New awards and selected reviews as of 3/1/98, print and online

AWARDS

Computer Games Strategy Plus, 4/98
GAME OF THE YEAR

Macworld Magazine, 3/98
GAME OF THE YEAR

Computer Gaming World, 3/98
STRATEGY GAME OF THE YEAR

PC Gamer, 3/98
REAL-TIME STRATEGY GAME OF THE YEAR

PC Games, 2/98
THE “A” LIST

Online Game Review, 2/98
TOP 50 GAMES OF ALL TIME

PRINT REVIEWS

boot, 2/98, 8 out of 10

The luxuriant spectacle of Myth: The Fallen Lords takes the genre of real-time strategy games to new heights... Bungie has forged one of the most spectacular (and gory) physics engines around. A compelling storyline, impressive graphics and some of the goriest battles ever seen make Myth a contender for the crown of real-time strategy gaming... delivers addictive gameplay with some innovative graphics.

Computer Games Strategy Plus, 2/98, 5 of 5 Stars, GAME OF THE YEAR

“Innovation at last hits the real-time strategy genre”

There occasionally appears something truly special that could alter the gaming landscape for years to come. Myth: The Fallen Lords is one such game. Most of these [RTS] games are variations of older titles; but where many copied, Bungie created. Simply put, Myth is probably the greatest innovation of real-time strategy in years; it clearly proves there is room for growth in a genre fallen prey to a myriad of clones.

Computer Gaming World, 2/98, 4.5 of 5 stars, STRATEGY GAME OF THE YEAR

“Bloody Good Time: This is not your kid’s strategy game”

A victory for all of us who love the combat of RTS games but could do without the endless gathering and building. Myth strips the standard real-time strategy game to the bone. What it leaves behind is brutal and bloody combat that is engaging, addictive and brimming with more attitude than a surly Dwarf.

Myth’s story stands out because it is detailed, original and well-integrated into the game. You get an actual sense of unease as you face the dark times ahead...you will quickly learn to appreciate the view system’s flexibility... the controls worked well and were well thought-out. Myth kicks some serious butt. Not since Diablo has a game so captured my attention and waking hours. With its blend of in-your-face combat realistic terrain and weather and entertaining characters, Myth is a winner.

ComputerLife, 3/98, 4 of 5 stars

The real star here, though, is the action, in which imagination, foresight and quick thinking win out over brute strength.

The Duelist, 12/97

Myth is the best PC game to date for skirmish combat. The game literally feels like being in the middle of a medieval combat. Myth is for swords what Doom was for guns.

Family PC, 1/98

The graphics in Myth: The Fallen Lords could change the way future strategy games look. Once you get used to it, the typical scrolling overhead map will leave you flat... it’s the most exciting strategy game I’ve ever played.

GamePro, 2/98, 5 of 5 rating

Bungie utilizes both gameplay and gore to the fullest in their tactical masterpiece. Myth blows away any current real-time strategy game available today. It simply does everything right. If nothing else, Myth will force Starcraft to shine that much brighter when it’s released next year. In the mean time, today’s bloated real-time strategy market could use a swift kick, and Myth is one big-ass boot. What Warcraft started and Command and Conquer refined, Myth perfects.

HomePC, 4 of 4 Lightning Bolts

This exquisite 3D fantasy war game is a personal and involving experience. Myth is about having fun. They’re superb scenarios and playing Myth: The Fallen Lords is ultimately an astonishing, utterly absorbing experience.

MacAddict, 2/98, Rating: Freakin’ Awesome

We stopped playing Myth just long enough to try Riven. Well, someone did, anyway. Myth would be a pretty good game as described, but the folks at Bungie paid special attention to the little things, nudging Myth just a notch higher into it’s own rarefied category. Bungie pushes real-time strategy gaming into a new realm with Myth... making Myth one of the most inspired games for the Mac in the past year. We’ve come to expect nothing less from Bungie... you will positively love Myth.

Mac Home Journal, 3/98, 5 of 5 Mice

Myth offers a groundbreaking approach to war strategy due primarily to its, er, ground. The 3D engine is remarkable. And the battle landscapes are stunning. Fight you will. And you’ll  enjoy every bloody minute of it.

Macworld, 3/98 4 of 5 Mice, GAME OF THE YEAR

Riding the rescue of a formulaic, stagnating genre, Myth: The Fallen Lords is poised to revitalize the category of real-time wargames. The problems with Myth pale in comparison to the game’s stunning graphics, realistic physics engine, engaging tactical realism and addictive network play.

