Age of Mythology

Age of Mythology
Age of Mythology Liner.jpg
Developer(s) Ensemble Studios
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
MacSoft
Version 1.10
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows,[1]
Mac OS X[2]
Release date(s)
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)
Media CD-ROM
System requirements

Microsoft Windows:

Mac OS:

  • 450 MHz CPU
  • 256 MB RAM
  • 16 MB video card

Age of Mythology (commonly abbreviated to AoM), is a mythology-based, real-time strategy computer game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released on November 1, 2002 in North America and a week later in Europe.[3]

A spin-off from the Age of Empires series, Age of Mythology takes inspiration from the myths and legends of the Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse, rather than from actual history.[4] However, many gameplay elements are similar to the Age of Empires series. Its campaign follows an Atlantean admiral, Arkantos, who is forced to travel through the lands of game's three cultures, hunting for a cyclops who is in league with Poseidon against Atlantis.[5]

Age of Mythology was commercially successful, going platinum four months after its release after selling over one million units.[6] The game's critical reception was generally positive: it scored 89% on both Game Rankings and Metacritic.[7][8]

Contents

Gameplay

Civilizations

The three different civilizations in Age of Mythology are the Greeks, the Egyptians, and the Norse. They each have different mechanics. For example, the Greeks gain favor by making their villagers pray at the temple, the Egyptians by building different monuments, and the Norse by fighting and hunting.

The Greek civilization is very similar to the civilizations in Age of Kings. They have great scouts as they start with a cavalry scout and they can train flying pegasi scouts (and hippocampi for Poseidon). They train their units at the Academy, Archery Range and Stables. Their human units are tougher than those of the other civilizations, but they are more expensive. Their hero units are powerful heroes from Greek mythology like Theseus, Heracles, Odysseus or Achilles. You can only have one of each but you can train them back if they die. They are the only civilization to have a ranged siege weapon at the third age, the Petroboli. In the fourth age, they can train mighty Helepolis towers.

The Egyptians are a more defensive civilization with powerful buildings, walls and towers. Their Pharaoh is a free hero unit that is succeeded if killed. They can empower buildings to speed up production. You can also train Priests to heal your units and counter myth units. Their siege weapons are powerful and they also have War Elephants to take down buildings or defeat infantry.

The Norse are very aggressive: they can train soldiers in the first age but they don't have any archers. Also, it is their infantry who build buildings, letting their gatherers concentrate on resource gathering. Instead of building deposit buildings, the Norses can train Ox Carts at the Town Center, a mobile deposit point. Their hero, the Hersir, can be trained at the Long House or at the temple. The Norse gain favor by killing enemies in battle.

Units

The bulk of each civilization's army is made of human soldiers. Each player has a maximum "population", although the player does not start with the ability to use this entire "population". Building additional houses or Town Centers—the main building in a player's town—increases the population capacity. Each unit takes up a different number of population slots: civilians take one, human soldiers and siege weapons usually take two or three (a few exceptions, such as the Egyptian's War Elephant unit, can take up to five), and myth units can take up to five.[9] Most units can be upgraded, making them better at certain tasks.[10]

Units can be classified into seven categories; infantry, archers, cavalry (which are broadly classified as human units), siege weaponry, naval units, heroes, and myth units.[11] The rock-paper-scissors model governs most units in battle. For example, infantry do additional damage to cavalry, cavalry do additional damage to archers, and archers do additional damage to infantry. However, at the same time, each of the types of unit has a "counter unit" - that is, rather than following the normal patterns of strength and weakness, the counter unit will have an attack bonus against units of its own type. Otherwise it is the same - the same weaknesses, and no bonus or weakness from the other unit. The same rock-paper-scissors formation exists in the three different types of naval units — arrow ships, siege ships, and hammer ships. Siege units are generally exempt from the rock-paper-scissors model, but are instead able to destroy buildings easily, while being vulnerable to cavalry attacks. Heroes are extremely effective against myth units, which in turn do large amounts of damage against human units.[12] Heroes are also able to collect relics, which grant the player additional economic or military bonuses when deposited in a player's temple.[13] While heroes are generally more powerful than human units, they are not generally as cost effective as using myth units or other human units against them.

