Viking: Battle for Asgard

"Grab the mead and sit down for some good ol' fashioned undead slaying!"

There are plenty of video games based on Norse mythology, some of them are good, most of them are bad. Fortunately, Viking: Battle for Asgard is in the former column. Viking successfully combines a free-roaming world with some good ol' fashion undead slaying to create a great, gruesome and grimacing experience.

Viking's main selling point is the free-roaming world which adds a tactical depth to an otherwise bland exterior. And while this free-roaming world may seem like a novelty that would soon wear off, Viking: Battle for Asgard manages to be an enjoyable experience from start to finish, without overstaying it's welcome.

This "Battle for Asgard" isn't exactly a battle for Asgard, though. It's actually a battle for Midgard. The mute hero of the story, Skarin, has been appointed by the goddess Freya to help clear Midgard of the undead Legion who are under Hel's command. The relationship between these characters isn't expanded on very much, and by the end of the game you'll be just as unemotionally attached to them as you were at the start of the game. The main chunk of the story is explained throughout some neat artistic slideshows that occur at the beginning of each chapter.

The world of Migard is separated into three different islands, each island represents one chapter. During your stay on each island you'll be given certain tasks to complete which will increase your army numbers. These tasks range from liberating villages from the Legion to doing mundane fetch quests from the ungrateful soldiers whos life you saved. Well, these tasks would be mundane if it wasn't for the terrifically awesome combat system.

Hacking limbs off, decapitating and slicing the Legion in half is surprisingly satisfying and easy to do. There are always new abilities to purchase at the training arena on each island. Getting money is quite simple. You can find mead and sell it to the local tavern owner, or you can find it laying around the world or in villages. Unfortunately, money is too plentiful and this can lead to huge spending sprees and not worrying about running out of money. You can buy health potions, bombs or even runes to power up your weapons.

The aforementioned tactical element integrates itself into the free-roaming world. When trying to liberate a highly fortified camp or village, you can approach from any angle, sneaking your way around and taking the enemy out one by one, instead of alerting every enemy in the vicinity of your whereabouts, which often leads to death.

Oh, did I not mention that Viking has an awesome sneaking element? It's no Splinter Cell, but compared to other action games the stealth elements are really top notch. You can sneak through enemy encampments undetected if you're good. But when you're spotted you'll need to quickly dispose of the enemy before he can alert other Legion soldiers.

Once you've accumulated enough friendly soldiers, you can start a large scale battle with literally hundreds of enemies on screen. Dragons zoom through the skies, Legion group in their hundreds and tear apart anything in their path. There aren't any framerate drops during these battles, but everything goes in slow motion. This isn't enough to ruin the battle, but it is a minor annoyance. Unfortunately, these battles are all too similar. Find and kill the enemy shamans to stop them reviving enemy troops, kill some of the larger enemies then get your shaman to rid the land of the Legion. Once you've done all three large scale battles this all amounts to an extremely underwhelming ending.

As long as you're not playing for the story, Viking: Battle for Asgard delivers an action packed, gory and entertaining experience throughout all of the 15 hours it lasts. Luckily it's free-roaming world and stealth elements give it alot more depth than an ordinary hack 'n' slash game. Viking: Battle for Asgard breaks the growing trend of bad Norse mythology games, and brings us something fresh. Something unique. Something so grotesquely, ass-kickingly awesome that it just warrants a playthrough.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/08/08

Game Release: Viking: Battle for Asgard (EU, 03/28/08)