. One excellent feature of the campaign is the use of the actual 3D units used in gameplay as the actors in the campaign story. Rather than shift to a pre-rendered cutscene, the game smoothly pans all the way down to the level of the battlefield. It shows the power of the 3D engine and immerses gamers more fully in this gorgeous world. When battles rage, the destruction is often so entertaining you'll lose focus on the tasks you need to perform to keep the battle going your way. A powerful musical score strengthens battlefield immersion. Also, memorable grunts, groans and growls serve the gameplay perfectly. You'll never forget the sound or spectacle of the meteor strike god power.  It's in the gods and their powers that this game breaks from tradition. There are three unique sides in the game that are further differentiated from each other by minor god choices. There are distinct playstyle differences between them that center on both military and economic abilities. The game has an excellent balance between these three unique sides and exploiting your opponent's weaknesses is a primary component of both off and online play. What's great about the gods is the powers they bestow. You can change the face of the game with a properly used god power. Maybe increase your economy for a short time or stop all combat forcing your opponent to wait thirty seconds while you ramp your military up in preparation for the cease fire to end. These god powers are the paradigm breakers that let you change the rules of the game once every age, often for just a short time, but with great effect on the outcome of battle. There's so much game in Age of Mythology that you'll play it for a long, long time, especially if you jump online. You can take part in the sprawling campaign, which is well written and follows mythical events with a taste of history thrown in for good measure. You can also jump into skirmishes against a powerful AI that plays the game just as you do. This allows you to learn good strategies by watching the AI or a human opponent during the excellent replays generated by every skirmish or online game you play. Hop online and Ensemble Studios Online (ESO) will be your place of battle. You can find rated games randomly or hop into one of many different types of one on one or team-style games. This game, with its chess-like gameplay, can consume hours of your time against opponents online. It's definitely something you should try out. Age of Mythology does a superb job of catering to both new real-time strategy players and those well versed in the genre's conventions. It's loaded with options to let you tailor gameplay to your needs and easily one of the best games of 2002. 
This is one great game for both young and old, but not too young. The gameplay concepts here are best suited to kids over the age of ten and with a lot of combat and subsequent bloodletting, that's also probably a good age for the visuals too. Since the game is rooted in history and real mythology, your kids might actually learn something. It's filled with historical information that fleshes out the units, buildings and beasts. Reading through all of the in-game text will provide you with a good account of the era this game portrays. It's not a textbook but it's a heck of a lot more fun to learn while playing a game. Ensemble also saw fit to include some very powerful chat filtering so you can send your kids online and not worry too much about the language they would see. It really seems like they left no stone unturned when building this game and it reeks of hours of play testing. Don't hesitate to jump in if the subject matter appeals to you and real-time strategy is something you enjoy.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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