Buildings

Buildings in Age of Mythology can generally be split into three categories: economic buildings, military buildings, and defensive structures. The most important economic building is the Town Center, which is similar to the building of the same name in the Age of Empires series of games. All civilian units are trained at the Town Center, apart from trade caravans and fishing ships, as are some technologies. The Town Center also has the ability to defend itself by firing arrows at enemy units in range. Most importantly, Age advancements are researched at this building. The Town Center provides fifteen population slots, and building additional houses will earn the player ten additional slots per house.[9] Other economic buildings include the farm and market.

Buildings are able to research technology upgrades, as well as provide resources for the player.[9] All units except civilians and trade caravans are trained at military buildings. These buildings differ in name and usage between civilization, but all are able to train similar units. Military buildings are also used to research military specific technologies, such as armor upgrades, and attack improvements.[9]

Walls and towers are defensive structures, which are not able to train units, and are used only for the purposes of defense. They are able to research some upgrades, although these are generally only useful to the building performing the research.[9] Another type of building available to players, is a Wonder: a grand building that represents an architectural achievement of the civilization. In certain game modes, once a player builds a wonder, a ten minute countdown begins. If the wonder is still standing after the countdown ends, the player who built the wonder wins.[9]

Multiplayer

Multiplayer is an aspect of Age of Mythology, played through Ensemble Studios Online, or via a direct LAN or IP connection. Age of Mythology includes one free multiplayer account on ESO. Similar in function to Blizzard Entertainment's Battle.net, ESO allows players to play matches, as well as chat with other players.[14] In multiplayer games, there are seven different game types available, all of which are provided as standard with the game:[15] "Supremacy"—the standard game mode—includes randomly generated map with the selected theme(or randomly selected using the random theme function) and all gameplay aspects; "Conquest" is similar to Supremacy, but victory is only possible by defeating all other players' units and buildings; in "Deathmatch", players begin the game with high resources, but the game is otherwise the same as Supremacy; in "Lightning", the gameplay is identical to Supremacy, but the game plays at twice the normal speed with a limit on villagers; in "Nomad" mode, players start with one civilian unit, and no Town Center, and must build up on a settlement; the goal of "King of the Hill" is to control a monument in the center of the map for a set period of time; and in "Sudden Death", a player loses if their Town Center is destroyed, and they fail to rebuild it within a set period of time. Multiplayer tournaments and LAN parties are popular throughout the world, with many players visiting computer gaming lounges to participate.[16]

The Age of Mythology scenario editor: visible is a large statue surrounded by deep water and the "rotate camera angle" controls, which allow for construction of more complex custom scenarios.

Scenario editor

The Age of Mythology editor is far more advanced than that of its predecessor, the Age of Empires II scenario editor.[2] As well as standard unit placement facilities, the editor allows units to be overlapped, and it facilitates for large mountains, vast oceans and rivers, and steep terrain.[17] Triggers, a popular aspect of scenario design in Age of Empires II, are also present in Age of Mythology's editor, as well as cinematics and other special effects.[18] You can also test the game while in the editor. All items from within the game are available in this editor.

Campaign

Unlike the campaign modes in Age of Empires and Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings, Age of Mythology only has one central campaign. The campaign, entitled Fall of the Trident, is significantly longer than campaigns in previous games, however, with a total of 32 scenarios.[19]

The campaign opens in Atlantis where their lead admiral Arkantos is set on the goal to regain favor from Poseidon, god of the Atlantean people.[5] At first, he repels a series of raids by Black Sail pirates led by the minotaur Kamos before being given the task to assist Agamemnon in the Trojan War. After a series of skirmishes against Troy, fighting alongside Ajax and Odysseus, they devise the plan involving the famous Trojan Horse and swiftly win the war. After, Ajax recommends Arkantos to sail to Ioklos, home of the centaur Chiron, to repair his ships. When they arrive however, the port has been raided by an unknown force and both Arkantos and Ajax must free a captured Chiron. Chiron takes them north to locate prisoners who are being forced to dig up an entrance to the underworld under Gargarensis, a cyclops warlord and commander of Kamos.[20] The heroes enter the underworld where Gargarensis is trying to break through a large door way. Cautious of his motives, they destroyed the battering ram but are trapped when the caverns cave in. With the help of the dead, they reached some temples dedicated to the Greek gods, yet Arkantos is favored by Zeus, not Poseidon, and they escape.

