Games That I Rocked as a Kid (GTIRAAK)

Myth II: Soulblighter edition.

I didn't play Myth. I was introduced to Myth II by my uncle, who gave me his copy of Myth II because it was too violent for him. So 14-year-old me gleefully took it home and played the hell out of it.

Myth II was a groundbreaking in a lot of ways. It's realtime strategy, but without the hassle of mining, collecting, building and all of those tasks that plague other RTS titles (not that it's not fun, just refreshing to not use that gimmick all the time).

In Myth II you have a set number of characters for each level and you must get through each level using them and their special abilities. The characters are balanced and fun to use. You have dwarves, warriors, archers and eventually mages.

You can name your characters and if they survive they carry over from level to level, gaining experience. This makes me obsessive about having characters survive and I usually replay levels dozens of times just so I keep d'Artagnan or whoever alive.

Myth II was probably the first game I played that employed realistic physics. Archers would shoot further from a hill and god forbid your dwarf throws a grenade uphill.

There are moments of huge frustration when your dwarf decides to throw a grenade at the enemy who is standing amidst your warriors, effectively decimating half of your forces.

"Casualty! Casualties!" The narrator informs you.

Overall a fantastic game that I have replayed probably 7 times. In fact I think I'll go finish up a game now...

ADDENDUM: A game's save mechanics are probably the most hotly debated feature of any given game. I don't understand why any game wouldn't let you save whenever and wherever you want. That's common sense, but we won't argue that here. What I do miss most about game saves is being able to name your save file. Modern games don't let you do that. Myth II allowed you to save when you please and to name the file whatever you please. Which is crucial to a perfectionist like myself. Game designers take note.