Mythos: An Introduction
Every once in awhile, you come across a game that gives you that sense of dèjá vu... you know the one, where you stop and think to yourself that you've seen this before? That's exactly what happened to me as I entered Mythos.
Let's start at the beginning. When I first loaded up the game, the one thing I noticed was that the system seems to have some lag issues. My cursor was herky-jerky as I was attempting to go through the options. But that's not unusual when a game is undergoing its beta testing... until a full stress test can be done and everything can be fine-tuned. So I wasn't too concerned about that. After inputting my information, I was taken to a loading screen with some fun images to look at that had some game play tips across the top. I wish I could tell you what they said, but the screens went too fast - before I could finish reading one, the next was presented.
 | Finally I land at the character creation! I scroll through the options and discover I have four available to me: Gremlin, Satyr, Human and Cyclops. Each one is a funny looking caricature of its self, and entertaining to look at. The next step was choosing my class. The choices are:
In going through designing my new toon, I noted that while there are choices, they are fixed. No sliding bars to adjust a broken nose look, or the tint of one's hair. You get set styles of each feature, and you can choose which one pleases you most. With luck, that will change in the future, but if not, then we'll see a bunch of players who look oddly related to one another. |
Have you ever played Diablo II? There are items you can socket and place gems into for added bonuses. There is a town merchant that is a gambler-style where you purchase unidentified items and hope you get something cool. There are recall points (portals, in Diablo II) that you can set to return to your last adventuring location after going to town to drop your things off. Loot drops on the ground where anyone can pick it up. There is a community stash - but it's really everyone goes to the same treasure box in the area and opens their own storage. Upon opening it, you have the same style of storage as in Diablo II. There are health and power potions, rather than healer classes.
It made me wonder if I was going to find a zone with cows! I miss killing me some cows with my level 99 Amazon! Ahh, she was a decked-out cow-mower, for sure! So I set out on my adventuring, and, using a map, found my way to a dungeon. Monsters to kill, loot that drops, and a named in there somewhere. I had my health and power potions, and after a few tries was able to remember how to play. It's been awhile since I've done this, you know! But I enjoyed my Pyromancer, and it was nice not having to travel via WASD for a change. Just point, and click and hold and your character goes wherever you wish. Granted, that's not always the best way to travel, as the overzealous player will find themselves going around a corner and straight into the face of death, but having virtually unlimited directional range is nice. Mythos does offer player vs. player combat, and also the hardcore style of death is final. And of course, the sandbox version I played... recommended for new players. When you die, you simply revive at the beginning of the zone you died in and continue on your way. I died several times. But I am proud to say that my first boss creature was not the source of my demise! I came across him after I relearned the usage of potions! Yay, me! Maybe some day I'll find my way back to a hardcore server, where death is the end of all that you earned and you must start over. It is a challenge, but rewarding when you reach the higher levels and survive. My greatest concern for Mythos is that players will say "We've seen this all before", and they will return to the familiar halls of Diablo II. But, for those who enjoy DII yet are looking for something a bit different, come check out the Gadgeteer. It's like getting a new class in your favorite MMO! If you don't mind a bit more of a cartoon feel, and aren't put off by starting over, then your skills from that other game will serve you well here. And you might decide you prefer the slight differences that Mythos has to offer, just for a change of pace. |  |
Either way, if you see me coming I suggest you duck and take cover. I've not yet gotten the hang of aiming my long fiery wand!
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Andrew "Tamat" Beegle
Junior Editor, ZAM Network