In Age Of Mythology, there were only three factions: the Greeks, the Norse and the Egyptians. And as the name of the game suggests, each enjoyed access not only to the standard Sword Bastards and such one might expect from history, but also honking great monsters of various kinds, from Leviathans at sea to Sphinxes, Cyclopses and all the rest you can think of. There were God Powers you could use as well, which were essentially magical spells to conjure special beastuses, or put area-of-effect stuff onto the map. It was all utterly bonkers, and completely different from the pattern set by AoE1 and AoE2. And although I never played multiplayer AoM, I can say for sure the campaign was both really long, and utterly superb - one of the best RTS campaigns there is, if my warm memories of enjoying it are anything to go by. There was a wild, completely over-the-top story that nevertheless managed to be quite tightly plotted while mashing up three separate mythic traditions, and big set pieces in nearly every mission. But while AoE2 got a direct sequel, and is now getting another in the form of Age Of Empires 4, Age of Mythology got an expansion in 2003, a collected Steam edition in 2014, and a new expansion in 2016 - but no AoM2. I suppose with AoE4 in the works, such a thing is now unlikely, but what a treat an unexpected return would be. It would be the Total War: Warhammer of the standard RTS genre, and I reckon that sounds like a pretty fine thing.
