Battering Ram

The heavy hammer of war that turns stone fortifications into rubble.

Age of Mythology, released in 2002 by Ensemble Studios, introduced mythological creatures and supernatural powers to the real-time strategy genre. While it shares many gameplay elements with the Age of Empires series, this title focuses on the Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse rather than historical events. The game features a central campaign following Atlantean admiral Arkantos as he hunts for a cyclops allied with Poseidon. It was commercially successful, selling over one million units within four months to go platinum. A board game adaptation and two major expansions followed its initial release.

Quick Facts

Unit type: Siege
Primary target: Buildings
Vulnerability: Cavalry

Lore & Background

In Age of Mythology, siege units operate outside the standard rock-paper-scissors combat model used by most other troops. These units are generally exempt from counter-attacks by infantry or cavalry but possess a unique strength: they can destroy buildings easily. However, this power comes with a specific weakness; siege units remain vulnerable to attacks from cavalry. The game features four major resources—food, wood, gold, and favor—instead of the stone resource found in previous Ensemble Studios titles. While civilians gather food through hunting or farming, and wood is gathered by chopping trees, gold is collected from mines or trade. Unlike other games in the franchise, Age of Mythology does not include stone as a resource.

Reader's Guide

Players advance their tribe through four distinct Ages: Archaic, Classical, Heroic, and Mythic. Upgrading requires paying resources and constructing a specific prerequisite building. In Age of Mythology, siege units are trained at military buildings, which differ by culture but serve similar purposes. These structures allow players to research armor upgrades and attack improvements. While walls and towers are defensive structures that cannot train units, they can research some upgrades. The game includes a scenario editor more advanced than its predecessor, allowing for overlapping units and steep terrain. Multiplayer modes include Supremacy, Conquest, Deathmatch, Lightning, Nomad, King of the Hill, and Sudden Death. In Sudden Death, a player loses if their Town Center is destroyed and they fail to rebuild it within a set time.

Did You Know?

Age of Mythology was released on May 8, 2014 as the Extended Edition for Windows via Steam.
The game features three playable cultures: Greeks, Egyptians, and Norse, each with unique minor gods like Bast and Aphrodite.
Favor is acquired differently by each culture: Greeks pray at temples, Egyptians build monuments, and Norse fight or hunt animals.
The remaster, Age of Mythology: Retold, was released on September 4, 2024.