I'm changing things a bit up here, despite it being the third review I've ever done. This review will actually cover an RTS game and its sequel, which features stories of great heroes and a mythic adventure. Of course, it is Age of Mythology and Age of Mythology: The Titans!
(Jeez, the guys gotta be using cheats if he can have that many mythic units)
Another game that turned out to be a spinoff of another main series, the Age of Empires. Created by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios, the game was released in 2002, with its sequel coming out a year later. Like Rise of Legends, it takes a different approach to the game mechanics of its predecessor, while adding some new ideas to the mix.
In the game, there are 3 groups to choose from: Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse (the Atlantians are a 4th group that appear in the expansion). Each one, of course, plays differently, with Greeks being the most balanced, Egyptians having faster, but weaker units, Norse, who are the powerhouse of the quartet, and Atlantians who have strong attackers weak armor.
To differentiate the players who use the same races are choices in which primary god they worship. For example, if I play as a Greek, then I can choose between Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, each one having special bonuses to fit a certain play style. As you advance to each age by gathering the proper amount of resources (food, gold, and wood), you then choose a minor god who also has benefits you can use if you choice them. These include different bonuses to units, buildings, and even mythic units. So, if I chose Zeus, then when I advanced to the next age, I could chose to either have Athena or Hermes as my first minor god. This continues until the fourth age, where you have chosen 3 minor gods at that point. The choice of minor gods change depending on the main god (Poseidon could also choose Hermes as well, but Athena is replaced by Ares).
Back to the resource gathering, a new one was added known as favor. Each group has a different way to gain favor. Greeks have temples where they send villagers to worship to gain favor, Egyptians build monuments to gain favor, Norse gains it through combat, and Atlantians gets it through building on settlements. It definitely adds new strategies when it comes to adding a new resource to a game. Overall, the gameplay is pretty great, even when just fighting against a computer.
(This is the ultimate showdown, of ultimate destiny~)
Anyway, onto the story mode of Age of Mythology, with the main hero Arkantos having a dream of fighting an old enemy named Theris. Athena appears and warns him of great danger that could spark a war between the gods. After Arkantos wakes up, he makes it to his home, Atlantis, and is told to sail out again to help the Greeks in the Trojan War. Pirates attack, led by a minotaur named Kamos, with Arkantos repelling them before heading out to Troy. Once there, he meets up with the commander Agamemnon and Ajax. After an assault, Arkantos works with Odysseus to knock down the first gate of Troy. Unfortunately, the Troy forces make an assault of their own, taking down Ajax's and Agamemnon's forces during the Greek's siege. Down, but not out, Arkantos and Odysseus come up with a plan to trick the Trojans into accepting a giant, wooden horse for the Greek's surrender. The bait is taken and Troy falls in the very night.
(At this point, the Trojans were grabbing the Idiot Ball too tightly)
So, the Trojan War has ended, with Ajax accompanying Arkantos on his trip back to Atlantis, which takes a detour to a port town due to the ships being damanged. Once they arrive to the town, they discover that it has been ransacked by bandits and that their leader, Chiron (a centaur) was captured as well. The two Greek heroes rescue Chiron, though most of the prisoners have been taken away to a dig site. Meanwhile, a massive cyclops known as Gargerensis is working on a way to travel into the Underworld, using the prisoners to dig into the earth. Arkantos, Ajax, and Chiron assault the bandit's fortress and follow Gargerensis into the Underworld. The Greek heroes watch as Gargerensis' forces try and bust down a massive door. They stop them, but end up being trapped in the Underworld by an avalanche. The Greek heroes manage to move through the Underworld to a point where they come across temples to Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon. When Arkantos tries to pray at Poseidon's temple, believing that the God revered in Atlantis would help them, but gets no reply. Instead, Zeus creates a passageway from the Underworld back to the surface.
Oddly enough, they end up in Egypt of all places, crossing paths with the Nubian warrior Amanra. The Greek heroes help Amanra by acquiring an artifact that helps the group assault a bandit's fortress run by Kemsyt, who is actually working with Gargerensis along with Kamos. After the assault, the heroes acquire a piece of Osiris, with Amanra telling them that Osiris was tricked by Set, 'killed', and cut into several pieces, spread out in Egypt. When they reach a safe haven, it turns into a trap by Kemsyt, with Amanra the only one escaping. She manages to rally a force to assault an island prison where the rest of the heroes are held, even rescuing a priest of Osiris known as Setna. They escape and manage to recover the piece of Osiris once more.
Taking a break from all the battles, the Heroes try to plan out what to do next. Arkantos takes a nap, which triggers another message from Athena. She tells how the Titans fought the Greek gods and lost, being locked away in Tartarus behind adamantine doors. This prevents gods from opening the the doors, leaving only mortals to open them. To Arkantos' surprise, Athena tells him that Poseidon has helped Gargerensis in trying to free Kronos from the prison. All to get back at Zeus for taking most of the power amongst the Greek Gods.
