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> Results: Age of Mythology: The Titans
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Read GamerDad's Age of Mythology Review
Remember the Titans? At the end of the Age of Mythology opening movie a giant volcanic looking guy bursts from the ground and effectively ends the movie in fire and ruin. Fans were left wondering a couple things about this movie: 1) Why did it feature only Greek units and monsters and 2) What was that thing at the end? There's still no answer to the first question. But the new expansion pack, The Titans, tells us the big dude is a titan, specifically he's Chronos, Zeus's pappy. My guess is that Titans were supposed to be a part of the original game and they got cut. Now they're back and they've brought their new friends the Atlanteans to come and play with us in an expansion pack that not only does the expected (it adds a new campaign, new faction, and new god powers) it adds 50' of holy terror to the side willing to make the sacrifices to call it forth. It dramatically alters the way the game is played in multiplayer, and effectively ends the old game stalemate tedium that would sometimes arise, while bringing about a new more exciting stalemate to equally talented foes. First there are the subtle differences and improvements. Each side now gets a free Myth unit each time they enter a new Age. It's nice to get a free Troll or Minotaur when you reach Classical and even better to get a free Fire Giant or Chimera. All unit producing buildings have an ﾑinfinity' key, like Rise of Nations, that lets you build an army, or reinforcements continuously, provided you have the resources and unit cap room. The biggest change is that they've added a new Age. The Age of the Titans that lets you construct a giant myth unit of incredible power. Each side has their own. The new Atlanteans Titan is earth brown and covered in crystals. The Greeks summon a three-headed dog-man, the Egyptians summon a hawk headed giant and the Norse have a giant troll with a stone club. This unit can wipe out enemy units by smashing the ground, it shrugs off even powerful enemies like Chimera, Mummies, and a pack of Fenris Wolves. It all but ignores God powers like the Son of Osirus, Zeus's Lighting Bolt power, and is immune to many Myth powers. But that doesn't mean a dedicated army can't bring it down, and really the best power it has is to snuff out an enemy Titan before it is born.  These additions alone would probably be enough, but Ensemble wasn't satisfied. They added a new faction, one that functions very differently from the rest. The Atlanteans gain Favor by controlling ground. Their buildings transform the soil itself. Their monsters include mechanical men, clay-made Prometheans, and even more exotic creatures. The Titan God powers work a bit differently than the rest. Many can be cast a limited number of times. So, if you like Carnivora (it summons a man-eating plant), you can use it three times before it's gone. Other powers shift time, deconstruct buildings, give units a courage boost, or allow the Atlantean player to take command of one of your units. The Atlanteans use expensive villager units that come with their own pack mules. They move slowly but gather faster and are much more versatile (you don't need a gathering building or pack mule). Their units consist of basic melee and ranged units and special counter units. This requires some quick thinking and tactics on the part of the player but the more flexible and powerful gathering model gives this time. Atlanteans can also pay to upgrade their units into heroes. The single player campaign is short and well crafted but the real attraction is the multiplayer. ESO is still one of the best matchmakers available and these tweaks and additions dramatically change the way the end game plays out.  If you're reeling from an attack and a Titan is summoned, you'd best quit the game. You won't be able to bring him down without a massive and powerful army. But if you can put up a spirited defense and then summon your own Titan, you can steal victory from the jaws of defeat. That's what's happening on the ESO servers right now. Epic struggles between medusae and men, gods and monsters, and Titans duking it out in front of town centers around the world. 
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 Andrew Bub
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