The Titans Review
A titanic battle rages in the Grecian peninsula; Cyclopes smash through Hoplite formations, Centaurs rain death on their mortal opponents. As the fighting progresses, the tide turns and the human army forces back the creatures; a rout ensues and the humans are the valorous victors. But all is not well, a roar from the ground begins and Kronos is seen, struggling to break free from his chains. A familiar theme song is played, a menu appears, and Age of Mythology: The Titans appears on the screen in large print. The expansion pack to the 3rd creation of the Real Time Strategy giant Ensemble Studios takes the original game’s theme and injects it with even more mythology. The new Atlantean civilization, behemoth Titan units, and other such changes add yet another layer of gameplay to Age of Mythology. Although it might appear as though this x-pack is basically the same as the original, it turns out to make the game far more unique than it – or almost any other RTS game, for that matter – has ever been.
Gameplay – 9.2/10
Singleplayer Campaign – 9.3/10
The Singleplayer Campaign in The Titans directly follows the events at the end of the one in AoM; the Atlanteans are without a homeland and are struggling for survival. But under the leadership of Kastor – Arkantos’ son – they find a new home and new “gods” to look over the Atlanteans: the Titans. The events that result lead up to a climactic clash of powers and action, but you’ll have to find out just what that is when you get the game yourself.
The campaign’s storyline is just as deep and exciting as its predecessor, despite the fact that it is considerably shorter; a little more than 1/3 of the original. I would’ve preferred that the campaign was longer, since the epic storyline did feel rushed. However, the actual design of the scenarios is top-notch, worthy of a title as legendary as Age of Mythology. The scenario types range from RPG to total destruction, and everything in-between; each and every one is interesting and fun to play.
Balancing – 9.3/10
One of the biggest issues in Age of Mythology was an apparent imbalance in the game; for a long period of time one god reigned supreme: Ra, Loki, Set, they all were highly disliked by the vast majority of online gamers. However, Ensemble has appeared to have effectively balanced the game with The Titans; there isn’t any glaring overpowered god or civilization, they are pretty well balanced for the most part. Of course, it isn’t 100% balanced in every way and new strategies from the top experts in the world might prove that to be incorrect, but it appears as though an acceptable balance has been found and gamers will no longer call one another demeaning terms simply due to which god they choose.
Fun Factor – 9.1/10
But balance is only one aspect of multiplayer gaming; fun factor plays a huge part in it as well…understandable, since this is a game. The addition of the Atlanteans and Titans adds a whole new level of fun to the AoM, and its replayability is sent through the roof. It just goes without saying how much fun it is to see an enormous Titan smash through whole armies or watching a pack of Arcus Heroes mow down advancing infantry formations.
The increased use of mythology in the game also improves the fun factor by multiples. Along with the introduction of Titan units, myth units have been tweaked so that they are used far more often in typical games; it’s actually possible to see more than just a couple Cyclopes, Einherjar, or Battle Boars in an army. Old Civilization god powers have been pumped up so their effects are more noticeable, and the new Atlantean god powers can be cast multiple times. All-around, the use of mythology in the game has increased a lot and made the game more fun to play.
As far as how fun the Atlanteans are, I’d say they’re the most fun civilization to play now, for obvious reasons. However, they area also by far the most unique; being able to use mythology far more than other civilizations and just the way they’re played. They even have a new and unique feel to playing them, an enjoyable experience for any Age fan.