September 4, 2024
Played on PC
Classic strategies – those about building a base and “wait, let’s build an army” – began to slowly return to the screens. True, so far science fiction has been luckier. But those who like to set all sorts of mythical creatures against their enemies have to be content with the classics, and among the latest releases, only Godsworn comes to mind. Fortunately, Xbox Game Studios remembered that Age of Empires had a beloved offshoot in the form of Age of Mythology. Prostagma? Vulome.
All videos have been remade from scratch in Retold
⇡#The gods are calling
The story of Age of Mythology is a real roller coaster based on ancient (and not only) myths. It begins with the theft of Poseidon’s trident from the temple of Atlantis. The legendary commander Arkantos immediately sets out to search. The character, invented specifically for the game, during his journey will take part in the siege of Troy, help Odysseus return home, descend into the depths of Tartarus, revive Osiris and even restore Thor’s hammer.
The original campaign offers more than three dozen missions, which are roughly evenly divided between three factions: Greeks, Egyptians and Scandinavians. The updated edition adds a mini-story about the dwarven blacksmiths Brokk and Eitri (these brothers may be familiar to you from the latest releases of God of War), as well as a story about the restoration of Atlantis from The Titans add-on, which introduced a new race – the Atlanteans, and the ability to build giant Titan in the final era of development. Only the Tale of the Dragon addon was bypassed. At one time it was received extremely coldly, and, apparently, the authors did not figure out how to correct the numerous problems of the Chinese script.
The basic mechanics were left in their original form. We need to develop the settlement, starting with the humble city council – the key building that produces workers. They, in turn, are responsible for both the construction of any other buildings and the collection of resources. The latter are divided into four types: food, wood, gold and grace. They spend it on three key needs: new buildings, an army and improvements. The approach to development is standard: we churn out labor and distribute it to production; We are gradually erecting the necessary buildings and fortifications in case of a siege; We accumulate an army until we hit the limit, and go to clear the map.
A small but well-balanced squad can deal with the enemy camp
Despite the design according to the “gold standard” of RTS, the story scenarios do not allow you to slip into routine. Literally every mission offers its own unique twist. Somewhere you need to take a fortified enemy fortress, somewhere you need to keep excavations from attacks from different sides, somewhere you need to recapture an artifact before it reaches the enemy temple. Sometimes we are given a minimum of resources, forcing us to aggressively expand, or are forced to transfer an army to enemy lands by water or air.
The alternation of factions also adds variety. They all have their own unique features. The Greeks, for example, are balanced and work, consider it, according to the classic formula from the first Warcraft. But the Egyptians slowly rebuild if the pharaoh does not push them, but their priests are more effective than others in healing the army right in battle. The Scandinavians, on the other hand, are extremely mobile: they collect resources using mobile carts, and buildings are built by soldiers, not ordinary workers, which allows them to quickly build barracks right under the besieged walls.
Each side, as it develops, passes through four eras, from ancient to mythical. The transition to a new century opens up both useful technologies with improvements, and increasingly powerful types of units. At the end of development, of course, the most effective fighters await. Sending heels of colossi to destroy the enemy fortress is a separate type of pleasure that does not get boring.
On some maps you cannot replenish the army yourself – we are content with what we have and hope for reinforcements according to the scenario
Age of Mythology: Retold is an exciting adventure that gives the same emotions as twenty years ago. But with new technologies, the strategy began to sparkle with new colors. Hydras and elephants effectively crush infantry, minotaurs and cyclops send enemy soldiers flying with powerful blows, and catapults with colossi effectively destroy buildings. I would swear it looked exactly the same in 2002! Of course, this is just a memory trick. And many mechanics have also been changed.
The artificial intelligence has undergone edits and has clearly become more aggressive. Enemy troops will regularly test the strength of your defenses, and if they break through the defensive ranks, they will first of all try to exhaust your economy: they will demolish warehouses and slaughter your workforce. In such cases, it is worth quickly hiding the peasants in fortresses. Medium difficulty (in local terminology – “increased”, the third out of five possible) is not exactly challenging, but several missions turned out to be quite tense.
They gave us the opportunity to form detachments in our own army. Select the necessary units, press Ctrl and a number – and now, with the press of one button, a group of warriors is immediately under your control, and a double click also centers the camera on it. Spellforce fans will appreciate it. At the same time, managing a single crowd is inconvenient. Firstly, the maximum number of fighters has increased compared to the original, and micromanagement has become more complicated. Secondly, if you mix many different types of units into one pile, then trying to line up in rows will spread your army too thin.
We captured an enemy transport and pretended to be our own in order to transport the army unnoticed
The interface has been redesigned from scratch. It is a little bulky, but it shows detailed characteristics for each unit, including all kinds of attack multipliers. Also, pop-up tips when pointing at a fighter help you not to get confused about who is effective in what situations. In Age of Mythology, battles are built on the rock-paper-scissors principle, so it is important to keep track of which archers are effective against infantry and which are effective against cavalry.
Finally, divine help was allowed to be invoked an unlimited number of times – if you prayed for enough grace, of course. Without generous offerings, the celestials are only willing to lift a finger once, and each subsequent intervention will cost more (and require time to recharge so that earthquakes and meteor showers do not fall on the map one after another).
This last change has a particularly big impact on the overall pacing of the game. Proper use of a blessing can turn the tide of a battle. And this applies to a greater extent to multiplayer. The emphasis on the plot did not prevent the implementation of exciting online battles. There are always multiple countermeasures for every enemy strike, and four eras that are easily accessible make the fights fast-paced. As a rule, battles between two or three players last half an hour or an hour.
Clash of the Titans – the culmination of the battle
Types of maps, battle modes, balance of players and bots, the ability to use titans and other filters help you find a suitable battle in just a minute. Or set up your own lobby. Retold’s online game is excellent, and coupled with cross-play, finding a partner or opponent to play together won’t pose any difficulties. In the foreseeable future for sure.
* * *
Age of Mythology: Retold is one of those remakes that managed to capture the essence of the gaming experience of the original project, improve it and present it so that the remake felt like the same game we spent long hours playing twenty years ago. Ancient mythical magic, no less.
Advantages:
- Exciting campaigns with a variety of missions;
- A classic RTS from the 2000s, which successfully combines strategic depth and good dynamics;
- A rich picture that conveys the fabulous atmosphere of myths;
- Convenient and fast selection of online matches.
Disadvantages:
- Detachments cannot be left unattended – they themselves will find what kind of fight to get involved in;
- Portraits for the gods in the paid DLC – why was this fly in the ointment needed?
Graphic arts
The updated Age of Mythology received a rich picture and high detail along with the latest engine of the main Age of Empires series.
Sound
Outside of the main menu, it’s hard for me to remember a single melody. But the game world itself sounds great. Each action has its own sounds, and it’s easy to navigate important events by ear: from an attack to the readiness of the next improvement.
Single player game
A classic RTS with a variety of story missions, a pack of modes for free play and wrapped in modern graphics.
Estimated time of completion
About twenty-five hours for story campaigns (on medium difficulty) and infinity in online battles.
Collective game
Convenient and quick selection of matches allows you to easily break into online battles, where all the game mechanics are important, and knowing them for victory is no less important than the speed of issuing orders.
General impression
Age of Mythology deserves a second life, and the authors of Retold coped with the task. Before us is an exemplary remake of one of the best strategies of the early 2000s.
Rating: 9.0 / 10
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