I've lost my crossed swords! I'm a plain shield again, a victim of collusion between two players who caught me in a murderous cross-fire. With Giant Myrkridia on either side pummeling them with exploding projectiles, my poor warriors were doomed no matter which way they turned. Too, late, I realized that I should have taken to the high ground earlier, gotten a little more range for my dwarven bomb-throwers, and maybe wreaked enough damage to minimize my point loss.

If you've tried Myth II on-line, you know what I'm talking about. The game was "Body Count;" the setting was the "Badlands." The goal was simple and brutal: kill as many of the other players creatures as possible, while minimizing your own losses. Depending on how you do, and the ranks of your fellow players, you will either gain or lose points, sometimes a lot. Your rank depends on points, and your self-esteem depends on your rank. How I envy the princes and emperors who flaunt their exhalted status, disdaining the lowly swords and shields who make up the vast bulk of the players. Sometimes one will allow you to team up with him, giving you a simpler task, while he goes off to trounce the enemy. Several times now, in "Flag Rally," I've undertaken to guard the home flag while the senior partner endeavors to capture the enemy's, knowing that any points I get , or lose, will be soley the result of his prowess. But how else can I learn the tactics and strategies that will allow me to progress?

If you haven't guessed yet, it's addictive; it's, in fact a sub-culture. As a parent of now fortunately grown up kids, I hate to think of all the home-work left undone, the books unread, the basketballs undribbled, and the girls undated because of "King of the Hill," "Assassin," "Hunting," or the several other variations that Myth II online offers. Combine this with several map options and the ability to play alone or as part of a team, and you have a combination that will suck you in big time. As my wife said, it they had had this years ago when we were dating, I probably would not have had time for her. True, so true! So, I say, young men, for the sake of future generations, that is to say, so there will be future generations, stay away from this game" Leave it to my generation; leave it to me, "Hirtus Vetus", the "Old Goat!"

--Hirtus Vetus, Associate Editor