Viking: Battle for Asgard - Review

Added April 1st, 2008 by Slunks

Scandinavian history isn't the most encountered setting for video games. We've seen every nook and cranny of Greek mythology, but the British Isles have yet to be explored. Viking: Battle for Asgard is here to make a difference by showing the way of Skarin, a battle-fueled Viking who must save the lands from the Underworld Queen, Hel. The principal of the land, Freya, is a helpful deity that guides you across the continents' landscape as you liberate the overrun islands from Hel's undead minions. It's a traditional, overused good versus bad setup that doesn't develop to high means, but the story isn't what makes this title enjoyable. Instead, it's the frantic, hard hitting, epic battles that showcase the game's true potential. Unfortunately, that potential misses out on bigger action due to a thin layer of gameplay mechanics, but it doesn't mean there isn't a healthy amount of fun to be had.

As Skarin, you start off trapped in a small city, home to an undersized force of Vikings. This is how you begin each island, and each way you conquer them back is similar: rescue Vikings by performing quests. You'll be heading from one infested encampment to another with the primary focus to mend the situation. Inside will lie a handful of Vikings, which if freed without making too much disturbance, will help you conquer the rest of the camp. Once you've liberated the area, your clan mates will permanently populate it. Certain places can be rewarding by unlocking items or supplying future goods. A lumber mill will provide you with catapults for siege use, or an alchemist camp will hand over the latest flame pots and healing potions. The benefits help encourage you through the repetitiveness of these quests, but they are mainly treated as requirements to face the true battles where you try to reclaim another city. Since building your army is a majority of the time spent with Viking, preparing to take back a city is a great build-up, and the execution is amazing.

The main attractions are massive, exhilarating battles, which feel like a scenario you'd only see in a high quality production film (Lord of the Rings, anyone?). You'll lead thousands of Vikings against thousands of undead, and this all happens real-time on screen. It's truly an amazing technical achievement to see many characters on screen at once. Past the awe-inspiring sights that the battles withhold, the battle is objective based. Hel's forces will continue to spawn if they have shamans to summon them, so your main focus is to bring them down. The battle isn't overly set on you facing all of the weaklings, but you'll find a few commanders to defeat and earn dragon runes. Throughout the game, you'll complete quests to earn runes that master well-known and powerful dragons. These flying ancients will hurl fire at the enemy's shaman, or a group of hiding archers if you choose. Later in battle you must protect a friendly shaman who will convert the main portal, ending the dispute and bringing rightful ownership of the city.

Outside of colossal battles, the battle system keeps the smallest fights entertaining. The combat starts off generic, but over time Skarin can visit various arena's to learn new skills. Eventually, moves will string together fluently to form a combo, and there'll even be a separate set of special moves designated for specific enemies. Even with a huge list of attacks, the fights can be challenging and never become old. There can be some slight confusion with the controls, since defense is bound to the left trigger while your special offense is the bumper; it can be tricky during the heat of the moment. The enemies come in different styles to change up your fighting game, but unfortunately lack various shapes and sizes. Aside from a few healing potions, throwing axes and flame pots, you may purchase and equip runes. These runes are attuned to your blades and come in three different elements: fire, ice and lightning. During battle, power orbs are collected and fill up your rage bar. As you activate a rune, it drains the power from the meter. Since it also improves the weapons to allies around you, it helps immensely during city battles.

Nevertheless, the continuous war is an enjoyable one to be a part of and is the best aspect of Viking. Atmospherically, the game is well tuned, with lush plant life covering the surroundings. Also, the animation feels complete, as Skarin slices each enemy in half, he swings with much grace, almost as a bloody ballerina. If there's one suffering in regards to presentation, it's the half-implemented soundtrack. The music that plays during the enormous battles sounds well, but unfortunately that's about all you'll hear of the game's score, since there's little music played otherwise. Also, while the dialogue is fine, a small portion of the voice acting can feel stiff during a few lines, but is generally well done. There's also a problem with Skarin; he doesn't talk. Because of this, the small attempt at any character development is non-existent. It's a shame for Viking, since it throws the entertainment value solely on the hack and slash department. While that isn't bad, it prevents the game's potential from escalating to higher values.

Inadequately, the role-playing elements come off threadbare without interchangeable weapons, armor or statistics to modify. With that said, it may be easy to read Viking as a Dynasty Warriors-like title, but this isn't the case. It's actually nothing of the sort; it comes off as a mix between Fable and God of War. It may seem weird to compare and combine games, but it's the best example to avoid confusion. The campaign has a decent amount of length that lasts fifteen to twenty hours. What makes Viking: Battle for Asgard satisfying is the amazing, unique expression that it shows through its epic blood-soaked warfields. Dragons flying above, setting fire to everything in site; archers shooting their flame arrows into the midst; thousands of grunts on the field trying to push or defend; it's simply an experience that you haven't seen before. The questing breaks up battles well enough to help the build-up and are entertaining in their own right. Despite the amount of depth missing in the game's story line and overall character development, there's still a valuable dose of amusement to be found within.