Myth II: Soulblighter

"A break from the mould of the rts genre"

Myth II is basically a RTS (real time strategy game) but allowing it to simply fall under this category does not really do it justice.
It is a whole lot more than just another Command and Conquer clone.
Firstly it's boasts a big difference to most rts games, you can't get any more units other than those you start the level with. So basically when one of your men is dead, well... he's dead and he's not coming back. This makes you care a whole lot more about losing men than in C&C.

Another big difference is the units themselves, there are no tanks or planes in this game. You control archers, dwarves and claymore wielding berzerks to name a few.

Myth also was the first game I know of to implement a veteran system to its combat. Each time one of your units gets a kill his abilities improve. As an example: An archer with a few kills fires more quickly and accurately. Also, all the units have names and if they survive a level you get the same veteran units for the next level. This means that if you look after your units you can get a big boost in later levels with strong veteran units.

This game also has an excellent storyline, you are taking part in the timeless battle between good and evil. You fight on the good side leading the forces of light to defeat Soulblighter and his undead hordes from beginning a new age of darkness. The story itself is told at the start of each level in the form of a warrior reading from his diary, as though he were fighting in your battles. By the end of the game you seem to be emotionally involved in this epic struggle of good versus evil.
As the story twists and turns new unit types are gained through the game, I won't give it away for you what they are though!

Myth II handles all the projectiles with excellent physics models. Archers find it difficult to fight archers higher up than them on a hill for example. If a dwarf tried to throw his molotov cocktail up a hill it may will come back down and blow him up. The explosions are particularly well handled, when a dwarf blows some men up you see limbs and blood flying everywhere (gory but beautiful).
The game engine itself is fully 3d, your view can be rotated fully and zoomed in to look closely at your units.

The gameplay is truely excellent. The units allow for many and varying strategies for winning levels. Most units have special attacks, such as the archers flaming arrow which sets the landscape on fire, doing damage to the enemies units (or your own if you're not careful!)

Myth II contains two secret levels and many other easter eggs and secret items, so it offers a lot of replay value. I myself am still trying to complete some levels on the hardest difficulty setting.

As good as the single-player game is (and it IS good) the multiplayer aspect of the game is where this game really shines. You can connect from the main menu to bungie.net where you can play with 100's of other people online.
Since in multiplayer the troops you start with are the only ones you control for the duration of the game, you can't really win with with sheer force of numbers. You have to win by having a good strategy.
Myth II contains built-in formations that allow you to arrange your units in the best way to repel any attack. For example if you wanted to defend one of you men you could get your other warriors to form a circle formation around him.
This makes the game truely addictive in multiplayer as you can play with a different strategy every time.

Myth II has a variety of game types, other rts games would have you simply kill your opponent to win. Myth II however provides other games with different objectives. For example, in ''Last man on the hill'' the winner is the player with units on the flag in the centre of the map when the time limit has ended. Another game is scavenger hunt, in this game there are balls scattered around the map and the winner is the first to touch all of the balls first.
These games add a lot of longevity to the multiplayer mode (and fun)

Since Myth II is such a complex and strategic game, no two multiplayer games are ever alike and no two players will ever play the same way. This means playing online is a constant adventure. Nothing is so fun as decimating an opponent through superior tactics and skills.

In conclusion...an excellent all round game. Strategy fans will love the hardcore online mode and the difficulty settings allow players of any skill to enjoy single player mode.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/02/01, Updated 11/02/01