Rise of the Argonauts

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Rise of the Argonauts
Rise of the Argonauts.jpg
Developer(s) Liquid Entertainment
Publisher(s) Codemasters
Producer(s) David Marino
Designer(s) Charley Price
Programmer(s) Matthew Altman
Artist(s) Daniel Cabuco
Writer(s) Rico Sablan
Composer(s) Tyler Bates [1]
Engine Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release
  • AU: 12 December 2008
  • NA: 16 December 2008 [2]
  • EU: 16 December 2008 [2]
  • UK: 6 February 2009 [2]
Genre(s) Action role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Rise of the Argonauts is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Liquid Entertainment and published by Codemasters for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Although very much at variance with the story of Jason in the original Greek mythology, the game's plot surrounds the myth of Jason and the Argonauts searching for the Golden Fleece. [3] [4]

Contents

Gameplay

Plot

Story

In Rise of the Argonauts, the player assumes the role of the protagonist Jason, in this instance portrayed as a king of Iolcus. Jason's bride, a warrioress princess called Alceme Enialios, who is the daughter of a Mycenean king called Lycomedes, is assassinated on the wedding day. Jason avenges Alceme by killing the assassin, who led an unexplained attack by mercenaries from Ionia -- and begins to investigate the doomsday cult of Hecate-worshippers in which the assassin admitted membership. Jason seals Alceme's body in the temple where the two were to marry, and it becomes Alceme's mausoleum. Jason quickly discovers that the only way to bring back his wife is to obtain the Golden Fleece, as it is said that the Fleece alone can undo events that have already occurred. Traveling to Delphi, Jason learns from the Oracle that the only way to tread the road to the Fleece is to find three descendants of three of his patron gods: Hermes, Ares and Athena. The descendant of Hermes is found on Saria, Athena's on Kythra, whereas Ares' is located on Mycenae.

After convincing all of them to join him, Jason travels to Delphi again and learns that the Fleece is in Tartarus, the Hell of the Greek Underworld. After obtaining it, Jason sails home to revive Alceme. He confronts Pelias, his traitorous uncle. During the course of the game, Jason will face Blacktongues, who are behind Alceme's assassination, Ionians mercenaries, mythical beasts and other characters, but he would not be alone.

Characters

Reception

Reviews have been mixed, with the game receiving praise for its story, leveling up/skill tree system, music and visuals, but criticism for its sparse placement of enemies and relatively easy boss fights. Criticisms also centered on the amount of time spent in conversation with characters in the game, with the lack of compelling voice performances not helping the situation. Further criticisms included technical issues like bugs, camera problems and crashes.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason</span> Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts

Jason was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece is featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea, the granddaughter of the sungod Helios. He was also the great-grandson of the messenger god Hermes, through his mother's side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atalanta</span> Greek mythological character

Atalanta is a heroine in Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peleus</span> Mythical character

In Greek mythology, Peleus was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medea</span> Daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis in Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Medea is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis. In the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, she aids Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece. She later marries him, but eventually kills their children and his other bride. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress and is often depicted as a priestess of the goddess Hecate. She first appears in Hesiod's Theogony around 700 BCE, but is best known from Euripides's tragedy Medea and Apollonius of Rhodes's epic Argonautica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelias</span> King of Iolcus in Greek mythology

Pelias was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology. He was the one who sent Jason on the quest for the Golden Fleece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argonauts</span> Band of heroes in Greek mythology

The Argonauts were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, Argo, named after its builder, Argus. They were sometimes called Minyans, after a prehistoric tribe in the area.

In Greek mythology, Tyro was an Elean princess who later became Queen of Iolcus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeson</span> King of Iolcus

In Greek mythology, Aeson was a king of Iolcus in Thessaly. He was the father of the hero Jason. According to one version of the story, he was imprisoned by his half-brother Pelias, and when Pelias intended to kill him he committed suicide. In another story, he was killed by Jason's wife Medea, who brought him back to life as a young man.

Acastus is a character in Greek mythology. He sailed with Jason and the Argonauts, and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar.

<i>Jason and the Argonauts</i> (1963 film) 1963 film by Don Chaffey

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<i>Jason and the Argonauts</i> (miniseries) 2000 American television miniseries

Jason and the Argonauts, is a 2000 American two-part television miniseries directed by Nick Willing and produced by Hallmark Entertainment. It is based on the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts.

<i>Medea</i> (1969 film) 1969 Italian film

Medea is a 1969 Italian film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, based on the ancient myth of Medea. The film stars opera singer Maria Callas in her only film role and is largely a faithful portrayal of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts and the events of Euripides' play The Medea.

<i>Argonautica</i> Greek epic poem dated to the 3rd century BC

The Argonautica is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from remote Colchis. Their heroic adventures and Jason's relationship with the dangerous Colchian princess/sorceress Medea were already well known to Hellenistic audiences, which enabled Apollonius to go beyond a simple narrative, giving it a scholarly emphasis suitable to the times. It was the age of the great Library of Alexandria, and his epic incorporates his research in geography, ethnography, comparative religion, and Homeric literature. However, his main contribution to the epic tradition lies in his development of the love between hero and heroine – he seems to have been the first narrative poet to study "the pathology of love". His Argonautica had a profound impact on Latin poetry: it was translated by Varro Atacinus and imitated by Valerius Flaccus, it influenced Catullus and Ovid, and it provided Virgil with a model for his Roman epic, the Aeneid.

<i>Hercules</i> (1958 film) 1958 Italian film

Hercules is a 1958 Italian sword-and-sandal film based upon the Hercules and the Quest for the Golden Fleece myths. The film stars Steve Reeves as the titular hero and Sylva Koscina as his love interest Princess Iole. Hercules was directed by Pietro Francisci and produced by Federico Teti. The film spawned a 1959 sequel, Hercules Unchained, that also starred Reeves and Koscina.

Mythic Warriors is a 1998-2000 anthology animated television series, which featured retellings of popular Greek myths that were altered so as to be appropriate for younger audiences, produced by Nelvana and Marathon Media. Two seasons of episodes were produced in February 8, 1998 and March 14, 1999; then aired as reruns until May 21, 2000, when CBS' abolition of its Nelvana-produced children's programming in favor of Nick Jr. and later, Nickelodeon content resulted in its cancellation. The series was based on the book series Myth Men Guardians of the Legend written in 1996 and 1997 by Laura Geringer and illustrated by Peter Bollinger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iolcus</span> Municipal unit in Greece

Iolcus is an ancient city, a modern village and a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in central Magnesia, north of the Pagasitic Gulf. Its land area is 1.981 km2. The municipal unit is divided into three communities, Agios Onoufrios, Anakasia and Ano Volos, with a total population of 2,008. The seat of the former municipality was the village of Ano Volos.

Jason of the Argonauts, an ancient Greek mythological hero, appears often in popular culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argus (Argonaut)</span> Character from Greek mythology

In Greek mythology, Argus was the builder and eponym of the ship Argo, and consequently one of the Argonauts; he was said to have constructed the ship under Athena's guidance. Argus was commissioned to build the Argo by King Pelias so that the crew that would come to be known as the Argonauts could find and bring the Golden Fleece back to Iolcus, which was in Thessaly.

References

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