Myth II: Soulblighter

The Good
Myth 2 is not like other RTS games. There is no base-building or resources gathering, instead, you begin with a certain number of units, and those are what you use to do the mission. This is what makes Myth 2 so much fun to play: the missions themselves are very tense and will have you glued to your screen. Every unit is important in the missions, and during a big engagement with some zombies, you'll be desperately moving your men around, trying to save the more valuable ones while getting others in position to utilize their best skills (ie archers in the rear, close combat soldiers up close, dwarf grenade throwers in the back, etc.).

Combat itself is very frantic and quite bloody. When a dwarf's bomb blows up in the middle of a bunch of undead, you will find body parts and blood strewn across the ground, so the game is not for the squeamish. Where you place your soldiers impacts the combat greatly as well, there is real strategy here. Elevation can give your archers and bomb-throwers a great advantage, but don't let any get to close to them, they are terrible fighters. Likewise, get some swordsman up into those undead and they will chop them up into pieces, but if your dwarf lands a bomb near your own men, its lights out for them too.

The story in Myth 2 is surprisingly engaging for a fantasy RTS game. Normally I don't follow the stories of these game, I just play them forget about them but this is different. The cutscenes are splendid, all hand-drawn animation, and they tell the story of an awakening evil very well.
The graphics during the game are good. The sprites for the soldiers look attractive and the terrain is varied and detailed, despite the low resolution.

There is a huge variety of missions available, much more so than in Myth 1. 2 personal favorites of mine were an ambush level where you must set up your dwarf to rain bombs down on an unsuspecting undead army, and another where you must desperately defend an outpost from wave after wave of enemies.

The Bad
Myth 2 can be quite hard, to the point of being frustrating. I noted one of my favorite missions involved defending an outpost, but that mission also took me about a week to complete, playing it over and over. At the time I hated it, but now I realize it is actually a pretty fun level.

The camera movement can get quirky and is difficult to master. Until you really get the hang of it, you'll find yourself getting the camera in all the wrong positions and losing track of combat, so it takes some getting used to.

I also felt there were too many Go from Point A to Point B missions. Some people may enjoy these types, but I just personally did not like them.

The Bottom Line
Myth 2 follows the events of Myth 1 60 years after they took place. Once again There is a growing evil of undead that needs to be wiped out, and its up to you to lead an assortment of dwarfs, elves, and the like to conquer them.

The game plays out from a isometric view, with a fully 3d camera, mean you can move the camera in close to your units, or scroll it way out and swing it around.
And you will need this camera movement too. The missions in Myth 2 will have you moving across a variety of different terrains, from snow-capped mountains to woodlands, to buildings. Each mission starts with an allotted group of units, and that's all you get. No resources gathering or base-building. You just take what you have complete the mission, its actually quite refreshing as it forces you to use your brain to win a mission.

The graphics are quite nice, the soldiers are sprites but they are lovingly drawn and the environments look great, with wildlife running around and visible scars and body-parts left over from battles. Myth 2 is not a ground-breaking game like its predecessor, but it definitely improves on almost every aspect, making it a worthy strategy game and a blast to play.

The Good
Like a good sequel, Myth II improves upon the original Myth game. Controls are better including a more useful formation option. Graphics are better. Sound is better.

Taking place 60 years after the original Myth, Myth II once again pits a varied group of mortals against a newly risen undead army. New units include dwarven mortar men and warrior-priests. There are new enemies as well including heavily armored undead knights, fearsome Mauls, and lightning fast Myrkridia. At times the enemy forces seem overwhelming and a good number of levels require intense strategy.

Myth II also excels at level design. Levels are more varied including more defensive missions, some stealth missions, and missions which take place inside buildings. Myth II also uses architecture more, giving you the option to fight from high castle walls. A particularly difficult mission involves storming a beachfront fort echoing the Allied landing at Normandy.

Generally, Myth II presents a greater realization. The world of Myth looks more inhabited with wildlife in the woods and more civilians. The same mission briefing scheme is used and it eloquently references the first game. Myth remains one of the best designed fantasy worlds.

The Bad
Myth II has some failings found in the original game. It's exceedingly difficult, controls are hard to grasp, and there are some texture problems. Beyond that, it is hard to find fault with this game.

The Bottom Line
A great sequel to a great game.