Myth III: The Wolf Age

aka: Myth III: A Era do Lobo, Myth III: Die Zeit des Wolfs, Myth III: Era Wilka
Moby ID: 5295
Windows Specs
Included in

Description official descriptions

Myth III: The Wolf Age takes place one thousand years before Myth: The Fallen Lords. The Fallen Lords you battled in that age are now your allies. Can you defeat Moagim and the armies of the dark?

Everything is now fully 3D, and there are more units then ever before. Each race, for example the Trow and the Dwarves, has several units, for a total of thirty-nine units in the game.

Unlike most RTS games, Myth III has no resource gathering (like the first two games) so the units you are given in the start of the mission are all you get.

Multiplayer is only on a modified Gamespy.

Spellings

  • 神话III:苍狼世纪 - Simplified Chinese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Windows version)

121 People (72 developers, 49 thanks) · View all

Designer
Producer
Producer
Lead Level Designer
Lead Artist
Lead Programmer
CEO
Technical Director
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Level Designer
Programmer
Senior Artist
Artist
Animator
Music and Audio
Additional Programming
Additional Art
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 77% (based on 24 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 14 ratings with 1 reviews)

Innovative yet uninspired

The Good
Myth III is the latest and probably last game in the Myth series. Like its predecessors, it is a real time strategy game without resource harvesting. The game features fantasy warfare, often at the epic level, as you command a limited number of warlocks, archers, dwarves and more against the forces of evil. Missions include attacking enemy encampments and defending fortresses against enemy attacks. The terrain varies each mission and includes icy tundra, dark forests, vile swamps, and ancient crypts.

If any aspect of Myth III:The Wolf Age shines through the overwhelming dross, it is the graphics. Myth III is the first of the Myth titles to feature 3D characters instead of sprites. The scenery is fully realized, complete with swaying grass and lifelike water. There is even an option to enable the flow of blood downhill. I marveled at the realistic shadows and superb lighting. Character animations in battle are top notch and when the characters are at rest, they stretch or meditate.

The story and plotting is similar to the other games to which Myth III acts as a prequel. Each mission is introduced by a narrative detailing the events surrounding the battle and a detailed map shows your location. Voice acting is subpar compared to the original games, but is not egregious. The game itself is highly customizable when it comes to graphics, less so when it comes to difficulty settings.

The Bad
"Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good." Samuel Johnson (1707-1784).

While Myth III is highly innovative, many aspects of the game feel like a step back from the original series. The Myth games have always had a steep learning curve, often brutalizing the poor tactician, yet the first two featured five difficulty settings. This game has only three. Sadly, if you find the default (Medium) setting too difficult, you will find the easy setting too simple.

Myth III makes no modification of the troublesome camera control and even goes so far to recommend a remap of keys away from the default. The logic is infuriating, why not make the recommended keysetting the default? The unit formations also remain unchanged although it is trickier to have the units facing the correct way. I believe Myth II utilized the right mouse button to change the direction, Myth III requires a minute flick of the wrist and click of the left button. The manual mentions that it is very easy for the computer to misinterpret this command. The manual, by the way, is really good. It just looks like it was photocopied at 50% on the darkest setting.

Of course I needed a patch and the most recent drivers.

The AI seemed pretty substandard, relying on scripted events rather than strategy. Would one ghol really run headlong into a mass of troops?

Myth III does away with animated cutscenes and replaces them with low quality Quicktime movies. One particularly poor one had me laughing aloud. It played like Quicktime presents: Hand Puppet Theater! Characters interacted with each other without moving their mouths and they used jerky, exaggerated motions- like a mime doing a Shatner impression. Sound is pretty bad too. Combat is mostly quiet, with the occasional clanging of weapons and the music is terrible. The main score sounds like a bagpipe rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

One final quibble I have is with the speed of the game. Units move at a decent rate, but combat seems a little slow. Arrows, for example, take too long to get to their target. Eh.

The Bottom Line
Here's the typical problem with Myth III: One mission introduction states that a small group of soldiers were walking through the forest and they suddenly noticed that the birds stopped singing. The mission then is to get them to safety while fighting off monsters. Of course the ambient noise for the level is birds singing. This game has great graphics, but pays little attention to detail. Poor design and a buggy, rushed product resulted in a lack of support from the fan community. This bargain bin game killed a great franchise.

Windows · by Terrence Bosky (5397) · 2002

Trivia

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – Best Music of the Year

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Myth: The Fallen Lords
Released 1997 on Windows, Macintosh
Myth II: Soulblighter
Released 1998 on Windows, 1998 on Macintosh, 1999 on Linux
Myth: The Total Codex
Released 1999 on Windows, Macintosh
The Myth Seekers: The Legacy of Vulcan
Released 2017 on Linux, Windows, Macintosh...
The Myth Seekers 2: The Sunken City (Collector's Edition)
Released 2019 on Android, Windows, iPad...
The Settlers III
Released 1998 on Windows
Age of Empires III
Released 2005 on Windows, 2006 on Macintosh
Ikari III: The Rescue
Released 1990 on DOS, NES, Windows...

Related Sites +

  • An Epic Tale of Fantasy
    An Apple Games article about the Macintosh version of The Wolf Age, with commentary being provided by Executive Producer Mike Donges (December, 2001).
  • Interview: Myth III (Mumbo Jumbo)
    Inside Mac Games interviews a representative of Mumbo Jumbo about the then upcoming Myst III, discussing the game's development, background, and engine (January 9th, 2001).

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 5295
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Dr. Elementary.

Macintosh added by Zeppin.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, phlux, tbuteler, Blod, Zeppin, Patrick Bregger.

Game added December 3, 2001. Last modified January 19, 2024.