Age Of Mythology

Age Of Mythology's highly anticipated real-time strategy sequel, Age of Mythology, is almost upon us. We had the chance to go hands-on with the game this past weekend at the Age of Mythology stand-alone company, Microsoft, and developer Ensemble Studios, to discuss how the game will incorporate the Age of Empires series' unique approach to strategy.

One of the biggest changes for the sequel is the inclusion of "clanics," which are new units that can be built during battle to summon the gods of war. "Clanics are much faster and have a lot of extra skills that let them instantly change the formations of their armies," explains game director Daniel Lussier. "Clanics have had a lot of feedback, and we've got some great ideas about how to make them even better."

The development team has given many other features to the game that were originally designed for the real-time strategy genre, including minor changes to the AI, world building, and game mechanics. These tweaks are clearly meant to make the game play more like a traditional real-time strategy game. However, in an age of games that have been attracting so many players from all over the world, it seems like the upcoming game will be able to accommodate all those players that are craving an even more approachable RTS experience.

Clanics are another key part of the strategy game genre that will play an important role in the game's design. According to Lussier, the biggest surprise in strategy games came from the innovations made to the core gameplay. "The vision of these games, for the players, is that they will be very careful and have their choices as to which heroes are playable, when, and what their stats and abilities are." In turn, the developer will be able to keep certain heroes that are currently active throughout the game play while keeping a close eye on the mass of available turns that need to be made in order to maximize the efficiency of these battles. This will ensure that, even when everything is turned on and out of sync, the pacing of the game can become very intense and fast.

While the development of a strategy game is usually pretty regimented, they are actually really all part of a larger strategy game, hence the title. In this sense, Lussier explained that the first game had a very simple system in place. "We did a lot of work on the resource harvesting and unit harvesting. We've tried to keep that in-game as much as possible because we're trying to balance it so that it would give the game a real sense of achievement for you as you get used to the entire system." Of course, there will still be many additional mechanics and systems that weren't in place in the original game, but the team is working on ensuring that Lussier and his team aren't just missing out on anything that will make fans happy.

These are two aspects of the game that fans of the original game really want to see. One, there is a very compelling story behind Lussier's rise to power, but the other is the addition of another faction, the Mecha. In the original game, players will assume the role of one of the faction's four warring factions, but they will only get to play as one of the four. As in most other RTS games, there will be a maximum of three warring factions at any given time, but the Mecha will be able to actually destroy the enemy. You'll also be able to command other units and structures in battle, though this isn't always a viable tactic.

Of course, Lussier and his team want to ensure that the story isn't ruined because of the game's massive battles, and they've made some drastic changes to the gameplay. Whereas in the original game, you could simply blow up an enemy mech and take the fight to the Mecha, in Maken. Instead of having to command a third faction, the Mecha have to move about the world and capture areas around it, which can be done in many different ways. For example, you can destroy cities, although the Mecha have the ability to capture any buildings you see at the beginning of the game, which means you can't immediately destroy or hack up any other buildings that you see on the map. This is pretty different in the sequel, though, because you're still having to plan out a base before the third faction is able to take over a city, as the Mecha will only take damage if you're attacked.

Unlike the first game, the game will have a lot more destruction, which will be evident in the next major strategy changes, thanks to the new game's cleaner look. You'll also be able to focus more on a single unit rather than a whole bunch of giant mechanized mechs, as evidenced by the fact that the Mecha can take a significant amount of damage while being destroyed.