Next Generation, 2/98, 4 of 5 stars

Bungie’s Myth doesn’t so much change the genre as it more rejects its conventions in return for tactical accuracy and depth. Myth is the perfect medieval combat simulator, modeling the environment of war so closely it’s scary... a challenge of fabled proportions.

OGR Magazine, 2/98,  8.9 rating, TOP 50 GAMES OF ALL TIME

#30.
Myth’s combination of a very powerful 3D engine and real time strategy resulted in one of the most satisfying gaming experiences ever. If you dig blood and/or RTS, you need to go check this out now. 

Myth is an exceptionally engrossing game... the game’s 3D wizardry is as cutting edge as a razor-sharp halberd. Fantasy wargamers, role-players and strategists should find Myth a savory dish indeed... Myth is an exceptionally enjoyable and playable game.

PC Games, 2/98, Game of the Month, THE “A” LIST

“The stuff legends are made of”

It has a style, panache, flavor and future all its own. And for that fact alone, it deserves kudos. The game has plot, pacing high production values and a sense of humor. Multiplayer has been very thoughtfully designed. Myth is a cunningly simple concept that’s well designed, practically implemented and difficult to master. Keeping [your troops] alive is a task to be tried and mastered. You’ll be trying for many, many months to come.

PC Gamer, 2/98, 90%, REAL-TIME STRATEGY GAME OF THE YEAR

Myth ups the ante for real-time strategy gaming with a tactical twist and terrific 3D graphics.

I’m reluctant to mutter over-used and under-delivered catch-phrases like “next-generation” or “breaks the mold”, but in this case I’m pleased to confirm the game deserves all that hyperbole and more. Coupled with the true physics model, the 3D terrain makes for a more immersive, interactive and realistic battle experience. Though the single-player game is exciting enough, logging onto bungie.net is a far better experience. Just ask my dry, red eyes who’s the “King of the Hill”. Myth: The Fallen Lords is an exceptional single and multiplayer title, worthy of all the pre-game hype it garnished over the past year... if you’re a seasoned strategy gamer looking for a real tactical challenge with a jaw-dropping engine and graphics, than Myth has enough individuality, charm and replayability to make it required gaming.

SPIN, 3/98

With its exquisite realism, Myth: The Fallen Lords sets a new standard for digital carnage. Nothing in Myth is canned. Then there’s the head-snapping detail. The real rush is playing Myth over the Net... Myth becomes wonderfully addictive online.

Ultra Game Player, 1/98,  9.6 of 10 rating, ULTRA Award

Genre fans and newcomers alike can expect hours of brutal fun out of this
game. One of the best games we've played this year.

The Washington Post/Fast Forward, 12/97

Myth strikes a killer blow for players tired of the same old real-time strategy game. Tactics in this game are easy to learn but hard to master. Visually, nothing even comes close to Myth's 3-D landscape. 

Wired, 2/98

“Roll camera, roll heads”

Nowhere is the convergence of silicon and celluloid more evident than on the bloodspattered battlefield of Bungie’s newest game Myth: The Fallen Lords. Myth manages to infuse real-time strategy gaming with the visual dynamism of an epic war film. This is not to say that Myth is a game of mindless violence; it requires thoughtful, considered violence....Bungie has created more of a world than a game. Myth is sufficiently edgy to woo hardcore gamers and—atypically for a strategy game—simple enough to ensure that it will be wildly popular... intensely fun...

Yahoo Internet Life, 4/98

Don’t miss. Beware, though: Myth sessions are highly addictive.

ONLINE REVIEWS

www.abcnews.com, 1/98

Bare-bones real-time strategy gaming with a vengeance. Well done cut scenes, prologue and plot line completely pull you in. Once engrossed, there is a sense of unease
 and anxiety that never quite leaves the action. There is a lot of the heroic epic in
 Myth. The view and control system is one of the best I have ever seen. It gives you an almost helicopter-like effect; hard to master but exhilarating once you do. It is mesmerizing to watch a battle unfold. The beautiful landscapes, compelling story and challenging game play kept me entertained long after similar games would have been history.

www.abcnews.com/sections/scitech/thegamer/index.html

Adrenaline Vault, 12/97, 5 of 5 stars

In all, this is just a thoroughly gorgeous, original, and enjoyable game. While I typically bore at the time-consuming resource collection and structure construction of RTS clones, Myth appeals directly to my more battle-oriented mentality, and takes the strategic combat of its predecessors to the next level, and then some. With a superb story design, beautiful 3D graphics, and extraordinarily challenging gameplay, I must salute the Lords at Bungie for this tribute to elegant game design. 

