Lost Vikings 2

"If I'm lost, call my mommy at..."

The original Lost Vikings was a strange but entertaining game. Just wish I knew where Wacky Land is, so I could go fight killer hand balls and my evil duplicate sometime.

After escaping from Tomator, the evil alien zookeeper who tried to bag the brothers in the last game, Eric, Baleog and Olaf are back in their own time. Killing, pillaging and wenching those fine Norwegian ladies. Tomator isn't done with them yet, though, and zaps them back aboard his ship. Thanks to a blown fuse, though, the boys jump a security robot, steal his stuff and then escape back into time. And with a little help from the player and some new monster buddies, they might just make it home for dinner.

As before the name of the game is teamwork and using each Viking's special talents to overcome a variety of problems in order to find the way to the next level. Eric can still jump and bash walls with his head, but now he can double-jump with boot jets and has a scuba helmet, so he doesn't drown in water. Baleog has a light saber and a bionic arm to grab things to swing on and hit enemies far away. Olaf still has his shield, but can shrink and fart to get a boost while gliding or break floors.

But transporters to the next level aren't always reliable, and sometimes one of the boys gets sent someplace else. When this happens, Fang the werewolf (who can climb walls or kill monsters with his claws) or Scorch the dragon (who flies, glides and spits fireballs) takes his place for the board.

But like the first game, Lost Vikings 2 can be kind of unforgiving. Each character has only three hit points and there are lots of things (spikes, water, etc.) that can kill you instantly. And if even one guy dies, you can't get to the next board even if you don't need his help anymore. So that means doing the whole board over again. There's food to pick up for restored health, but it's in very limited quantities. Therein I suppose lies the challenge of the game, but it's still kind of annoying sometimes.

The graphics are colorful and lively, to see the least. Everything is recognizable from the vikings to the keys to the items you need to find to be sent to the next level. Oh, and just a warning, Scorch is the only friendly dragon. The others might look the same, but they want to turn you into barbecued viking burgers.

Sound isn't bad. I've heard worse.

I'm not so sure about the replay value. I haven't had the time and interest to beat this game once, but I keep playing the early levels anyway. So I guess you could say that aspect is decent.

All in all a good game. It's kind of a shame the Lost Viking series only last two entries, but how many times could they have started something off by saying they got kidnapped by Tomator and escaped into time again?

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/04