They reach the surface in Egypt where they are drawn into aiding Nubian mercenary captain Amanra against bandits under the evil assassin Kemsyt. She reveals that the Egyptian god Osiris has been killed by Set, who aids Gargarensis. Amanra, however, plans to reunite Osiris's body parts scattered throughout the desert, bringing him back to life. At first the heroes along with priest Setna are captured by Gargarensis, they escape and each is sent on a mission to retrieve all of Osiris's body parts. Before this, Arkantos falls asleep and is met by Athena, who reveals Gargarensis's motives. Favored by Poseidon, he plans to free the titan Kronos from Tartarus (where he was imprisoned by Zeus), to be granted immortality.[11] Amanra retrieves one of Osiris's body parts from Kemsyt, Chiron retrieves another from inside the Tamarisk Tree while Ajax and Arkantos retrieve the final part from Kamos, who is impaled on Arkantos' spear and then falls off a cliff onto a bed of rocks. With all pieces together, Osiris is resurrected and dispatches Gargarensis's army and so the cyclops flees to the Norse lands. On the way north, Ajax and Arkantos find Odysseus's wrecked ship, who has been cursed by Circe and so fight back and free his crew, who have been turned into pigs.

When they reach the north, they are given directions to the underworld by dwarf brothers Brokk and Eitri in return for repelling giants from their forge. Later, an elderly man named Skult gives them a banner which is to reunite the Norse clans. However when the flag is shown, the clans become hostile towards them due to the flag being that of the enemy giant Folstag, a trick by Skult who is actually Loki, who also allied with Gargarensis. With the help of the Valkyrie Reginleif they locate Gargarensis and the Tartarus gate. Inside they are pursued by fire giants until Chiron sacrifices himself to save them. While Gargarensis is at the gate, Brokk and Eitri have been rebuilding Thor's hammer (shattered by Loki), that upon completion seals the gate. Back on the surface, they confront Gargarensis with the help of Odysseus, where the cyclops is captured and executed.[21] Arkantos sails back to Atlantis. When he brings out Gargarensis's head on the ship, he finds he has been tricked by Loki; the head is actually Kemsyt's. Gargarensis is still alive and is in fact at Atlantis trying to open the last gate. Arkantos is blessed by Zeus and confronts Gargarensis at the temple of Poseidon. Gargarensis is defeated and Atlantis collapses into the ocean, along with Arkantos. While the remaining heroes sail away with the surviving Atlanteans, Athena rewards Arkantos by making him a god.

Campaign characters

The campaign's essential characters are immortal and are resurrected when allied units come near - albeit with few hit points. This makes them extremely important in the game and players should know their special abilities extremely well.

Arkantos, Ajax and Amanra appear throughout the campaign. Using Ajax's high hit points, Arkantos' ability to increase the attack of allied units (with a yell) and Amanra's ability to leap distances and across obstacles (walls, cliffs) to attack enemies (like an Anubite) can make a win-or-lose difference at higher levels of difficulty in the campaign.
The mythic Odysseus and Chiron, both ranged units who use a bow, should be employed aggressively whenever possible as they resurrect and are (due to the ranged attack) extremely useful even when just resurrected.
Reginleif, a mythic unhorsed (for displeasing Odin) Norse Valkyrie who throws spears and heals other units, similarly should be employed aggressively because she cannot be permanently lost and can heal frontline units when not throwing her spears.
Brokk and Eitri, mythic dwarven heroes allied to Thor who actually made his hammer, can mine gold when not fighting, which comes in very handy in two scenarios.

The Golden Gift

An official campaign, The Golden Gift, was released as a download on Microsoft's website. The campaign follows adventures of Brokk and Eitri, the dwarves who appeared in the initial campaign. The plot unfolds with both dwarves planning to create a giant golden boar as an offering to the Norse god Freyr. While working separately, Brokk is approached by Skult (also from Fall of the Trident) who warns him that Eitri is making preparations to create the boar without his brother, of which Eitri is also told the same about Brokk. As both brothers race to complete the boar in the great forge, Skult steals the finished piece and hold it in Loki's fortress. The brothers eventually assault the base and the boar is eventually retrieved and successfully offered to Freyr.[22]

Development

Ensemble Studios began work on their first fully 3D engine at the same time as their development of Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. Named the BANG! Engine, this was announced in January 2001, for use in a new game, codenamed RTSIII. RTSIII was eventually revealed as Age of Mythology.[23] In developing Age of Mythology, Ensemble Studios decided to move away from the center of the Age of Empires series history, to avoid becoming stale and repetitive. This allowed them to work with new ideas and concepts.[24]

