What is Myth II: Soulblighter?

Myth II: Soulblighter is a real-time tactics game, and as such, unlike the gameplay in real-time strategy games, the player does not have to engage in resource micromanagement or economic macromanagement, does not have to construct a base or buildings, and does not have to gradually build up their army by acquiring resources and researching new technologies. Instead, each level begins with the player's army already assembled and ready for combat.During the game, the player controls forces of various sizes made up of a number of different units, each possessing their own strengths and weaknesses. In single-player mode, only Light units are playable, but in online multiplayer mode, the player can control both Light and Dark units.

---

When Bungle’s Myth: The Fallen Lords exploded onto the gaming scene in late 1997, it immediately became a masterpiece of squad-based real-time strategy, revolutionized the tired 2D genre with 3D, and gave rise to an online community numbering in the thousands. Myth was one of the best computer games ever for the Mac or PC, and to top such an achievement was a daunting endeavor. Fortunately, Bungie listened to fan feedback and has made Myth II: Soulbiighter a to-die-for sequel. Call us Myth worshippers if you will, but Soulbhghter is freakin’ awesome, so if you missed out on the first Myth, don’t repeat the mistake.

Myth II: Soulblighter picks up 60 years after the Great War, at the conclusion of which the Light defeated the Dark by throwing Balor’s head into the Great Devoid. One of the Fallen Lords, Soulblighter, remained alive, however, and he has returned to open a can of whoop-ass on the Light. We’re not going to give away the plot, but suffice it to say that Myth II’s story is deeply captivating. As weird as it seems, you’ll end up caring about the Light — its political struggles and alliances, individual battles against the Dark, and quest for survival — because it’s so engrossing. Core gamers tend to applaud Myth’s Braveheart-like gorefest while downplaying the Tolkien-esque narrative and setting; but Myth II’s story, with its eloquent narrative progressions, is a gem.

Once you begin single-player Myth II, you’ll notice a couple of improvements over its predecessor. First, Dwarves are no longer loose cannons. (In Myth I, they gave the term friendly fire a new definition.) Still, you should keep an eye on them. Second, moving a group doesn’t ruin its formation; you can finally stop pressing formation keys like mad. Third, you can use the new Control Bar for formations and special controls, so if you want to opt for just the mouse, you can. This doesn’t help old-school players, but it’s a nice option for newbies and those of us who eat and drink while playing (hey, it happens). Also, rolling the mouse over a unit now reveals its health, which saves clicking. These improvements seem subtle, but for a game in which micromanagement of individuals and groups is all-important, they’re most welcome.

Going beyond interface tweaks, Bungie dove into the Myth engine to bring enhancements that make for more-realistic and engaging gamepiay Myth II renders with twice as many animation frames. The 3D mesh underlying all terrain is four times finer, producing better landscapes and allowing much better unit-path finding. A new magic system, 3D fire, and some ambient wildlife also rev up gameplay. But Bungie didn’t add Bambi and Babe for prettier scenery: Three new multiplayer games — Stampede, Hunting, and Assassin — use animals as prizes for contention.

Soulblighter is also a more impressive world, full of challenging environments. Animated 3D models such as windmills and drawbridges bring the landscape to life. Nerve-wracking levels let you penetrate a castle and flush out a conspirator, and to storm beachhead fortifications from an amazingly rendered ship. Above all, the models are interactive: You can blow holes in city walls with mortar, destroy a strategically important bridge, and watch blood spatter on walls. Do your own interior decorating!

Many Mythers got a year’s worth of play from the original Myth by using Bungle’s free online gaming service, Bungie.net. The second version provides improvements in both user-friendliness — with new lists to hook up buddies easily — and reliability (it has wider plug-in support and a networking engine that syncs better) . The new Bungie.net also implements a more balanced scoring system that rewards players for success in different game types. So all you BC Trowers out there, get with the program!

What else rocks? With Bungle’s included proprietary editors, Fear and Loathing, the mapmaking process is a lot easier than the hex-editing hacks we used to do. Loathing modifies and adds objects to a mesh, and Fear modifies the game’s resources or tags so that you can make new sounds, objects, or units. By bundling editing tools with Myth II, Bungie has ensured online replayability. Look for new maps to appear regularly.

Myth: The Fallen Lords was daunting for the casual gamer, but Bungie has done a lot to make Myth II; Soulblighter more accessible. In addition to mouse-only play, an expanded tutorial and simple starter levels make learning easier. And the difficulty settings affect gamepiay to a greater extent; the Timid setting, for example, is a pushover, while the Legendary setting is a nightmare even for veterans. Bungie.net 2 sets aside rooms for beginners, too. We don’t need to convince Myth fans to get Myth II, but newbies to real-time strategy gaming should check it out.

Ho, Jennifer, Parker, Samuel. (April 1999). Myth II: Soulblighter. MacAddict. (pgs. 52-53).

Download Myth II: Soulblighter for Mac

Architecture

IBM PowerPC

System Requirements

From Mac OS 7.5 up to Mac OS 10.3

Compatibility notes

Game works Fully with SheepShaver and OS 9.0.4

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver