DESCRIPTION

Myth II: Soulblighter is the follow-up to Bungie's real-time combat game, Myth. Like its predecessor, Myth II is a fully-rendered 3D world in which you pit your forces of light against the forces of evil, this time led by Soulblighter, one of the all-powerful bad guys from the original game.

Myth II: Soulblighter strives for realism. Dwarves can crumble the walls of a castle with their mortars, archers can shoot lit arrows into dry grass to spark a great blaze, and drawbridges lower. The action is controlled from a top-down angled view which is rotatable, and players can preset groups and assign them tasks.

Realistic 3D presentation is the cornerstone of a riveting strategy-gaming experience. Imagine yourself looking down on a medieval battlefield. You can fly up for a high overview, rotate 360 degrees to look from any angle, slide left or right and even zoom in so close you can see the facial expressions of your fully rendered soldiers.

Myth II consists of more than 20 individual scenarios in which you control assorted forces and fight to achieve varied goals, all of which involve combat. While the scenarios are part of the single-player game, Myth II supports networking against other players as well.

You can quickly play anywhere from two to 15 players over a local network or over Bungie's free Internet gaming site (www.Bungie.net). At any time, day or night, you can go online and jump head-first into real-time strategy battles against up to four other armies.

In multi-player mode, you can create an army and then give control of units to other people. Goals of these games range from pure military strategy such as "King of the Hill" (you take the high ground and hold it against all opposition) to the playground -reminiscent and aptly-titled "Kill The Guy With The Ball." Combine a variety of scenarios, each with different terrain, with the always-unpredictable human foe and you've got a gaming experience that remains fresh.

You can mix-and-match the various units, creating a force that fits you perfectly whether you believe in slow formation advances or Blitzkrieg tactics. The game keeps running statistics of your battles, allowing you to compare your "kill ratio" and military skill with that of thousands of other players. Blood flies as units clash, corpses and body parts litter the ground and scorch marks from Dwarven Molotov cocktails blacken the field of battle. By the end of any encounter, the carnage of war covers the field of honor

Myth II: Soulblighter is about combat — not escaping mazes, marshaling resources or developing a character. The hand-to-hand strategy reflects military theory as the high ground gives you a distinct advantage, units react to distractions and feints and the pincer maneuver remains the ultimate weapon for those who leave units exposed.

New units in Myth II: Soulblighter include the Warlock, who casts fireballs and confusion; Heron Knights, who are basically hardy journeymen; Stygian Knights, which are magically animated suits of armor; the Myrkridia, fast goat-like creatures; Greater Myrkridia, who are capable of throwing many explosive projectiles at once; Maul, pig-like creatures; and the Bre'Unor, who hold the ability to control wolves.

Noteworthy is the fact that version 1.01 was recalled immediately after it was discovered that if users attempted to install anywhere but the default directory, their entire hard drive would be wiped clean (ouch). ~ Chris Couper, All Game Guide