Age of Empires: Mythologies

About

Age of Empires: Mythologies is a portable strategy game where you control Egyptian, Greek, or Norse civilizations in a myth-filled world. Build armies, gather resources, and advance through three ages to unlock new units and abilities. Each turn lets you send heroes and mythological creatures like Cyclopes into battle. Units follow a rock-paper-scissors system, humans beat heroes, which beat myth units, adding depth to combat choices. Call on gods for powers like plagues or earthquakes to crush enemies. Campaigns span eight scenarios per civilization, with each faction offering distinct units and god choices. The game stands out for its blend of classic strategy mechanics with mythological themes. Players select major gods before games and minor ones at each age, unlocking unique perks and units. Multiplayer options add replayability, though controls on the DS can feel clunky. With three civilizations, 24 total scenarios, and unit synergies that demand tactical thinking, it’s a portable strategy challenge that leans into its myth roots without overcomplicating.

Storyline

Like the original Age of Mythology, there are three civilizations available – Greek, Egyptian and Norse – each with their own unique units, buildings, powers and method of obtaining favor. Each has three "major gods" to choose from before each game – Zeus, Hades and Poseidon for the Greeks; Ra, Isis and Set for the Egyptians, and Odin, Thor and Loki for the Norse. Additionally, each has "minor gods" to select from every time the player advances an age, with all deities granting the player unique technologies, perks, myth units and God powers that are used to damage or benefit players. There are three types of base unit – humans, heroes and myth units, the latter two being mythical figures or creatures from the historical civilization's mythology and legends. A rock-paper-scissors model governs which units are best suited against others; for example, humans are good against heroes but weak against myth units. Every unit also has a sub-category such as heavy infantry or archers, again with each being better suited against certain others. Human units include hoplites or chariot archers, heroes include Odysseus and Ramesses, and myth units include Cyclopes and giants. The Campaign is divided into 8 scenarios for all three civilizations, set into separate campaigns, the first one, the Egyptian one focuses of Hatshepsut and her father Thutmose defeating Set's son Setekh, after investigating bandit raids near Memphis.