Age of Mythology

Like other real-time strategy games, Age of Mythology revolves around raising villagers and soldiers, building up your towns, and tearing down those of your rivals to conquer their settlements and civilizations. Players advance their tribe through four ages — beginning in the Archaic Age and progressing to the Classical, Heroic, and finally Mythic Age — each upgrade unlocking new units and technologies that strengthen your settlement, though only after paying a sum of resources and constructing the required building. Three cultures are playable — the Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse — and each offers a choice of three "major gods," powerful deities like Ra, Zeus, or Odin, whom the player selects before the game begins. Each time you advance an age, you also choose a lesser "minor god," such as Bast or Aphrodite. Every god grants its own unique technologies, mythical units, and a one-time "god power" — a special ability that can either devastate an opponent or aid the player who calls upon it.