(Finally, a story where Hades isn't the designated villain)
This actually cuts to a pretty trippy mission where Arkantos attack Atlantis as the enemy, being told that if Gargerensis isn't stopped, Atlantis and everyone on it will be destroyed.
Arkantos finally awakens from his dream, getting informed on the plan everyone else was working on. They decide to reunite all the pieces of Osiris in order to stop Gargerensis from accessing the Underworld in Egypt. The heroes split up, with each one managing to acquire a piece of Osiris in one way or another. Amanra manages to fight Kemsyt (though he escapes), Arkantos and Ajax fight Kamos (with Arkantos killing Kamos with his spear), and Chiron meeting a group of Norsemen who have been following Gargerensis from the North (how? why? does it really matter at this point?). Anyway, the heroes manage to recover all the pieces, reunite them and bring back Osiris, who then proceeds to open up a can of 'SMITE' by stopping Gargerensis and destroying most of his army. The cyclops flees to the north, with the heroes following him soon after.
The next mission is really a re-telling of a part of the Odyssey, where Arkantos and Ajax find that Odysseus was shipwrecked and his crew turned into pigs. Arkantos and Ajax end up getting turned into boars (guess Circe's magic wasn't working too well at that point or something) and the two manage to rescue the crew before they were killed. They even manage to revert them to their original forms, with Arkantos and Ajax parting ways with Odysseus.
(Enough of the Greek pansies, time to be manly Norsemen!)
Anyway, the heroes managed to reach the North, immediately getting a snow avalanche dropped on them. Thankfully, two dwarves named Brokk and Eitri help the heroes once they help the dwarves get their armory back from a group of giants. They part ways, and the heroes meet up with an old man named Skult, who tells them of the different Norse clans infighting while the giants came down to join in. He offers to use his clan flag as a way to attract their attention, if only for a few moments. Don't worry, this old guy seems legit.
The group manages to find the clans, but they end up getting attacked due to the symbol they carry. After fighting through several Norsemen, the heroes realize they were tricked when Skult laughs at them and turns into ravens. Thankfully, a valkyrie known as Reginleif meets them and told them that Loke tricked them by having them carrying the symbol of the Folstagg, a frost giant who has caused a great deal of trouble to the Norsemen. They manage to recruit more Norsemen for an army and assault the fortress that leads to the Norse underworld. As they assault Gargerensis and his forces, they get chased by Fire Giants with Chiron sacrificing his life to stop the giants' advances.
As they try and regroup themselves, they come across Brokk and Eitri, who are working on a special project. Reginleif explains that Thor's hammer was smashed by Loki, with the dwarves working on trying to fix it. After protecting the dwarves, Thor's hammer is fixed once more and the God of Thunder stops Gargerensis' plans cold.
(Time to drop the hammer!)
In one more fight against Gargerensis and his forces, the heroes are rejoined by Odysseus, who has also brought an army with him to fight. Apparently, Athena has shown Odysseus on how his own home was destroyed if he didn't go to help the heroes in the north. They manage to beat the cyclops, with Ajax cutting of Gargerensis' head as revenge for Chiron's death.
Eventually, the heroes head back to Atlantis, with Arkantos demanding that the cyclops' head being lashed to the bow of the ship. However, it is revealed as another trick by Loki, the head actually turning out to be Kemsyt. As they reach Atlantis, it has come under siege, with Arkantos realizing that the last door to Tartarus is in Atlantis. As the heroes try to rescue as many people as they can, Gargerensis calls upon Poseidon to help him. The god of the sea turns a statue to life to open the path to the door faster. Arkantos sends the heroes away to get the citizens to safety, while he stays to stop Gargerensis. Zeus, realizing that his brother is using a loophole to get his way, helps out Arkantos by empowering him. In the end, Arkantos kills Gargerensis, but dies from the sinking of Atlantis. Taking pity upon him, Athena grants Arkantos the power of a demigod.
And that brings an end to the Age of Mythology campaign story. It was good, characters were fleshed out enough to make them different, at least personality wise, and each of the missions were interesting and helped move the plot forward. Now, onto Age of Mythology: The Titans.
The story takes place a decade after the end of Age of Mythology, with the Atlantians trying to rebuild their society after the destruction of their island. However, they are having little success in returning to their former glory. Elsewhere, Kronos, somehow, sends forth a creature to take over the mind and body of Krios, a minor character from the previous game I've neglected to talk about until now. Its only because he didn't really have too much of an effect in the last game until now. He was priest of the Greek Gods and that was about it.
The next morning, 'Krios' tells the remaining Atlantians about a vision of a temple that would take them to a much better land. When they reach that temple, it turns out to be a gateway to a better land, leading the Atlantians out of a cold tundra to a temperate climate. Its revealed here that Oranos, the Sky Titan, was the creator of the gateway that the Atlantians used to get them here. Most were hesitant to worship the titans instead of the gods, but Kastor, the son of Arkantos, tells how the Greek Gods abandoned them and at least the Titans gave them aid. Like Krios, Kastor was a minor character in the previous game, but helped give Arkantos a stronger reason to protect Atlantis aside from just doing it as his duty.
