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Legolas · 09-09-2005, 05:11 PM

Hmm, I don't know. I hope the demo is no accurate reflection of the full game.

It seems like the computer players are extremely forgiving even at hard level, the research scattered around the buildings without real structure to it, and combat even more arcade-style than it was in Age of Mythology. Send the troops in and hope for the best, clean up the mess 20 seconds later.
The XP system which lets you send reinforcements or extra resources, and the trading posts which give you a choice of 'free' resource types are nice additions. I also like the way you can train squads of units, that is, up to five at once without that affecting the construction time.
I rather miss needing drop-off points for villagers, and having requirements to meet before advancing to the next age. I'm not sure what do with the Explorers.
The gaining xp for your 'home' city is a neat idea though it may unbalance games where your opponent has a far better or worse one; then again, the cards can only be played once you reach a certain time period.

On the whole, though, I get the impression that this is a stripped, yet more confusing, version of AoM. I assume much of the confusion will recede with more hours in-game, but I'm not sure the AI is up to it when it doesn't even matter for the final outcome whether or not I research any upgrades.
Apparently a concentrated force of some 20 musketiers and a pair of low-age cannons for the towers suffices for just about anything. The main challenge is to keep finding resources for your villagers to busy themselves with, because they're not very good at managing that on their own.

09-09-2005, 05:11 PM	#7
Legolas Jack Burton Join Date: March 31, 2001 Location: The zephyr lands beneath the brine. Age: 40 Posts: 5,459	Hmm, I don't know. I hope the demo is no accurate reflection of the full game. It seems like the computer players are extremely forgiving even at hard level, the research scattered around the buildings without real structure to it, and combat even more arcade-style than it was in Age of Mythology. Send the troops in and hope for the best, clean up the mess 20 seconds later. The XP system which lets you send reinforcements or extra resources, and the trading posts which give you a choice of 'free' resource types are nice additions. I also like the way you can train squads of units, that is, up to five at once without that affecting the construction time. I rather miss needing drop-off points for villagers, and having requirements to meet before advancing to the next age. I'm not sure what do with the Explorers. The gaining xp for your 'home' city is a neat idea though it may unbalance games where your opponent has a far better or worse one; then again, the cards can only be played once you reach a certain time period. On the whole, though, I get the impression that this is a stripped, yet more confusing, version of AoM. I assume much of the confusion will recede with more hours in-game, but I'm not sure the AI is up to it when it doesn't even matter for the final outcome whether or not I research any upgrades. Apparently a concentrated force of some 20 musketiers and a pair of low-age cannons for the towers suffices for just about anything. The main challenge is to keep finding resources for your villagers to busy themselves with, because they're not very good at managing that on their own. __________________ Say NO to the Trouser Tyranny!