Viking: Battle for Asgard Review. Is it worthy of Valhalla? By Greg Miller Updated: 12 May pm. No game is perfect. Some have iffy controls, others have lame stories, and a few just have weak enemies, but even with these natural foibles, glitches and hang-ups, a videogame can transcend its limitations and be heralded as a title where the sum is greater than the parts. That isn't the case with Viking: Battle for Asgard. Set in the time when the Norse Gods ruled and people hid gold in glowing urns for some inexplicable reason, Viking , the latest from SEGA and Creative Assembly , tosses you into the massive boots of Skarin, a shirtless warrior who packs a sword and battleaxe.
The game opens with Skarin mortally wounded and about to take a one-way trip to Valhalla, but Freya -- Odin's daughter -- steps in to save the Schwarzenegger-like brute as long as he pledges allegiance to her and promises to go after Hel, queen of the Underworld.
Skarin agrees, gets this glowing amulet from Freya, and we're off! Now, taking on the queen of the damned isn't a one-man gig. The problem is, Hel's Legion -- an army of blue-skinned, undead bad guys -- is roaming the countryside and has imprisoned the very Vikings who would be willing to fight alongside Skarin. This means that the majority of your time in Viking is spent scouring the mountain tops and grassy plains looking for men who are usually locked in giant ribcage prisons or tethered to skull poles.
Find the camps, kill the Legion, and free the men. From there, the troops usually give you some task to complete such as gathering a healing honey or eliminating a traitor, and once the odd job is complete, they join your team.
See, you're freeing all of these soldiers for the massive battles that Viking revolves around. When you tap Select and bring up your map, you'll find it covered with various icons indicating enemy encampments, friendly bases and more. Of the enemy kind, you'll see some that have conditions -- free X number of troops, find the battle horn, etc. Usually, these are the massive battles that act as a middle and end to the level. Once you meet the battle conditions, you can select the icon on the map and jump straight into the war.
Here's where all of the troops you've saved march into battle with you. If you haven't seen these skirmishes in action, they can be pretty impressive.
Each one starts with a cutscene depicting a sea of your men marching toward a sea of enemies. Dragons fly overhead, Shaman are casting ominous spells in the distance, and giants wait at the ready. When the scene ends, you're thrust into the battle the imagery just set up. You and hundreds of your men move towards hundreds of enemies. Although there's no way to control what your men are doing, they're generally pretty good about following you and helping the best they can -- that is by beating the living hell out of all the blue-skinned freaks that get in their way.
While your boys on the ground tend to the Legion horde, you're pretty much on your own as far as ending the battle. Each scenario has win conditions such as eliminating two of the three Shamans or taking care of a few giants. See all. View all. Click here to see them. Customer reviews. Overall Reviews:. Recent Reviews:. Review Type. All 2, Positive 1, Negative 1, All 2, Steam Purchasers Other 1, All Languages 2, Your Languages 1, Customize.
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Read more about it in the blog post. Excluding Off-topic Review Activity. Loading reviews Everything Viking does stealth aside is competently put together, but it lacks the flair and fluidity you want from a truly great hack-and-slash game.
The same can be said of Hardlight's porting, which is smooth and reliable, but comes burdened with awkward keyboard controls and a capped framerate. Fortunately, Viking also comes to us with a four-year-old price tag. That means it's is undeniably good value, even if the thrills are sparse. Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs.
He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry. Log In Sign Up. Keep me logged in on this device Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign up for free! What do you need help on? Cancel X. Topic Archived. Sign Up for free or Log In if you already have an account to be able to post messages, change how messages are displayed, and view media in posts. Boards Viking: Battle for Asgard So about how long is the game?
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