Viking: Battle for Asgard is one of the latest adventure games released by Sega for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. First, I’m going to ask you a simple question. When you hear the word Viking what comes to mind? Well for me I image a brave warrior with enormous muscles, long hair, animal’s skin clothing, and carrying large swords and knives. I think of Vikings as fearless fighting warriors always protecting mankind and showing no mercy for those whose cause evil to others. I also think of movies like the recent 300, several childhood stories, and history class of course which overall each was pretty interesting and exciting to some extent. Having all these things in mind and awaiting the arrival of the game I couldn’t wait to see what Sega had in store and packaged together into Battle of Asgard. Well despite all the expectations I had, I have to say that Battle of Asgard was more a disappointment than a pleasure for several reasons that I will discuss a little at the end. One would think that having a title like Viking Battle of Asgard one could get alot of action and adventure into a game of this nature but for some reason the action and adventure that was contained within this game was very little and left alot more to desire.
Battle for Asgard is set up in three different levels and in a time when the Norse Gods ruled. You as Skarin, a fearless warrior will play and begin the real journey after Skarin agrees to embark on an agreed mission to seek and conquer Hel, queen of the underworld. Of course Hel won’t be alone and adding fuel to the fire also hates Vikings and especially hates Freya, who is the main reason that Skarin began his journey to find Hel in the first place. Hel is the leader of an undead army and is continually killing innocent people and is determined to steal the souls of children to create a new Valhalla (resting ground for the dead). Hel is like Hitler and wants to rule all in every aspect but the only difference is Hel is female but this doesn’t make her any less powerful or evil. Skarin along with Freya, the Goddess of Light, and her followers can defeat Hel and her Legion (that is if you have what it takes, strategy or patience, so relax) and finally end the war against men and gods alike and bring peace to Midgard once again.
During your exploration of course you will encounter many enemies and engage in many battles. In Battle of Asgard at times the quest seems very unclear which can be very frustrating but after some time and repeated play things will start to make a little more sense hopefully. I say this because sometimes in Battle of Asgard you will discover that in certain areas as soon as you arrive you will immediately begin to fight and this will be the key to success and then you progress. In other areas you will discover that instead of fighting you will need to just run and don’t stop to battle because if you do you will become ambushed and be highly outnumbered quickly. In Battle of Asgard sometimes you be able to see this situation coming right off but after a few plays you will learn how to handle it better when it starts to unfold again. The game is pretty much the same throughout all of its levels, first you enter an area, defeat the enemy or complete the objective which in this game is pretty much to rescue captive soldiers or the helpless individuals, restart the battle and move on it’s that simple.
Battle of Asgard does have some variety when it comes to weaponry, not quite as much as most battle games but Battle of Asgard is different for sure. Skarin being a warrior an all always carries his sword and trusty axe for protection and I have to say he sure knows how to use it in his attacks. During his quests from time to time Skarin also has a "rage mode" that can be used for a power-up which gives the battle that little extra Wow! To help finish things off more quickly. Skarin can also use the Stealth mode at times for those ever so needed sneak attacks in which he can slice one into or amputate a limb in one blow, Wow! and they held back no blood with these moves which was a plus if you like that type of thing along with your gameplay. Additional upgrades and weapons can also be obtained and purchased as you progress along with a variety of elemental powers that definitely can be useful. During play Skarin can collect Gold (which isn’t very hard) that can also be used to buy new moves for Skarin use during battle. Skarin can even at certain times summons dragons which fly overhead and spray fire on the enemy to clear an area more quickly, here the dragon is man’s best friend. Oh, I can’t forget Freya, the Goddess of Light, she is also available to answer any need for Skarin that he might have for further assistance during play.
I previously mentioned that the gameplay has three levels and the play is pretty much very repetative in how each is carried out. When it comes to variety this game is very lacking in several forms which is very unfortunate. The maps which are of good size have very little differences and poor graphic, these maps are almost identical which makes the game seem even duller. The characters, especially the soldiers must also have mostly been cloned too because most of them are also identical and when people are about all you have in the frames there should have been more variety. Quality of characters and their appearance were also of poor quality (some resembling cardboard) and just the overall ugly appearance of many. The view of play from the camera angle also made for awkward and frustrating play but maybe this was deliberate to hide some of the poor quality graphics. Audio was a BIG Minus for Battle of Asgard and I think this game has the least sound of any game that I have even played. Some parts of the game had no sound at all; I mean at all, no music, no noise, and no nothing!! I think at least good audio could have maybe and that’s a Big Maybe? gave this game a little more interest but what happened with the audio I’m still trying to figure it out because I was shocked, another minus, oh well! Overall I have to simply say that the game did have a few fun moments but just had too many unfinished details and features to make it have any other impression than just simply being Bad which is sad because this game could have had alot of potential.