Following the announcement of the game for September 2002,[25] a trial version was released.[26] It contained five scenarios of the game's campaign, and two random maps. In the trial version, the player can only select Zeus, but there are nine gods available in the full version of the game.[26] There was debate during Age of Mythology's construction concerning the unbalanced nature of god powers and how to make them "fair" while still maintaining an element of fun in them. It was concluded that the best way to make it fair for everyone was to limit the use of god powers to one a game.[27] Age of Mythology underwent a large amount of beta-testing during its developmental phase, as Ensemble Studios attempted to create a more balanced and competitive game than its predecessors. Greg T. Street commented that one of the reasons Age of Mythology became so popular was because the development team spent many hours working on the game through active testing, rather than just taking advice from a "faceless drone in another building".[28]

Expansion and spin-off

Age of Mythology: The Titans is an expansion to Age of Mythology, released on 21 October 2003.[29] The expansion added a new civilization, the Atlanteans, as well as several new units, including the titans. Critics and fans received the expansion with enthusiasm, although its ratings were not as high as that of the original version.[30]

Age of Empires: Mythologies is a sequel of Age of Empires: The Age of Kings, but with the unique mythology-based gameplay elements of Age of Mythology. It was developed by Griptonite Games for the Nintendo DS.[31]

Audio

The soundtrack to Age of Mythology was released on October 22, 2002, under the record label "Sumthing Else".[32] The score was written by Music Director Stephen Rippy, and artist Kevin McMullan. Rippy cites musicians such as Peter Gabriel, Tuatara, Bill Laswell, Talvin Singh and Tchad Blake as inspirations for the soundtrack. The musical work done on Age of Mythology was unlike anything Rippy had done before; an example of this was "writing for a seventy-piece orchestra and then flying out to Washington to record it."[33]

Music 4 Games' reviewer, Jay Semerad, heaped Age of Mythology's soundtrack with praise. He summarized his review by declaring: "In all, the Age of Mythology soundtrack is an experience that should not be missed. It's easily one of my favorite soundtracks from this past year." Semerad was also astonished, and appreciative, of the use of instruments such as the ney flute, tabla and toy piano, all of which he said produced "some innovative analog and synthesized electronic effects". His only critique was that at times some of the background melodies were "bound to a simple harmonization", and lacking any "real bold or innovative purpose".[34]

Reception

 Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 89%[7]
Metacritic 89%[8]
Review scores
Publication Score
Game Informer 9.5 out of 10[36]
Game Revolution B+[37]
GameSpot 9.2 out of 10[11]
IGN 9.3 out of 10[21]
PC Gamer US 86%[38]

Age of Mythology was well-received by the public, reaching an estimated one million units sold within five months of its release.[6] The game was nominated for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Interactive Achievement Awards for Computer Game of the Year and strategy computer game of the year.[39]

Age of Mythology's graphics were praised by the majority of reviewers. IGN reviewer Steve Butts stated that "some fantastic effects and believable animations make this one a joy to watch. The differences between the armies and environments are awesome." As such, he gave the graphics a rating of 9 out of 10.[40] Meanwhile, GameSpot reviewer Greg Kasavin also rated the graphics 9 out of 10, stating that "Age of Mythology is a great-looking game, filled with bright colors and carefully detailed animations."[41] Game Revolution also appreciated Age of Mythology's graphics, stating in their review that the "new 3D landscape looks good", and including graphics as one of the positives in the review summary.[37] PC Gamer reviewer William Harms admired the graphics, "The environments, units, and buildings are packed with detail," and excitedly commented on the effects: "What really impressed me, though, were the game's animations. When a Minotaur smacks a dude with his club, the schmoe goes flying, skids on the ground, and then bounces back into the air."[38]

The game's sound was also praised by reviewers, although several commented that it was repetitive and predictable at times. IGN described it as "great, if repetitive, music",[40] whilst Game Revolution declared that the sound "really showcases Ensemble's continued attention to detail", before going on to praise the audio snippets in various languages.[37]

