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Age of Empires: Mythologies for Nintendo DS
Age of Empires: Mythologies for Nintendo DS puts you in command of Greek, Egyptian and Norse armies in a turn-based strategy game. On the map, you build an economy, research improvements and move soldiers towards important buildings. Each civilisation has its own campaign. The fighting takes you past Troy, Egyptian pyramids and snowy northern mountains, where ordinary warriors also face heroes and mythological creatures.
Your choice of gods determines which powers you can use. A lightning attack or another divine intervention can break a stalemate, but it does not replace a strong defence or a carefully developed supply network. You weigh the cost of new troops against research and further development. As both sides act in turns, you can examine the map first and then decide which attack or movement offers the greatest benefit.
Alongside the solo campaigns, up to four players can battle locally, each with their own Nintendo DS and cartridge. With one system and one cartridge, you can also take turns by passing the DS around. DS Download Play additionally offers battles on a limited selection of maps from one cartridge; each participant then needs their own system. Extra systems and cartridges are not included. You can save your progress in the solo campaign and resume it later.
Region and language
Our Nintendo DS games are European editions, unless stated otherwise. This product contains a loose cartridge for the European market. A box is only included if explicitly stated in the product details. We note any different region in the product details. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.
Manual
With Age of Empires: Mythologies for Nintendo DS, you receive a loose cartridge. A box and manual are not included unless we explicitly state otherwise in the product details. This is the standard way we supply this copy.
The history of Age of Empires: Mythologies
Griptonite Games developed Age of Empires: Mythologies for Nintendo DS, with THQ handling publication. The game appeared in North America in 2008 and Europe in 2009. Its June 2008 announcement explicitly positioned it alongside the earlier DS entry, The Age of Kings. Mythologies built on that game's engine, while the developer and publisher changed. Taking turns remained an important part of this handheld branch of the series.
The mythological setting came from the wider Age of Empires family, in which Age of Mythology on PC added gods and legendary monsters to the usual armies. The DS received its own interpretation of that combination. Three civilisations received separate campaigns, and players combine commanding troops with economic development and divine assistance. The battlefield is built around considered turns rather than the constant time pressure of the original PC strategy games.
At launch, THQ also emphasised multiplayer: custom match rules, standalone battles and sharing from one cartridge were intended to provide more ways to face other players. The original release also supported Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. That official online service ended on 20 May 2014, so internet battles are now part of the game's history. Local wireless play and passing a single DS around are separate from that discontinued service.
Similar games for Nintendo DS
Age of Empires: The Age of Kings on Nintendo DS is the clearest comparison. There too, you develop a civilisation, research improvements and issue orders to armies each turn. Its campaigns focus more on historical peoples and medieval leaders. Mythologies moves those economic and military decisions to Greeks, Egyptians and Norse warriors, with divine powers and monsters that change the composition of an army.
Advance Wars: Dual Strike for Nintendo DS similarly demands forward planning on a map with different unit types. Tanks, infantry and aircraft have distinct roles, while commanding officers can use special powers. Mythologies ties its battles more closely to developing a civilisation and choosing gods. Dual Strike focuses on military positions, cities and the cooperation between commanding officers, without mythological creatures or an ancient economy.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon on Nintendo DS also uses separate turns, terrain and different weapons to shape a battle. However, you guide Marth and a group of recognisable fighters who develop during the adventure. In Mythologies, you control a civilisation with production, research and replaceable army units alongside its heroes. Both reward careful positioning, but Shadow Dragon makes the survival of individual characters much more personal than expanding an empire.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift on Nintendo DS lets you develop a clan and undertake quests in Ivalice. Jobs, equipment and abilities determine what each member can do on the battlefield. Mythologies also asks you to create a balanced fighting force, but connects it to civilisations, buildings and gods. Tactics A2 spends more time on shaping individual adventurers and their capabilities between the various quests.
Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery on Nintendo DS shares the pleasure of growing a settlement and balancing economic interests against defence. You explore islands, establish colonies and maintain trading activities. Development continues in real time there, whereas Mythologies lets you make decisions turn by turn. Anno keeps your attention on inhabitants and supplies for longer; Mythologies shifts the emphasis towards battles in which heroes, monsters and gods intervene directly.
