Mytheon - PC

What We Know: Mytheon is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game set against the backdrop of popular mythologies from around the world (Egypt, Asia, ancient Greece, etc.). It is the sophomore effort from developer True Games Interactive, whose previous release was the free MMORPG Warrior Epic.

What We Saw: On seeing Mytheon, True Games and Petroglyph Games' newest title, I had to ask the question, “Wait, this isn't an RTS?” I was watching a character run around screen, shopping at stores, managing an inventory screen. The response, “Think Diablo meets Magic the Gathering,” describes design director, Chris Rubyor, and by that he means his new game, Mytheon, is an isometric top-down action RPG with a strategy component. Of course, strategy is no stranger to Petroglyph, a team of former Command & Conquer and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth creators who have since developed our favorite Star Wars RTS, Empire at War along with the recent Universe at War. But action RPGs are new fare considering the pedigree. Why now? And where's my RTS?

Rubyor explains that over two years ago, Petroglyph “saw the PC market shifting towards digital downloads and micro-transactions alongside the growing popularity of online MMOs” and needed a change. The result is a free-to-play MMO that allows both micro-transaction payments for power stones, the core game play of Mytheon, as well as a subscription model which grants packs plus additional bonuses for adopters. That's great, but really, what is Mytheon all about?

Mytheon is steeped heavily in mythology, the first of which includes Greek myths and legends, but with expansions to follow around Egyptian and Asian lore. Like Diablo, players create a character of different classes: the tank Warcaster who can control many different types of creatures, the wizard-like Elementalist who wields more elemental magic-based attacks, and the supporting Eidolon, which acts as a priest, healing and resurrecting players. These classes start with power stones, which act as the various powers players can wield in game and as the game is purely point and click, it's quite simple: Click the Fireball power stone, and you'll shoot a Fireball, or the Cyclops power stone and you'll summon a controllable Cyclops unit. Ah, there's my RTS. While the creatures you summon will act on auto-pilot, they can be controlled to scout, flank and attack the roaming baddies on the map by selecting them and clicking a target. It's all very simple; maybe too simple for fans of Petroglyph's deeper RTS titles, but for a fan of strategy-lite, it might just be enough.

The real twist in strategy actually relates to the power stones themselves, which are assembled as a set, much like in Magic the Gathering where individual cards are part of a deck. As you use a power to cast a spell or summon a creature, it is discarded and a random power stone is selected from your set to replace it. This allows a fair amount of strategy in how you stack your set, as well as how you'll leverage the different stones made available to you during play. While Mytheon is free to play, the game will sell booster packs of power stones, unlocking more creatures to control and magic to unleash, but naturally the more you stuff your set with stones, the less likely the stones you need will appear.

Absent from the game at launch will be any type of skill tree, but the goal is to integrate that type of character customization down the road. Levels instead affect general stats such as health and mana, and make your power stones more powerful, making your 20th level Minotaur a much more lethal version than the 10th level Minotaur. The lack of customizable skills is an oversight that seems major for any RPG fan, but right now the company is on track to deliver the game in the summer so it is something being looked at afterwards.

It remains to be seen if Petroglyph can make the transition into the online space, especially one so crowded by similar products. But so far, Mytheon looks poised to capture the attention of action RPG fans with a clever yet accessible system that just might double as being addictive to boot. That is, until Diablo III hits the streets. Thankfully, it seems they have some time before then.