Myth: The Fallen Lords

Did You Know?

• Bungie released their entire archive of Myth-related materials, including source code and artwork, to a group called MythDevelopers with the blessing of Take-Two Interactive.
• The Myth series continues to have an active online fanbase after the official Bungie Myth servers closed in February 2002.
• MythDevelopers were also granted access to the source code for Myth III: The Wolf Age, developed by MumboJumbo.

Gameplay

Myth: The Fallen Lords is a real-time tactics game that does not involve resource management, base construction, or technology research. Each level begins with the player's army already assembled. The player controls forces of various sizes composed of units with distinct strengths and weaknesses. In single-player mode, only Light units are playable; online multiplayer allows control of both Light and Dark units. Units are selected by clicking on them, which displays a yellow rectangle and a health meter that decreases as damage is taken. Health does not regenerate, and new units cannot be built, though some single-player missions provide reinforcements at predetermined points. Double-clicking selects all nearby units of the same type. Multiple units can be selected by shift-clicking or by band-selection, which involves dragging a yellow box over the desired area. Pressing the enter key selects all units on screen. The player can assign custom unit groupings to specific keyboard keys for instant selection.

Story

One thousand years before the game's events, the legendary Connacht saved the world from the flesh-eating Myrkridia, imprisoning them in a magical prison called the Tain built by Dwarven smiths. Connacht became Emperor of the Cath Bruig during the Age of Light, then disappeared from historical records; one theory suggests he sought powerful magical artifacts. Fifty years prior to the game, the evil Balor attacked the eastern Empire with an undead army, sacking Muirthemne. With his lieutenants, the Fallen Lords, Balor turned farmlands into the Barrier desert and captured Dwarven cities. Dwarven refugees fled west to the Province. All human cities east of the Cloudspine Mountains fell, and within thirty-three years Balor headed west. Covenant fell in two years, and Tyr was destroyed five years later, ten years before current events. The game begins seventeen years after Balor crossed the Cloudspine, with the forces of Light on the brink of defeat. They are led by the Nine, chief among them Alric. The story is told through journal entries of a soldier in the Legion. A berserk brings an urn to the Nine; they extract a severed head, which opens its eyes.

Development

The Fallen Lords was conceived by Jason Jones as Bungie neared completion of Marathon Infinity in late 1995. The team initially planned another first-person shooter, but after seeing early screenshots of id Software's Quake, Jones felt their new game was too similar. He proposed a 3D game with large-scale battles instead. The team agreed and changed the project to a strategy game after two months of work. Dubbed The Giant Bloody War Game, the team drew inspiration from films like Braveheart and literature such as Glen Cook's The Black Company series. Doug Zartman noted they wanted to capture the feeling of large groups clashing on an open field and recreate the grisly reality of large-scale battles. Programmer Jason Regier explained they aimed for a dark, amoral world where opposing sides are equally brutal and unity is torn by internal power struggles. Zartman was eager to differentiate Myth from other real-time strategy games.

Reception

The Fallen Lords received universal acclaim, holding an aggregate score of 91 out of 100 on Metacritic based on nine reviews. It was seen as a defining title in the real-time strategy genre. GameSpot's Michael E. Ryan noted the initial release had an absurd level of difficulty and a poorly implemented unit-facing command, both addressed in the v1.1 update; he praised the plot, gameplay styles, level design, unit range, and graphics. PC Zone's Jamie Cunningham praised the interface, unit range, level design, multiplayer mode, camera use, 3D physics, and shadows, but criticized the overwhelming frustration caused by the difficulty. Game Revolution's Calvin Hubble called it one of the most impressive-looking strategy games, lauding the online multiplayer, but found the game too hard even on the easiest setting, stating that enjoyment could turn to nausea after repeated failures on a single level.