Age of Myth HD Review

When it comes to ancient mythology, either Greek or otherwise, the strongly defined characters and equally compelling storylines have been fodder for game design since the origin of the hobby. The archetypal gods have made their presence known across all platforms, in many different forms. This time around, CWA Games' Age of Myth is applying it to their own take on the castle defense genre. Is the result a herculean success, or should it be struck down by Zeus himself?

Defending a castle, or in this case a temple, seems to be a perfect fit for a Greek mythology backdrop. A multitude of fantastical creatures already inhabit the world, so most of the actual character design takes care of itself. This is pretty much God's gift to game designers. Fortunately, when the gameplay is solid to boot, chances are high that the end product will be pretty decent. So is the case with, Age of Myth.

Players are initially placed in control of Hercules, who also just so happens to be conveniently in charge of an army of mystical beasts. Throughout play, more heroes such as Apollo, Zeus and Poseidon will become selectable heroes as well. Progression will also present a ever growing list of "disposable" units consisting of Amazons, Pan's Children and even Dragonborn. Both hero units and soldiers can have their weapons and skills upgraded using gold earned through either completing stages or special events.

Everything about Age of Myth seems to have a standard, "more of the same," feel to it. The art style, while appealing, doesn't do much to dissuade this impression. At the end of the day, everything ends up looking like hand drawn sprites executing the same animation ad nauseam, against a statically unflinching background. Even the monetization method of purchasing gold using real dead presidents fits perfectly inside of the mold.

Age of Myth is a "competent" castle defense game in the most literal sense of the word. Unfortunately, when the marketplace is already crowded with competent titles, there is nothing that makes it stand above the rest. In this day and age, simply meeting the status quo won't cut it.

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