(Editorial Column)
“Myth—Game Design at its Finest”

This editorial is not a review, it is simply my own personal tribute to what I believe is one of the finest computer games to ever grace my screen. Until then, take it from me -- Myth: The Fallen Lords is more than a great game. It is a classic, and truly ranks up there with those titles that have become legend. 

Myth is so much more than just a "good" game. It has that magic quality we rarely see anymore; not only are the graphics and gameplay phenomenal, but these and all the other elements combine to make a title that is so much more than just a collection of interconnected parts.  

When I first began playing Myth: The Fallen Lords a couple of weeks ago, I was blown away from the start. Bungie had answered my prayers. Instead of just releasing the engine, they had made a game -- an epic tale of war and fantasy in the Tolkien tradition. Playing Myth is very much like reading a great book.

www.avault.com

GAMECENTER.COM, 

Nominee, Strategy Game of the Year 

Let's all say "Hallelujah!" for Myth: The Fallen Lords. With this game, Bungie delivered a technological tour de force that wove together an incredible game engine, fantastic graphics, and a wonderful tale of fantasy. In a major break from other real-time strategy games, Myth dispensed with resource management altogether. Myth packed a great story and excellent single-player fun, but the multiplayer element--on either Bungie.net or TEN--kept us launching this game again and again.

12/97, 4 of 5 stars

Myth features more multiplayer options than any game since Twister. The potential for interaction is stunning, and I see why bungie.net is often packed. Real-time strategists who still believe in Santa should ask him for a copy of Myth this year. bungie.net is the best game-sponsored matching service going, and it should keep Myth playable for many months into the new year. Even action fans might enjoy the quick playability and variety of games that Myth offers. 

www.gamecenter.com

Games Domain, 12/97, Gold Award

It is one of the few instances in recent memory where reality has matched hype.

Myth is a graphical tour du force. It takes your average tactical wargame and adds great graphics, a true 3d engine, a good story and tons and tons of panache  Graphically there is
nothing out there that will prepare you for a melee bloodbath in Myth. To those of us who
love realism  the game is a godsend. The carnage of this game establishes a watershed for
tactical hand to hand combat gaming. If you have a modem then log onto Bungie.net and prepare for some extreme and righteous bloodshed.

www.gamesdomain.com

Gamezilla, 3/98, Score: 95

Welcome to the humorous, grotesque, and realistic 3D fantasy world of Myth: The Fallen Lords, and to one of the most entertaining real time strategy games on the market. The music and the background sounds enhance the game's ability to immerse you into a fantastic world of battle, and further demonstrates the amount of detail Bungie put into the game.I would definitely recommend Myth: The Fallen Lords to any one who enjoys a good battle.

www.gamezilla.com

Inside Mac Games, 2/98, 5 of 5 stars

In over two years of reviews, no commercial game has earned a 5.  Until now. "Myth: The Fallen Lords" from Bungie exceeds even my most hype-fueled expectations.  The solo play is the most engaging I have encountered, and its online play is simply beyond superlatives. Myth fulfills every one of its promises and points to an even more glorious future.  Long live Myth.

www.imgmagazine.com

Online Game Review, 11/97, 9.1 of 10 rating

M:TFL should be considered as a candidate for Game of the Year; that's how much I enjoy and admire it... M:TFL is as absorbing a game as I've ever played, and although I've played nearly 100 multiplayer games on Bungie.net, I don't have the slightest feeling that it's getting old. I guarantee that M:TFL's creative and clever design will impact the course of game development from here on out. 

OGR Best of 97 awards

Special Achievement in Sound
Honorable Mention: Strategy and Multiplayer
Reader’s Choice Award - Top Ten Games

Our choice for best use of sound in a game for 1997 is Bungie’s Myth: The Fallen Lords. The designers of Myth chose wisely when deciding not to include in-game music. Without the music to drown out the sound effects, players can appreciate every nuance of each effect.  each effect conveys the same amount of detail it took to create the beautiful 3D graphical world. It’s the combination of graphics and superior sound effects that make Myth: The Fallen Lords one of the best games of the year. 

www.ogr.com

www.zentropy.com, 12/97, Overall Rating: 9

If you read nothing else here, read this: "Myth: The Fallen Lords" is fantastic. Before you start it up, make sure you're being fed intravenously, because you won't be getting up again for quite some time. This is the sort of game that should make you run screaming to the mall for a 3Dfx card. "Myth: The Fallen Lords" benefits greatly from 3Dfx acceleration, but proves endlessly addicting fun regardless of your hardware, and delivers great value for your money.

www.zentertainment.com/zentropy/