Following the tradition of all Ensemble’s games, Age of Mythology received an expansion pack. Like previous expansion packs, the Titans brings in many things to the entire game: a new civilization, units, and an in depth campaign that will help fill in the void that Age of Mythology might have given you at the end. Is this expansion pack worth the money, and does it really bring anything that you can’t live without? Read on to find out!

The Atlantean’s are the newest civilization added in this expansion pack, and they worship the Titans gods. In Greek Mythology, the Titans were the previous rulers of the Universe until the Olympian Gods, under the leadership of Zeus, over threw the Titans and their ruler Chronos (his father). The Titans have risen again and they want revenge against those who threw them into the void! The three main Gods the Atlantean’s worship are: Gaia (Goddess of Mother Earth), Oranos (God of Sky), and their son Chronos.

The Atlantean’s fit wonderfully with the games other civilizations. This race has a few advantages in comparison to the others. The biggest change is that they are allowed to use their Titan god powers more than once to help decimate their opponents. Another huge advantage is they can horde myth unites.

One of the best benefits of the Atlantean’s is the fact that they don’t have any need for the storage buildings that other civilizations do, which makes all of the resource collecting much faster. The downside to this is that the workers now cost more resources to produce. The Atlantean’s gain favor by getting as many settlements as possible, so they have the ability to make settlements from the First Age, which makes it very crucial to get all of the settlements as quickly as possible.

The God powers that the Atlantean’s have are some of the best in the game. Spider lair is a trap spell, which means once enemy units touch it, a group of hungry cadaverous spiders come out from underneath the ground and have a feast upon the enemies. One of the best God powers in the entire game is the called time shift. This power allows players to transport any one of their buildings to another location on the world map that is explored and in player’s line of sight. What makes this so powerful is when players are in the mist of battle, they can “time shift” a military building to help produce reinforcements faster.

To help balance the rest of the civilizations with the new one, Ensemble Studios added a few new units for each to have. The biggest and most devastating unit that each civilization gets is called a Titan unit. These units are so powerful that players can only have one at any given time, and that is all that is needed. This unit has over a thousand hit points, and the cost to build one is equivalent to the cost of a wonder! The only way a player can stop a Titan is if they have one of their own, with a huge army behind them. Each culture has a unique unit that fits well with the type of gods they worship. The Titans really fits well with the rest of the game.

Age of Mythology: The Titans is rated T for Teen.

Gameplay: 9.6
The game plays just like the original which is a very good thing! The only difference is that everything has been refined and is now even easier to use! There is a huge addition to this game that should have been in it a long time ago and it is called the repeat build button. This allows players to build an unlimited supply of units, as long as they have the resources to do so. This can be very helpful when payers are on another part of the map and they lose their army, they can have a backup army ready to go back to battle, so the enemies don’t have a head start over them.

The new civilization and the Titan units really mold well with the rest of the game. After playing Age of Mythology: The Titans for a while, players will be wondering how they ever played the game without them.

Graphics: 9.6
As you know Age of Mythology: The Titans is an expansion pack that uses the same graphics engine as the previous game did, and this is not a bad thing at all. The graphics have stood the test of time over this past year and still looks amazing. Ensemble Studios creates some of the most breathtaking FMVs in their previous games, and Age of Mythology: The Titans proves to be the same!

The new units and civilization has a unique look and feel to them that bring the game closer to home. Just like all of the civilizations, the Atlantean’s style of architecture stands out from the others in this game.

Sound: 9.5
Just like last years game, the music for this expansion pack will blow you away! Everything from the deeply composed music to the sound effects has a very high production quality about it, and it truly makes the game even better!

Difficulty: Medium
Since you have to own the original game, Age of Mythology: The Titans should be a very easy game for you to master. The AI will prove to be a challenge at times, but players should have no problems conquering it!

Concept: 9.5
As I have stated before the new civilizations and units really mold well with the rest of the game. Since mythology is so fast, and almost every civilization has a form of it, the ideas that Ensemble Studios could still put in this series is limitless! The choices they have made thus far have been a blast to play!

Multiplayer: 9.6
Ensemble Studios created its own matchmaking service last year called Ensemble Studios Online or ESO, and it puts other matchmaking services to shame. I have encountered little or no lag in any games I have played in and that are a great thing! Great job Ensemble Studios!

Overall: 9.4
Age of Mythology: The Titans is a must have expansion pack! This game provides another captivating story that will not let players go until they find out what happens in the end! If you own Age of Mythology you owe it to yourself to pick up this expansion pack as soon as possible!