by Peter von Kleinsmid

Myth is a series of real-time tactical games of fantasy-medieval combat from a third-person overhead perspective. Typical weapons include swords, bows, magic, and primitive gunpowder weapons. Players generally control between a half-dozen and a hundred or more fighters of various types. The viewpoint has a flexible perspective, and the view and interface format have been extensively copied by a wide range of later real-time strategy and tactical games. Very few if any games have really included all that is good about Myth, though, particularly the interesting tactical combat and detailed tracking of debris and side-effects of combat. Myth is a very good multi-player game, where teams of players can fight on the same side against each other or against the computer in various modes of play. It's not a real-time strategy game (RTS); it's a tactical-level game, meaning there are generally no resources or factory-management, and therefore no winning by manufacturing a larger horde during the game. Players must fight with the forces present on the field, and battles are generally won by superior tactics, teamwork, and flexibility. Myth really is a game where superior tactics regularly decide the victor. Playing Myth multi-player for a while may tend to demonstrate how empty the gameplay, tactics and mechanics of many other games really are.

Myth I in software mode.

All of the Myth games, including Myth III, run on both Windows and Macintosh computers. Myth II was also ported to Linux by Loki. Players running Myth on different operating systems can play multi-player games with each other, and share player-made modifications and scenarios, generally without compatibility problems. The Myth III code is largely based on the Myth II engine, with a new all-3D graphics engine and 16-bit landscape color maps.

Myth: The Fallen Lords is the title of the first game in the series. It was published for both Macintosh and Windows in November 1997, and won several "best game" type awards. The basic story covers the conclusion of a long war against an endless army of undead, which the living are steadily losing. Like later games in the series, the campaign is a mostly-linear series of linked tactical problems separated by dramatic narrative and video interludes. Fighters that survive one battle may reappear in later battles with their experience tracked. The release version was extremely challenging, particularly on the higher levels, although this was toned down a bit by later patches.

Myth II combat.