IGN was pleased with Age of Mythology's campaign, and not bothered by its length. Instead, they stated that "the meaningful and engaging single player campaign provides a nearly flawless experience."[40] However, GameSpot was slightly critical of it, claiming that "while some of the campaign missions do feature some unusual circumstances or objectives that change, the game's story isn't incredibly engaging." This was compromised by stating that Age of Empires fans wouldn't expect an amazing campaign; they would "make a beeline for the game's random map mode, anyway."[41] PC Gamer elaborated more on the campaign however, saying: "many of the missions are extremely well-crafted," and that "sprinkled throughout these encounters are moments of genuine comedy — a truly delightful surprise." However, they still found reasons to criticize: "Regrettably, most of AoM's missions suffer from one recurring, frustrating problem: a severe case of 'build base-itis.'" The reviewer elaborated: "I know base-building is inherent to the genre, but even the most ardent fan will be put off by just how much there is. What's most disappointing is that AoM's setting really lends itself to imaginative mission design — and I don't think the designers took full advantage of the backdrop, which is a shame."[38]

Use in scientific studies

Age of Mythology's AI was used by four Austrian researchers—Christoph Hermann, Helmuth Melcher, Stefan Rank and Robert Trappl—in a study into the value of emotions in real-time strategy games. According to the abstract, "We were interested whether incorporating a simple emotional model to an existing bot-script improves playing strength."[42] The results of the study determined that of the four bots they tested, the neurotic bot was most capable of defeating Age of Mythology's default AI, followed by the aggressive one. Neither bot was defeated by the standard AI, but the neurotic bot won, on average, twenty five percent more rapidly.[43] Plans were made to extend the research in the future by pitting the neurotic bot against a human player.[44]

