Myth: The Fallen Lords

By: Kirk Hiner

Hype.

What annoys me most about hype is that I fall for it. I should've learned my lesson after seeing "Batman & Robin," or eating that new "adult" hamburger at McDonalds, or playing "Phantasmagoria." But no. Despite being constantly let down in the past, I continue to give games such as "Postal" and movies like "Godzilla" a chance, and I continue to be let down. And the thing is, I'll continue to give overly hyped games a chance. Why? Because every so often, one of them lives up to the hype...one of them is nearly as good as its developer claims it to be.

Example? Myth: The Fallen Lords.

There's little I can say about this game that hasn't already been said. In fact, what I'll say about this game was being said months before its release, instead of months after. But even to a guy like me who doesn't normally get into war/strategy games, Myth is wildly entertaining.

The opening premise of Myth is simple...the Legion is at war with the undead, and the Nine have found something really, really powerful that could easily affect the outcome. There's your story, now go kill something. The surprisingly involved plot is revealed further after each battle, propelling you into the next scenario much like the end of a chapter in a good book makes you want to keep reading.

However, it's safe to say that people aren't buying this game for the story. They're buying it for the guts. And believe me, this game's got guts. When your Dwarf blows up a squadron of Thrall or a Trow kicks apart your Berserk...well...lets just say that whomever should next happen upon the battlesight will have a hard time holding onto his lunch.

The graphics don't stop with the action, however. The landscapes are beautifully rendered; the terrain is gorgeous even without any 3D acceleration, and the ambient sounds are quite effective (when you can hear them over the clanging swords and exploding satchel charges). To accentuate the visuals, the controls in Myth allow you to place the "camera" virtually anywhere you want and at any angle. Controlling the viewpoint during the action and scouting ahead for enemies becomes as important in winning a battle as where you place your archers.

Speaking of which, one of the problems with Myth is that the battalions you control are...well, stupid. Archers will shoot their comrades relentlessly until you tell them stop, Dwarves seem to enjoy blowing themselves up, and no one is ever willing to walk around a stationary character to get to his destination. For instance, if your Journeyman needs to walk around a Knight to heal somone, he won't. He'll just keep walking into the Knight until you send him on another path. Likewise, Knights and Berserks aren't smart enough to run behind their enemy to attack. If he has to, he'll just stand behind his comrades until they die and he can step over their dead bodies to get to the enemy.

Selecting the characters you want to control can also be a problem. For isntance, double clicking one Archer is supposed to select them all, but I often found myself triple or even quadruple clicking to get them selected. Also, when trying to position a character, you have to be careful to not click anywhere near another one as it's very easy to select him by accident. This becomes extremely annoying when trying to position people during the heat of battle.

But there's more than enough in Myth to compensate for these few shortcomings. The game is extremely well thought out, right down to the preferences. For example, if you're having trouble getting past a battle, you can switch the difficulty level to Timid until you've won, then switch it back to Heroic for the next fight. It may not seem like that big of a deal, but I can think of many other games that would've greatly benefitted from this feature.

There are so many facets to "Myth: The Fallen Lords" that I can't possibly get to them all without making my editor work overtime. Suffice it to say that this game is as big as its hype (literally...the full install takes up nearly 340MB). But then, certainly you've played it and know this by now, right? If not, you'd better hurry. According to Bungie, "Myth II" is just over that bloody embankment.

Genre: Action/Strategy

Platform: MacOS

Format: CD ROM

Developer: Bungie

Requirements: PowerPC (100MHz or faster recommended), 16-bit color capable monitor at 640x480, System 7.5 or higher, 4x (or higher) CD ROM. Internet plays requires 28.8 kpbs or faster connection using Open Transport 1.1.2 or later (provided on CD)

Network feature: Yes

Retail price: $44.98

Availability: Out now

Raised on Intellivision and "Tron," Kirk Hiner has been an avid gamer ever since he was tall enough to look through the viewfinder on the Battlezone upright. Although he makes a living using a PC (not by choice) to design websites for Dynamics Online, Inc., Kirk never strays from his 9600/200 or 3400c for computer gaming. When he's not playing the latest Logicware release, he can either be found working on his next "never to be published" novel, rereading anything by Kurt Vonnegut or watching RAW is WAR.

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February 09, 2010