Viking: Battle for Asgard Review

Viking: Battle for Asgard is a hack-and-slash game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. I have not played many hack-and-slash games on consoles until the last few years. The first one I played was Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom which I enjoyed and brought me into the genre. I have since played other games, such as Devil May Cry 4, before I purchased Viking.

My interest in this game came after seeing several advertisements online showing some of the large battles that occur in the game. After watching a couple videos by the developers showing the game a little more, I decided to purchase the game.

A few minor spoilers ahead of the opening sequence of the game.

You start the game as a Viking warrior, Skarin, who has been mortally wounded in battle. In a state somewhere between life and death the goddess, Freya, comes to you. Freya tells you of another goddess, Hel, who is waging war on the world of Asgard. Freya asks for Skarin's help to rid Hel and her army of demonic warriors (Legion) from your world in return for saving his life an making him immortal. Skarin agrees and the premise for the game is set.

To banish Hel and her minions from Asgard, Skarin needs to free other Viking clans that have been imprisoned by the Legion around the land, summon a dragon, sneak into an enemy strong hold to complete an objective, and wage 2-3 giant battles per island (3 islands total) where you get to use all the Vikings you have freed.

As you start the game and talk to the few people available, in each village you are given quests to do. Most of these quests are either rescue another viking clan or do some sort of task and return with proof that you've done it.

While the quest descriptions are boring, the game play is addicting. Killing Legion gets more difficult as you progress though the game. At first there are only unshielded opponents. As the player moves, he encounters Legion with wooden shields, metal shields, and one type of enemy that is very good at blocking your attacks with his sword. Also as you progress through the game you can learn special fighting moves to help aid you in battle. Some moves allow you to sneak up on enemies and dispatch them without him warning other Legion nearby or more powerful moves that can break the legion shields in a matter of 2-3 hits.

The game has a fast travel system in between Leystones where you can "warp" to any you have previously visited as well as one in each of the players main encampments. These aid the player when he is resurrected after being defeated as well as on the return trips to some settlements to "prove his worth" to the clan leader.

Now in the seventh generation of consoles, graphics always are a factor. The graphics in Viking do not disappoint. The game has an extensive drawing distance to the point where you can see across almost an entire island. During the major battles you can add up to several hundred allies and enemies on the screen interacting.

The game does suffer a bit during these large battles. The frame-rate would slow down noticeably at times but never longer than a few seconds and never more that a few times during each major battle.

The game also suffers from lack of online multi-player, either cooperative or battle. While I understand the lack of online features the lack of replay ability of the game may make it a difficult purchase for some people.

Pros:

• Massive Battles
• Great Visuals
• Addictive Gameplay

Cons

• Some frame-rate issues during large Battles
• Lack of replay built into game design

Overall I would rate this game a 7.9/10. This is a very good game and I am looking forward to a sequel.