References

  1. ↑ "System Requirements". Microsoft Game Studios. http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/ageofmythology.aspx#sysreqs. Retrieved 2007-10-04. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Age of Mythology on MacSoft Games". MacSoft. Archived from the original on 2007-08-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20070819220325/http://www.macsoftgames.com/products/age_of_myth/macsoft-aom-page.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "MobyGames Age of Mythology Info". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/game/age-of-mythology/release-info. Retrieved 2007-07-20. 
  4. ↑ "Age of Mythology civilizations on MacGamer.net". MacGamer.net. http://www.macgamer.net/games/aom/civs/. Retrieved 2007-05-11. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fahey, Rob (2002-12-10). "Age of Mythology". Eurogamer. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/r_aom_pc. Retrieved 2007-05-26. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 ""Age of Mythology" Goes Platinum With More Than 1 Million Units Sold". Microsoft PressPass. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2003/mar03/03-11platinummythologypr.mspx. Retrieved 2007-07-22. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Age of Mythology Reviews". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/476277.asp. Retrieved 2007-07-23. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Age of Mythology (pc: 2002): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/ageofmythology. Retrieved 2007-07-23. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 "Buildings on MacGamer.net". MacGamer.net. http://www.macgamer.net/games/aom/buildings.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
  10. ↑ "Age of Mythology Heaven Unit Guide". Age of Mythology Heaven. http://aom.heavengames.com/gameinfo/units. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Kasavin, Greg (2002-11-02). "GameSpot review on Age of Mythology". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ageofmythology/review.html. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
  12. ↑ "Greek Hero Units". Age of Mythology Heaven. http://aom.heavengames.com/gameinfo/units/greek/hero. Retrieved 2007-06-05. 
  13. ↑ "Relics page on Age of Mythology Heaven". Age of Mythology Heaven. http://aom.heavengames.com/gameinfo/relics. Retrieved 2007-05-04. 
  14. ↑ "Ensemble Studios Online (ESO) FAQ". Age of Mythology Heaven. http://aom.heavengames.com/faq/eso. Retrieved 2007-07-22. 
  15. ↑ ES_Bigdog. "How many game modes are there in AoM?". Age of Mythology Heaven Forums. http://aom.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=st&fn=1&tn=7123&st=16#post17. Retrieved 2007-07-22. 
  16. ↑ "What games can I play in competition?". Uptime Games. http://uptimegames.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=0. Retrieved 2007-10-04. 
  17. ↑ "Elevation in Scenario Editor". Age of Mythology Heaven. http://aom.heavengames.com/scendesign/basics/elevation. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
  18. ↑ "Scenario Editor Glossary". Age of Mythology Heaven. http://aom.heavengames.com/scendesign/dictionary. Retrieved 2007-06-04. 
  19. ↑ "Age of Mythology for PC". ToTheGame. http://www.tothegame.com/pc-29-age-of-mythology-for-pc.html. Retrieved 2007-10-06. 
  20. ↑ "Age of Mythology overview". MacGamer.net. http://www.macgamer.net/games/aom/overview.html. Retrieved 2007-05-26. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Butts, Steve. "IGN Review". 2002-11-04. http://pc.ign.com/articles/376/376253p1.html. Retrieved 2007-05-11. 
  22. ↑ "Age of Mythology Downloads". Microsoft Game Studios. http://www.microsoft.com/games/ageofmythology/egypt_downloads.aspx. Retrieved 2008-01-23. 
  23. ↑ "Ensemble Studios Interview". Amer Ajami. GameSpot. 2001-01-31. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ageofmythology/news.html?sid=2680346. Retrieved 2007-07-24. 
  24. ↑ Stuart Bishop (2002-08-19). "Interview: Rock of Ages". C&VG. http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=78972. Retrieved 2007-07-24. 
  25. ↑ "Age of Mythology announced". GameZone Online. http://www.gamezone.com/news/12_17_01_12_32PM.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-27. 
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Age of Mythology Trial". Age of Mythology Heaven. http://aom.heavengames.com/dl/demo. Retrieved 2007-04-29. 
  27. ↑ Street, Greg T. (2002-08-21). "Age of Mythology: Volume II". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com/devdiary/august02/aom2/. Retrieved 2007-04-29. 
  28. ↑ Street, Greg T. (2002-09-05). "Age of Mythology: Volume III". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com/devdiary/september02/aom3/. Retrieved 2007-04-29. 
  29. ↑ "Age of Mythology: The Titans Info". MobyGames. http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/age-of-mythology-the-titans. Retrieved 2008-01-14. 
  30. ↑ "Age of Mythology:The Titans GameRankings page". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/914617.asp?q=Age%20of%20Mythology. Retrieved 2007-07-18. 
  31. ↑ Daemon Hatfield (2 June 2008). "A sequel to Age of Kings is on the way.". IGN. http://au.ds.ign.com/articles/878/878498p1.html. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
  32. ↑ "Age of Mythology Soundtrack CD". CD Universe. http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/5356137/a/Age+Of+Mythology.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-23. 
  33. ↑ "Age of Music". Steve Butts. IGN. http://pc.ign.com/articles/370/370283p1.html. Retrieved 2007-07-23. 
  34. ↑ "Age of Mythology". Jay Semerad. Music 4 Games. http://www.music4games.net/Review_Display.aspx?id=36. Retrieved 2007-10-04. 
  35. ↑ Microsoft Corporation Age of Mythology - Soundtrack. Published 2002. Retrieved July 28, 2007
  36. ↑ Brogger, Kristian (2002-12-17). "Game Informer review". Game Informer. http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200301/R03.0806.1753.50018.htm. Retrieved 2007-12-06. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 "Age of Mythology". Game Revolution. http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/pc/age_of_mythology. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 William Harms. "PC Gamer review". PC Gamer. http://www.pcgamer.com/archives/2005/06/age_of_mytholog.html. Retrieved 2007-10-06. 
  39. ↑ "6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards". The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. http://www.interactive.org/awards.php?winners&year=2003. Retrieved 2007-07-22. 
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 40.2 "Age of Mythology review". Steve Butts. IGN. http://au.pc.ign.com/articles/376/376253p3.html. Retrieved 2007-10-05. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "Age of Mythology Review, Page 3". Greg Kasavin. GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ageofmythology/review.html?page=3. Retrieved 2007-07-22. 
  42. ↑ "Neuroticism – A Competitive Advantage (Also) for IVAs?". SpringerLink. http://www.springerlink.com/content/2065rw46wm7h4124/. Retrieved 2007-10-11. 
  43. ↑ "AI research". New Scientist Technology Blog. 2007-10-05. http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/10/neurotic-software-is-top-gamer.html. Retrieved 2007-10-11. 
  44. ↑ "Neurotic software has a winning personality". Tom Simonite. New Scientist Technology Blog. http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/2007/10/neurotic-software-is-top-gamer.html. Retrieved 2007-10-11. 

External links

Age of Empires series
Main series
Age of Empires (The Rise of Rome) · Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (The Conquerors) · Age of Empires III (The WarChiefs · The Asian Dynasties) · Age of Empires Online
Spin-offs
Age of Mythology (The Titans)
Nintendo DS remakes
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings · Age of Empires: Mythologies
Board game adaptations
Age of Mythology: The Boardgame · Age of Empires III: The Age of Discovery
CCG adaptations
Age of Empires: Expandable Card Game
Fan mods
Age of Chivalry: Hegemony · Age of Empires III: The Napoleonic Era · Age of Empires III: War of the Triple Alliance · Age of Empires III: Knights and Barbarians