The campaign mode for Age of Mythology: The Titans is kind of a letdown. It's pretty short, not a lot of character development and even the villains were pretty poor. I was expecting a lot more out of the expansion. Still, the gameplay is pretty good overall and it can be fun in the off-time.
And that brings an end to the Age of Mythology campaign story. It was good, characters were fleshed out enough to make them different, at least personality wise, and each of the missions were interesting and helped move the plot forward. Now, onto Age of Mythology: The Titans.
The story takes place a decade after the end of Age of Mythology, with the Atlantians trying to rebuild their society after the destruction of their island. However, they are having little success in returning to their former glory. Elsewhere, Kronos, somehow, sends forth a creature to take over the mind and body of Krios, a minor character from the previous game I've neglected to talk about until now. Its only because he didn't really have too much of an effect in the last game until now. He was priest of the Greek Gods and that was about it.
The next morning, 'Krios' tells the remaining Atlantians about a vision of a temple that would take them to a much better land. When they reach that temple, it turns out to be a gateway to a better land, leading the Atlantians out of a cold tundra to a temperate climate. Its revealed here that Oranos, the Sky Titan, was the creator of the gateway that the Atlantians used to get them here. Most were hesitant to worship the titans instead of the gods, but Kastor, the son of Arkantos, tells how the Greek Gods abandoned them and at least the Titans gave them aid. Like Krios, Kastor was a minor character in the previous game, but helped give Arkantos a stronger reason to protect Atlantis aside from just doing it as his duty.
(Jeez, where is Ms. Arkantos in all of this?)
The Atlantians decide to rebuild the old Titan temples, but get attacked by Greek forces. Furious at their assault, Kastor launches his own army against the Greek general Melagius. The general ends up dead, but Egyptian and Norse forces appear to back him up. Taking advantage of their arrival, Kastor splits up his forces and sends them to the North and Eqypt in order to strike them at their home.
As Kastor leads the attack against the Norse, his other army fights against Amanra, now known as Queen Amanra. Before the actual fight, she was visited by Arkantos, who warned her about the Atlantians attacking her. She fails to stop the Atlantians, but manages to survive the attack. As she heads out to face the Atlantians at their home, Arkantos tells her that his son is leading the forces. Wait, if he could just appear to anyone, why couldn't he just help his son and the Atlantians rebuild their homes?
Anyway, Kastor makes it back to Greece, where he prepares for another assault. 'Krios' tells him of another gateway of Oranos, which actually leads to Mount Olympus itself. He decides to ransack Mount Olympus, which will end up doing something horrible. Meanwhile, Amanra reunites with Ajax, just in time to see the return of the titans, specifically the one called Prometheus. As Kastor returns, 'Krios' reveals its true form and explains how it was all Kastor's fault that the Titans are free. Without those temples on Mount Olympus, the Titans would be able to break free from their imprisonment and rule the world once more. Wait, why didn't Gargerensis try to attack Mount Olympus instead of just trying to take out the doors? It sounds like this way would've been a lot faster.
Ajax and Amanra manage to save Kastor from his troops and the wrath of Prometheus. As they re-group, Akrkantos appears and tells them at other Titans, one in Egypt and one in the North, have also appeared. Since they can't fight Prometheus now, they head out to sea to stop the other titans. Apparently, the ones that are appearing now are considered 'lesser Titans', meant only to make way for the bigger ones. They manage to get help against the Titans, like an Egyptian guardian of great power, and Folstagg, the giant that was mentioned in the first game.
Of course, the heroes succeed and head back to Greece. They soon discover that one of the Titans, Gaia, is against Kronos' return and helped the heroes take down Prometheus. At least this makes sense, since the the Titans that first appeared are trying to make way for the rest.
(Its hard to think of a handful of Titans more powerful that Gaia)
After dealing with Prometheus, the heroes head out to try and take down 'Krios' at the Atlantian colony. However, they walk into an ambush. They survive, of course, and further follow him back to the ruins of Atlantis. There, Kronos manages to break out of Tartarus and begins to try and take over the world. Fortunately, Gaia gives the heroes help once more, even making a physical appearance to stop Kronos. They succeed, with Kastor even managing to take out 'Krios' himself. In the end, Arkantos gives Kastor the 'Staff of Atlantis', making him the new leader.
The campaign mode for Age of Mythology: The Titans is kind of a letdown. It's pretty short, not a lot of character development and even the villains were pretty poor. I was expecting a lot more out of the expansion. Still, the gameplay is pretty good overall and it can be fun in the off-time.
Until next time...
Age of Mythology and Age of Mythology: The Titans is owned by Ensemble Studios
Thanks to 'cheesesteak999' for the intro video to Age of Mythology
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