Viking: Battle for Asgard

Viking: Battle for Asgard
Developer(s) Creative Assembly
Publisher(s) Sega
Platform(s) Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)

PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360

  • NA: March 25, 2008
  • AUS: March 27, 2008
  • EU: March 28, 2008

Microsoft Windows

  • WW: October 17, 2012
Genre(s) Action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode(s) Single-player

Viking: Battle for Asgard is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was announced on August 21, 2007 by Sega Europe and released in North America on March 25 and Europe on March 28, 2008. The game is based on Norse mythology, where the war between the gods has sparked further conflict in the mortal realm of Midgard, where Freya's champion Skarin must lead Viking forces against that of the Goddess Hel.

Gameplay

The game features three islands in the world of Midgard, which the player can explore freely. The player is able to search and find his fellow Viking soldiers and rescue them, and in return they can assist him in battles.

Since Creative Assembly's last game of this style (Spartan: Total Warrior) there have been several changes. Quick time events being one, with them being used to bring down the larger and tougher enemies in the game, from bringing down giants to shaking off an assassin's grip. The way in which you fight is also different, where you fight each enemy individually rather than in groups, you can no longer do a sweeping attack to clear enemies away, you may only strike them one by one, which means becoming surrounded is a far greater danger than before. The RPG element means that you must buy combos and specialist attacks as you advance through the game.

The world has plenty of settlements which the player can attack and capture. When the player finishes his missions in each island, he must fight a large battle, which can be a great siege or a clash between large armies. One of the main features of the game is the large armies - in many battles there can be hundreds of soldiers fighting to the death.

The player may use different ways of weakening his enemy, such as killing their shaman, who summons enemy troops, or getting into the main fight and use combat moves and combos to kill enemy soldiers and champions, who drop dragon runes. These runes can be used to call upon dragons to attack enemies from the air, destroying them. The combat system of the game features a hack-and-slash style, much like the previous Creative Assembly action game, Spartan: Total Warrior, although it is considerably more violent. It features very graphic violence including dismemberment. Throughout the game, the player has the ability to raid various Legion-held locations on the three main islands. This can range from sneaking into a lumber mill and freeing the Vikings held there, (who will help destroy the Legion garrison) to launching an all-out one-man assault against a quarry or tower.

Plot

A fierce struggle is taking place within Asgard, the realm of the Norse Gods. The battle has escalated, spilling over to the mortal world of Midgard and now a Champion must be found, a warrior that can sway this war, which threatens the fate of Asgard and the gods themselves.

The Goddess Hel – daughter of Loki, Norse god of mischief, has been banished from the heavenly kingdom of Asgard for defying Odin’s rule. Angry at her fate, she seeks to release the ancient wolf-god Fenrir, which legend tells will bring about Ragnarok - the apocalyptic battle that will destroy Asgard and the gods. With her army of resurrected Viking warriors, Hel marches on the unsuspecting mortal realm of Midgard.

Freya, Goddess of war, is appointed the task of stopping Hel and defending the future of mankind. For her champion she chooses Skarin, a great but troubled young warrior, ignorant of the true reason for his favour with the Gods and thrust into the midst of their bitter war.

As the player strikes down Hel she screams, "You have not freed Midgard!" The player then sees Skarin asking for his place in Valhalla but is refused by Freya, causing Skarin to release Fenrir and begin Ragnarok. A cutscene then states that, although the gods have been destroyed and men now make their own decisions, the essence of the gods is nevertheless still present.

