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RTS Glory Days Rekindled With Age of Mythology: Extended Edition
Remember in 2002 when the PC gaming scene was flush with awesome real-time strategy titles? No LAN party was without Age of Mythology, one of the more memorable RTS offerings from an era before MMORPGs and MOBAs dominated PC space. Well, Age of Mythology is back in the form of Age of Mythology: Extended Edition on Steam. The latest version is essentially the same game from ages past, with some minor improvements and quality of life enhancements. The expansion, Steamworks integration, Twitch support, and some minor graphical upgrades are all included in the bundle.
Gameplay is unchanged. I had the opportunity to play a few matches yesterday, one with GI’s very own Ben Hanson. Many of Age of Mythology’s gameplay elements hearken back to Age of Empires II, but god powers and myth units add a good deal of fun and chaos to the mix as a game progresses.
Players can create longtime staples such as traditional infantry, archer, and calvary units, but also flavorful mythic units like hydras, sphinxes, manticores, krakens, behemoths, mummies and more. So how do you counter these units? With heroes of course! The addition of these special unit types goes a lot way toward keeping things fun, fresh, and exciting. Asymmetric factions that play completely unlike one another make things a good deal more interesting than say, Age of Empires II, where the tech and economy are often similar from faction to faction.
Having not played the title in many years, I let an errant Roc hover over my base and act as the spotter for a massive Egyptian meteor strike that laid waste to all of my important troops and buildings. Massive world-altering stuff like this doesn’t happen in Age of Empire – While an army of Korean war wagons will level a base in moments it just doesn’t have the same oomph as imploding black holes, minotaurs, and fire from the sky.
What I’d love to see is a completely new Age of Mythology, but if you’re looking for some of that old-school RTS action with your friends and Steam buddies, this revamp seems like a reasonable option for some shenanigans.
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