Age of Mythology: The Odyssey According to Microsoft...

Overall score: 8.5 out of 10

Age of Mythology is the latest game in the Age of Empires saga series. Having based games on antiquity and the Middle Ages, the developers at Ensemble Studios decided to adapt the myths and legends of the Greeks, Egyptians, and Nordic peoples for their purpose. The game's powerful 3D engine uses the same general principles that have made the rest of the series a success. Age of Mythology is very different from its predecessors, however. The 3D graphics engine, developed specially for the game, is superb. The units, the buildings, topography, vegetation, and the animals - in short, everything that is in the game is really beautiful. The lighting and special effects have been rendered perfectly. Unlike the previous titles that concentrated on the historical aspect, Age of Mythology features the heroes of antiquity, mythical beasts and divine intervention. The result is a brilliant, enthralling game whose inspiration derives from the movies of Ray Harryhausen, such as "Clash of the Titans" and "Jason and the Argonauts."

Three Nations, Nine Gods, 27 Possible Starting Points!

Age of Mythology offers the player a choice of three nations. That doesn't seem to be a lot, but each one contains multiple variations depending upon which gods it worships. The gods are very much in evidence in this game, all of them being associated with various powers, different technologies, and specific creatures. Whichever nation you choose to start with, you have to choose a main divinity to worship from a list of three. Each god reigns over a pantheon of six minor gods. If you choose the Egyptians, for instance, the game will be very different depending on whether you opt for Ra, the sun god, or Seth, the god of darkness and evil, as your main god. Your nation begins the game in a distant era in antiquity and evolves gradually, passing successively through a "Classical," "Historical," and finally a "Mythical" era. In each era, an additional god must be chosen from among the minor divinities. Each god is only available once. So by the time you reach the Mythical Era, for instance, your nation will be worshipping only one main god and three minor divinities.