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
PCPS3Xbox 360
DestructoidN/AN/A6.9/10[1]
EurogamerN/AN/A5/10[2]
Game InformerN/A7.25/10[3]7.25/10[3]
GameProN/AN/A[4]
Game RevolutionN/AB−[5]B−[5]
GameSpotN/A5/10[6]5/10[6]
GameSpyN/A[7][7]
GameTrailersN/A7.3/10[8]7.3/10[8]
GameZoneN/A6.5/10[9]7.6/10[10]
Giant BombN/A[11][11]
IGNN/A6.3/10[12]6.5/10[13]
OXM (US)N/AN/A6.5/10[14]
PC Gamer (UK)65%[15]N/AN/A
PSMN/A[16]N/A
USA TodayN/A[17][17]
WiredN/A[18][18]
Aggregate score
Metacritic65/100[19]65/100[20]68/100[21]

The game received "mixed or average reviews" on all platforms according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[21][20][19]

Wired gave the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions a score of seven stars out of ten and stated, "At some point, you realize that looking back at each of Viking's qualities, it's hard to really put your finger on anything that's truly standout -- and yet it's compelling."[18] Maxim gave the same console versions six out of ten and said that it was "fun, but smells like a rental."[22] USA Today gave the same console versions a similar score of six stars out of ten and said it was "fine as an inexpensive rental for mature Microsoft Xbox 360 or Sony PlayStation 3 gamers interested in fantasy and violence — with a strong emphasis on the latter. It's not a horrible adventure, but a few extra months of testing and tweaking might have resolved some of its problems."[17] Edge gave the Xbox 360 version a similar score of six out of ten and said that its shortfalls "just seem so peculiar when compared to the surging competency of its strengths."[23] However, The A.V. Club gave the same console version a D+ and said, "With no reason to fight, all the killing turns into noise—and even the giant cast-of-dozens battles are as engaging as watching ants fight over a cracker."[24]

GamesRadar included it in their list of the 100 most overlooked games of its generation. Editor Jason Fanelli stated that the game's world felt empty yet praised its missions.[25]

References

  1. ↑ Jim Sterling (April 13, 2008). "Destructoid review: Viking: Battle for Asgard (X360)". Destructoid. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  2. ↑ Kristan Reed (March 31, 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard (Xbox 360)". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Ben Reeves (May 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard". Game Informer (181). Archived from the original on March 30, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  4. ↑ Tracy Erickson (April 7, 2008). "Review: Viking: Battle for Asgard (X360)". GamePro. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Greg Damiano (April 11, 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  6. 1 2 Aaron Thomas (April 1, 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard Review (PS3, X360)". GameSpot. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Gabe Graziani (March 26, 2008). "GameSpy: Viking: Battle for Asgard". GameSpy. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Viking: Battle for Asgard Review (PS3, X360)". GameTrailers. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  9. ↑ Nick Valentino (April 2, 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard - PS3 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  10. ↑ Aceinet (April 1, 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard - 360 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  11. 1 2 Jeff Gerstmann (April 1, 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard Review (PS3, X360)". Giant Bomb. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  12. ↑ Greg Miller (March 24, 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard Review (PS3)". IGN. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  13. ↑ Greg Miller. "Viking: Battle for Asgard Review (X360)". IGN. Archived from the original on March 27, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  14. ↑ Scott Butterworth (June 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard". Official Xbox Magazine. Archived from the original on March 30, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ Phil Savage (December 10, 2012). "Viking: Battle for Asgard review". PC Gamer UK. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Review: Viking: Battle for Asgard". PlayStation: The Official Magazine: 82. June 2008.
  17. 1 2 3 Marc Saltzman (April 17, 2008). "Make 'Viking: Battle For Asgard' a weekend skirmish". USA Today. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 Chris Kohler (March 28, 2008). "Review: Sega's Viking Is Gruesomely Addictive". Wired. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  19. 1 2 "Viking: Battle for Asgard for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Viking: Battle for Asgard for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  21. 1 2 "Viking: Battle for Asgard for Xbox 360 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Viking: Battle for Asgard". Maxim. 2008.
  23. ↑ Edge staff (May 2008). "Viking: Battle for Asgard (X360)". Edge (188): 90.
  24. ↑ Chris Dahlen. "Viking: Battle for Asgard (X360)". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  25. ↑ Jason Fanelli (December 19, 2013). "The 100 most overlooked games of the generation". GamesRadar. Retrieved December 20, 2013.
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