Another flight of arrows slams home with a meaty thunk but too few enemy fall. The undead Thrall keep coming, emerging from the waters of the ford relentlessly, lurching forward at an inexorable pace.

Outnumbered, you retreat your small group to the hill overlooking the ford, guarding your archers carefully with the steel-clad men-at-arms as Ghols are circling nearby. The pace is relentless.

Your dwarf races forward, covered by the bowmen, and hurls a flaming explosive bottle into a packed mass of undead. "Fire in the hole" he shrieks, scampering madly away as the explosive detonates, sending a cascade of bilious blood, limbs and heads hurtling through the air. A falling severed head fells one of your wounded swordsmen. Bodies, blood and abandoned weapons are littered across the landscape in a scorched and agonizing trail.

But the Thrall keep coming, now joined by the Souless, ghost-like wraiths hurtling all-too-real spears. More men fall. The archers are few in number now, and cannot keep the Thrall at a distance. The men-at-arms surge forward and swords begin to slash. The Thrall are falling. The archers turn their shots on the souless who, grinning, drift out of range.

Then it happens...

"Look out" screams a dwarf, hurtling a bomb into the densely packed melee of men and undead. The explosion obliterates the remaining Thrall, but slaughters all but one swordsman. "Sorry about that!" the dwarf apologizes, but it is, literally, his last words as three Ghol hammer him into the earth before turning and killing your now retreating bowmen. Your last swordsman turns to flee....

Thus ends a typical level in Myth: The Fallen Lords, a game that brought real-time tactical warfare and strategy out of the trap of "chopping trees' and "mining gold." There were no resources to be developed, no specialty buildings to be created - just raw, unadulterated action with the only resource being your ability to control and manage your troops.

Developed by Bungie (who brought us Halo, post-Myth) Myth arrived on the PC gaming scene in 1997, bringing with it such innovations as 3D terrain, real-world physics and barely controllable homicidal dwarves. For once in a game, hills and terrain actually mattered, formations mattered. Often your ability to survive and complete a level was utterly dependent on how well you read the landscape and positioned your forces. The high ground was vital, as were choke points, ranged weapons and understanding your troops various capabilities.