Game Review: Viking: Battle for Asgard
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The story of a Viking Hero. Skarin is an uncompromising force. A plaything of the gods rebelling against their selfish agenda. The definitive Viking warrior.
Rich Viking Lore. The violent and glorious world of Viking mythology brought to stunning life. Players will write their own legends to be told around the campfire.
Vast open world environments. Explore, uncover and fight your way across huge next gen worlds full of combat, exploration and quests.
High impact, brutal combat engine. Experience intensely physical melee combat. Dismember enemies with deadly combat moves in a whirlwind of death.
Mythical Powers. Tame dragons and command them to rain fire upon your enemies. Call on magic and the power of the gods to win the mortal war.
Free your people. Liberate your Viking kinsmen from the clutches of Hel. Earn their trust and their sword arm. Fight alongside them in battle.
Epic Battles. Lay the foundations for huge battles featuring hundreds of dynamic NPC warriors. Subtly influence the battle through targeted assassination or wade in to save stricken allies. Become one amongst many and turn the tide in favour of your kinsmen.
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Review:
Viking: Battle for Asgard
(PS3)
When it comes to the finest myths and legends, I have to dismiss the popular Greek tales and throw my weight firstly behind Norse mythology that drove the Vikings across the seas in the 8th century AD and later the Icelandic Sagas, the insightful and compelling accounts of Viking settlement and life. There is nothing romantic about these myths and stories, the outlook is often dark and bleak, and this tradition has continued in the form of Viking: Battle of Asgard on the PS3.
The story is of an epic war between the gods in Asgard and the undead Vikings from the underworld, spearheaded by the cruel ruler, Hel. When the war comes to Midgard, the world of men, it is Hel that appears unstoppable, crushing everything in sight until one stronghold – Brighthelm – remains. In the midst of defending the town Skarin, a feared warrior troubled by seizures and flashbacks, is mortally wounded but spared from death by the influence of Freya, a goddess from Asgard, who saves Brighthelm from ruin. In the aftermath Freya orders Skarin to liberate Midgard from the influence of Hel’s legions, free captive Vikings and ultimately defeat the evil queen herself.
The area of most focus in Viking: Battle for Asgard has to be the combat. Skarin heads into battle with a sword and axe and, akin to the Viking mentality, shows no mercy in his application. The violence in the game fully justifies the 18 rating with the visuals and sounds of weapons cutting, stabbing and slicing through enemies leaving nothing to the imagination. Whenever Skarin defeats an opponent you are prompted to hit the square button instigating a close up of your hero dispatching his enemy in bloodthirsty fashion, either by beheading or dismemberment. As you progress through the game, enemies become more testing as you come up against archers, armoured warriors with shields you have to break before getting to them, and later giants who you firstly hack at the ankles to bring them to their knees before finishing them off. In fact both the giants and the tall armoured warriors you meet will require you to select a series of commands on the gamepad allowing Skarin to climb onto their backs, deliver mortal wounds to his opponent’s before sending them crashing to the ground where they are mercilessly slain. The fighting is impressive but the violence may alienate some gamers.
The most useful item in Viking: Battle for Asgard is undoubtedly the Brisingamen, an amulet Freya gives to Skarin at the beginning of the game. This appears at the top right of the screen and works as a radar, helping you identify friends, foes and your next objectives. You have access to a large map on demand which details a series of locations such as farms, quarries, camps and other strongholds you will need to liberate. By moving the cursor over each building you are given brief instructions on what you need to do to clear each section and unlock further areas to explore. Despite having a camp full of Vikings, Skarin operates mostly alone in his endeavours. In each location there will be a group of Vikings either tied to posts or imprisoned in cages that you can liberate to augment your army. The emphasis of good versus evil is never better captured than in Skarin’s exit from his main camp, illuminated by sunlight, and out into the dark and harsh terrain of Hel’s influence. For every town and camp you set free, Hel’s darkness is overwhelmed by Freya’s light that brings sunshine to the land. As well as the smaller objectives on the map there will be a major city or stronghold which is your ultimate target and the reason you need a huge army. There is always an extensive list of criteria you will need to meet before Skarin can begin the next major assault, but once you get to this stage, Viking: Battle for Asgard really comes into its own.
The epic assaults on the cities are visually stunning as Skarin not only leads an army into battle but also has the assistance of dragons. The battles play out similarly to any other fight you have in the game but you can rely on your allies to keep the bulk of Hel’s armies busy while you pursue the ultimate objective to deliver victory. If you have enough dragon stones you can have your dragon allies implement their fiery breaths to take out archers manning castle walls or other large gatherings of warriors. The criteria for the large-scale battles usually centres around the enemy shamans that through their magic create new warriors and keep their army’s numbers bolstered. You must lead Skarin through the mayhem of battle to take out these shamans and give your army the advantage. Other criteria may be the slaying of giants or ultimately the leader of the army in that particular city, such as Hel’s own champion, Drakan. Though the battles themselves are fantastic it can be frustrating having to complete the objectives on your own, particularly when vastly outnumbered with not a single warrior from your own army in sight. This is unfortunately something I had to get used to.
Viking: Battle for Asgard was hampered by some glitches in the gameplay. During one difficult battle against a giant I lured him out of his stronghold into the open but when it came to executing Skarin’s brutal crescendo I found myself inexplicably back in the middle of the enemy camp with plenty of warriors ready to pounce on me. Some sections of the game can be difficult especially when you have to sneak into a city that’s impossible to claim alone to steal an item or kill a particular warrior without alerting the rest of the resident army! The price for being killed in the middle of liberating a camp or city is harsh. Although Skarin is continuously restored to life no matter how many times he dies, your progress through the enemy camp at the time of your death is not recorded. I sometimes found myself have a handful of warriors left to kill only to be slain myself and forced to take out the entire camp from scratch! The game also takes place across three separate maps which seem to take a while to complete but by the end I felt the experience hadn’t been a long one.
Viking: Battle for Asgard is an enjoyable but violent action/adventure. The battles are visually stunning and epic, while the locations are fantastic with the war torn land enhanced by varying weather conditions. The difficulty of some aspects of the game can be frustrating but this is still an engaging game that has captured the essence of the Viking Age beautifully.
Final Score: 4/5
(Game source: reviewer’s own copy)
Game Review: Viking: Battle for Asgard | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
