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Myth III: The Wolf Age
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Graphics & Sound:
The thing that most veterans to the Myth series will note when they first start playing the game--if they didn't already know this--is that Myth III: The Wolf Age finally makes the full-fledged jump into 3D. Instead of sprite-based characters moving around on a 3D map, everything in Myth III is polygonal. Now, that could have been a bad thing, if done wrong; fortunately, Mumbo Jumbo managed to render an absolutely gorgeous gameworld. The characters all look like you would have expected, the environments are pleasantly lit and detailed, and the whole game moves along quite nicely. The more high-end your system, the better the graphics are, of course, but it scales nicely, and anyone with a decent-enough computer should be pleasantly surprised with the visuals in Myth III. Similarly, the voice acting is superb. Bungie's games have always been known to have excellent voice acting, and even though the series is in new hands now, the title sounds just as good. The music is solid, the voice acting is stellar--one of the few games that you'll be turning the sound up to hear what they're saying, instead of the other direction--and the clangs and clashes all sound excellent. I've been playing the original Myth in my spare time (heh) recently, and jumping to Myth III you hear the same kind of fantastic voice and soundwork. |
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Gameplay:
And while Myth III: The Wolf Age doesn't have quite the brilliance in execution that the previous two games in the series did, it's by no means a failure. Indeed, fans of the series are going to feel very much at home here, and while newcomers may want to start elsewhere in the saga--this one's a tough nut to crack--there's no need for prior knowledge before jumping into the game. That's not to say that prior knowledge wouldn't hurt. Like the previous two games in the series, the gameplay of Myth III is tightly interwoven with the story. In the grand tradition of video and computer game trilogies, this is a prequel to the first two titles; you'll get to see Soulblighter and the crew before they turned evil, back when they worked for the forces of good. It's an interesting twist, and it ends up working surprisingly well. The storyline is engrossing, although I have a feeling that more people will keep playing for the experience rather than for the tale. People who have never played the Myth games are going to be in for something of a surprise when they start up Myth III and jump into the first battle. There's no unit production facilities, no resources to collect, and no overarching economy to concern yourself with between stages. There's simply you--the good guys--and them--the bad guys--going toe to toe in various environments. Because of the lack of production, you've got to make every unit count, working carefully with your groups to have them execute your plans and trying not to get your ranged attackers slaughtered wholesale. It's a decidedly different experience, and you may find yourself getting spanked thoroughly on your first few tries at the game because of the completely different tack that it takes. Fans of the series will be happy to know that the core unit balance of the game has not changed. Many of the tactics that you utilized before will work well. In addition, there are a number of new units to contend with on both sides; you'll find more representatives of the various races on the continent that helped you before, but you'll also find all sorts of new evil horde-type beasties. Unfortunately, you'll probably find yourself yawning at some of the mission structures; there are too many grunt rush levels, which is a shame, considering the level of depth that the game can handle. When you tire of the single-player experience, you can always jump into the solid multiplayer game using Gamespy Arcade. There are a ton of different game modes, so there'll certainly be one to suit your mood at any time, and the game seems to run well enough in multiplayer. |
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Difficulty:
Any non-veterans to the series need to go directly to the Weak difficulty level, without passing Go or collecting two hundred dollars. Myth III: The Wolf Age has three difficulty levels, but even the lowest one is going to be challenging for people who aren't used to the way that Myth games play out. Careful formation management, judicious use of your troops, and using the upper ground are tactics that aren't generally necessary in other RTS games, but are absolutely essential to victory in Myth III. Indeed, many beginning gamers may become frustrated with the opening level if they do not lower the difficulty. Fortunately, you can vary it at will, which is a nice feature.
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Game Mechanics:
Myth III: The Wolf Age uses a combination of keyboard and mouse controls, moreso than most other RTS games, because of the camera manipulations necessary to get a good view of what's going on. The camera seemed a little wonky at times, not giving nearly enough zoom-out for my tastes, but that could have been a strategic decision. Nonetheless, once you get the hang of its foibles, it's simple enough to zoom around the map, selecting units and the like. Grouping is also simple, and switching formations is a breeze. These are the sorts of things that you're going to be doing with extreme regularity in the game, so make good use of the training level. The game seemed solid enough; I never had a crash, and minor technical glitches in menu-switching are practically unnoticeable. With a little more inventiveness, Myth III: The Wolf Age could have easily taken the crown as the best game of the series. As it is, it's still a very solid entry in the Myth saga, and is highly recommended to any fan. Indeed, anyone who wants to take a bite into a decidedly different RTS should definitely give Myth III: The Wolf Age a chance; with a solid storyline, an engrossingly deep game engine, and enough multiplayer to make your ears curl, chances are good that you'll be playing this one for a while.
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-Sunfall to-Ennien, GameVortex Communications AKA Phil Bordelon |
Minimum System Requirements:
Win9x/Me/2K, Pw 400, 96MB RAM, 4x CD-ROM, 250MB HD space, 3D accelerator w/ 6MB VRAM |
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Test System:
Athlon 1.1GHz running Win98 SE, 512MB RAM, GeForce 2 GTS w/ 32MB RAM, SoundBlaster Live!, 8x DVD-ROM |
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