Chris Newell

Gaming Seminar

9/3/08

Game Details:

Name: Age of Mythology: Gold Edition

Developer: Ensemble Studios

Publisher: Microsoft

Genre: RTS, Real Time Strategy

Platform: PC

System Requirements:

Microsoft® Windows® 98/Me/XP/2000

PC with 450 MHz equivalent or higher processor

128 MB of system RAM

1.5 GB available hard disk space

32x speed or faster CD-ROM drive

16 MB video card required

Sound card, speakers or headphones required for audio

Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

56.6 Kbps or better modem for online play

Cost: $19.99 List price

Release Date: June 30, 2004, Original Version October 30, 2002

Now, the real reason your reading this review. The juicy, extra saucy mash potato plated masterpiece of the actual game. When I first picked up this game I didn’t know what to look for in games. This was one of my first pc games. Yea I know I’m a little late to the pc world. I was looking for something to occupy my time. I also was interested in mythology, so once I saw this game it was a given.

When I first opened the box, I noticed there were two disks. I thought this was simple, compared to Baldur’s Gate with 4 or more disks (cant remember). Now I cant remember very many other games back then. Heck all of high school is pretty much a blur. So here we go!

2. ELEMENTS
1. Graphics

When I first started the game, you get a cinematic trailer. It captured me as soon as I saw it, I liked it so much, and I immediately quit the game and restarted it to watch it again. Then like the good little boy I was, I immediately launched the campaign. I mean for the time this game was made it has pretty good graphics. The colors in the game are still pretty good, even by today’s standards. They’re extremely bright and detailed, and there are a lot of units on screen at the same time. The units are pretty detailed, and the environments were visually interesting.

2. Sound

I found the sound in this game decent. I mean the sound in Real Time Strategy isn’t the main focus. However this game, along with most Real Time Strategy, doesn’t totally ignore sound. Each unit has it’s own unique sound byte that comes along with moving sounds and battle sounds. The background music is involved with the themes of the game. A little Greek, a pile of Norse, and a pinch of Egyptian combine into the games music. I never wanted to turn the music off, nor did I want to break my eardrums. It was peaceful and Zen like for me.

3. Game play/Control

The game play was the best part of the game for me. I like a game to have a lot of replay value. It’s been 6 years now and I’ve never stopped playing it. The game is a smooth ride, with not a detour in site. I never once experienced any lag spikes or slow processing times. Of course I had the graphics on full blast, but even then it was running very smooth.

The controls in this game were pretty easy to learn and part of the brilliance of the game play is just that fact. The learning curve is pretty good for an R.T.S.. Compared to Empire Earth where it took me considerably longer to learn the controls, in Age of Mythology I was immediately into the game.

3. Conclusion

When I first played this game 6 years ago, I was shocked at how much I liked the game. 6 years later here I am, still playing the game. Even if you hate R.T.S. id recommend that you try this game out. The game would of gotten a 100 from me if I had reviewed it when it first came out. I can proudly recommend getting the gold edition now, because it has held up to the test of time and still is a 100.

Link to the Official trailer: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4757082574169386904&ei=E2O_SOfAOZPm-wHuoLH_CQ&q=age+of+mythology&vt=lf