Age of Mythology is a real-time strategy game from Ensemble Studios that centers around three civilizations: Greek, Egyptian, and Norse. Each civilization has three main Gods; therefore, there are essentially nine different factions to choose from. The game uses basic elements found in the popular Age of Empires series such as gathering resources, building structures, and assembling an army to overtake your opponent. The basic resources are food, wood, and gold; however, Age of Mythology takes it a step further by adding favor. Favor is essential because it allows you unlock extremely powerful mythological creatures as well as special upgrades. Each civilization has its own unique way of gathering favor. Another new feature added is the ability to use God powers, such as summoning natural disasters to disrupt your opponent. God powers can be the deciding factor between a win and a loss during a battle and can only be used once, so you must choose to use them wisely.

The Greeks

The Greeks are a solid civilization that excels in both offense and defense.  Their buildings and defensive structures are average; however, their units are the strongest and most expensive in the game.  The three major Gods to choose from are Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon.  There are different gathering camps for each resource and they stay in place wherever they are built, so it is important to plan ahead.  Also, unlike the other two civilizations, there are three different structures needed to train the different units.

Heroes

Greek Heroes are the strongest and most unique in the game.  Each hero has his or her own strengths and weaknesses, and each hero is different.  Many of the heroes have unique abilities that set them apart from the other civilizations, which is why the Greeks are limited to four heroes.  Heroes vary depending on which God you choose, and are essential components to a successful Greek army.  They are decent against regular units, great against myth units, and can also collect relics.

Favor

In order to gain favor, the Greeks send their villagers to pray at temples.  This can allow you to gain favor at a very quick pace; however, having your villagers producing favor will ultimately reduce the rate at which you gather resources.

The Egyptians

The Egyptians believe in strength in numbers.  Their units are the cheap and weak; however, they have the strongest buildings and defensive structures in the game.  Many buildings are free, but farms, monuments, and units cost a lot of gold.  The three major Gods to choose from are Ra, Isis, and Set.  At the start of the game, an Egyptian player starts with a Pharaoh who can empower buildings to increase production, speed up building rate, and strengthen structures. 

Heroes

Egyptian heroes are the weakest overall.  You start with a Pharaoh who regenerates if he is killed.  He's almost useless against regular units, but does well against countering myth units.  He can also heal units, gather relics, and empower buildings.  Priests are also Egyptian heroes and are basically weaker versions of the Pharaoh.  One major difference between the Pharaoh and priests is that priests can create obelisks.

Favor

Egyptians gain favor through the construction of five different monuments through which favor is gathered at a set rate.

The Norse

The Norse is an offensive minded civilization.  Their buildings and defensive structures are very weak, but they make up for it with their massive armies. The three major Gods to choose from are Odin, Thor, and Loki. With Norse, the best defense is a good offense, and choosing this civilization you'll constantly find yourself on the attack or on the move. Not being confined to gathering resources in one spot, the Norse use a movable ox-cart as their gathering camp. Their combat units also have the ability to build structures. This is helpful because it allows you to move your base to a new location quickly and easily.

Heroes

Norse heroes are called Hersir, and they aren't very strong against anything except myth units. However, they are easy to mass produce and it's cheap and easy to build a lot of them in a short amount of time. Hersir slowly generate favor and gain double the amount of favor when engaging an enemy in combat. They can also collect relics and build structures and are definitely a valuable asset to any Norse army.

Favor

Norse gain favor from engaging in combat. The more damage done, the more favor is gained. Hersir also slowly produce favor, and can gain a lot of favor in battle as well.