Age of Mythology

Preview - Ferrago meet Bruce Shelley and witness this top RTS title in action.

It was a setting that should have played host to rather more seedy goings-on than a game demonstration – a darkened function room of an upstairs Bar in Soho. In reality it was a rare treat – the chance to get round a table with Bruce Shelley, game design Guru at Ensemble Studios, and take a good long look at their latest title Age of Mythology, in the flesh – as it were. The game is out on PC this November, and Bruce was in London demonstrating the title, of which he’s justly proud, to the hordes of journalists braving the dank and muggy air of the City’s streets.

So, having been revived with water by Microsoft’s PR execs, Bruce began to show me exactly what all the fuss was about. I was suitably impressed, to say the least – for Age of Mythology has blossomed from just a good idea, into a brilliantly realised feast of originality and creativity.

The premise is a simple one. Age of Empires expanded, enhanced and reanimated with a new mythological setting. A breath of fresh to be enjoyed by fans of the original, and the horde of new converts Ensemble hope to attract with this highly original setting.

First impressions; the game is visually stunning. Bruce points out to me the convergence of games and cinema, as I witness the game come to life in vivid detail with a pre-scripted sequence which flies around one of the games huge maps – taking in the scenery. The transition into the third-dimension has been a highly fruitful one for the ‘Age’ games – the smooth and crisp visuals owing more to Dungeon Siege than Age of Empires – only they’re much better. The world really has been brought to life as the terrain undulates, birds fly overhead, waves lap on the shore and creatures amble among the trees. It really is a site to behold, and is easily the most attractive real-time strategy game I’ve witnessed. The cloud effects are worthy of note, too, whilst a meteor shower is nothing short of breath-taking.

But the third-dimension adds more than mere eye-candy into the equation. The terrain is more realistic, the buildings far more detailed and diverse, the units better animated and the world as a whole all the more convincing. This is important to Shelley, and the team at Ensemble – it’s all about escapism – a sense of travelling to another world and really immersing yourself there, Bruce points out to me during my Tour.