The Gold Edition brings together AOM and its expansion which lets players play a great campaign that'll last awhile.
User Rating: 8.8 | Age of Mythology: Gold Edition PC
Age of Mythology: Gold Edition consists of the original campaign plus the campaign and features of the expansion pack, The Titans. Released on October 29, 2002, Ensemble Studios came out with the game Age of Mythology which was the 3rd game in the series of "Age" games, which followed Age of Empires 1 and 2 plus its expansion. On September 30, 2003, Ensemble followed up with an expansion (The Titans) to their new 3D game creating more features, an add-on to the original game’s story, plus a host of new innovations. Millions of homes around not only the United States, but around the world hold the cases of the two previous “Age” games because of their popularity with the multiplayer games that could take place. I myself remember playing a 6 person lan game throughout the first floor of my dorm hall in college. It just didn’t seem like we ever went to class because of the addictiveness and the many battles between the roommates. The campaign throughout the games told of historical events that happened through our world’s history having major battles that once took place and also characters that once were leaders to these armies across the ages including William Wallace and Joan of Arc. Did Ensemble keep the addictiveness of the single-player and multiplayer games in their newest installment in the “Age” games? The answer is definitely ‘yes!’ In Age of Mythology, you’re given control of either one of three races consisting of: the Egyptians, the Norse, and the Greek. The realism of the characters of the first two “Age” games does not carry over however because in the 3rd installment, you follow the journey of Arkantos, an Atlantean, who must stop a very angry, giant Cyclops from opening the prison to the Titans. Along Arkantos' journey you’ll meet up with other heroic characters such as Kastor, Odysseus, Ajax, and of course, Heracles. The single player campaign goes through around 32 missions that never let you lose your interest. The way the story is told, and the voice actors of the characters during the in-between movies keep the player captivated from the starting of the campaign till the end. Unlike Age of Empires (AOE), in Age of Mythology (AOM) you’re given the choice of 9 major Gods of each of the races written above and through the ages that your civilizations go through, you’ll have the choice of 27 minor Gods in their respective civilizations. The introduction of “God Powers” are new to the Age series with the player being able to either help his own towncenter and civilization or being able to lay destructive waste to his enemies with God Powers such as meteor showers, a tornado, or even a lightning storm in the middle of their town. Multiplayer for this game can be extremely fun and strategies are definitely needed when gearing up to take out your opponent. The graphics have definitely been improved since the last “Age” game now bringing the full game, including buildings, surroundings, and characters into 3D. The detail shown in different units of your armies is amazing for a real-time strategy game for its time. If you don’t believe me, create a Cyclops and have him pick up a horsemen on his opponent's side and then have him toss the horse and rider into a grouping of trees and watch the trees fall down around the horse and its rider. And if that doesn’t impress you, create a hydra and watch as any of its five heads does the same thing. Quite impressive in the new line of RTS games. The soundtrack used in the game is astounding as the musical score plays through the building of your towns and also through your battles with your enemies. You’ll find yourself just staring at one of your citizens cutting down a tree as the snow falls while the music plays in the background. You can definitely get caught up in the game pretty easy and early on. With the improved A.I. of your citizens, they’ll now do chores that are closest to them if you haven’t assigned them to anything yet. The Titans, released almost a year later brings more to the table as you can now control the Atlanteans themselves. With a new race, new Gods and new God Powers that add more depth to the game. The single-player campaign is extended 12 more levels as you play as Arkantos’s son, Kastor, who was tricked into waging war against the other races and raising a Titan. A Titan he can’t control, so he must raise another Titan to fight against it and try to fix what he messed up. The campaign isn’t quite as good as the original in the scripting department, but better than most RTS games nonetheless, so you’ll feel the need to definitely play straight from beginning to end. The thing that made these two games stand out among the other RTS games for me was that you don’t have to start out from nothing and build up your city four ages every scenario, and then beat an enemy. The script written for the game leads you through a story, and usually those stories don’t always start fresh from each chapter, and neither do these games. So, if you’re looking for a real-time strategy game that has a good story, and some great gameplay, look no further. The best part of the matter is that good graphics are included also. And to make it an even better deal, you can download an additional 4 scenario campaign that’s built off the end of the story that was created by Ensemble Studios. I can’t wait to see what’s next in the line of “Age” games. 
